Junction Point Studios

Junction Point Studios

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video games
Founded	2004
Founder	Warren Spector, Art Min
Defunct	2013
Fate	Shutdown by Disney Interactive Studios
Headquarters	Austin, Texas , United States
Parent	Disney Interactive Studios (from 2007)

Junction Point Studios (abbreviated as JPS) was a video game development company located in Austin, Texas, established in 2004 by Warren Spector, the creator of Deus Ex. In July 2007, the studio became part of Disney Interactive Studios following its acquisition. The purpose was to create a title featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a character originally designed by Walt Disney but whose rights were held by Universal Studios until Disney regained them in 2006. The studio ceased operations in 2013.

History

Junction Point was launched in November 2004 by Warren Spector alongside Art Min, with a team primarily composed of former employees from Ion Storm, where both founders had previously been employed. Their initial project involved developing a game using Valve's Source Engine, intended for release via Steam. This endeavor, later disclosed as a new installment in Valve's Half-Life franchise, was ultimately canceled after Disney took ownership of the studio.

The company gained recognition for producing Epic Mickey, which debuted on the Wii platform in November 2010. The game centers on Mickey Mouse navigating Wasteland, a realm inhabited by neglected characters such as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It blends action and role-playing mechanics with player-driven decisions and was built using Emergent Game Technologies' Gamebryo engine.

A follow-up title, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, was announced in March 2012 for both Wii and Wii U. Prior to its closure, Junction Point had been developing Project Goliath, an unreleased video game.

On January 29, 2013, Disney Interactive Studios publicly announced the shutdown of Junction Point Studios.

Name

In an interview from March 2007, Spector provided insight into the origin of the studio's name:

Games developed

Year	Title	Platform(s)
Cancelled	Untitled Half-Life 2 episode	Windows
	Sleeping Giants	Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2010	Epic Mickey	Wii
2012	Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two	Windows, PlayStation 3, Vita, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U

See also

• List of companies based in Austin, Texas