Monkeystone Games
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | August 1, 2001 in Quinlan, Texas, United States |
| Founder | John Romero, Tom Hall, Stevie Case, Brian Moon |
| Defunct | January 2005 |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | John Romero (CEO, CTO), Tom Hall (President, CCO), Stevie Case (COO), Lucas Davis (Studio Director) |
| Products | Hyperspace Delivery Boy!, Congo Cube, Red Faction (N-Gage), Bust'em, Argentum, Baseball Mogul 2003, Jewels and Jim, Dig It!, Cartoon Network: Block Party |
Number of employees | Not specified |
| Website | www |
Monkeystone Games was a video game developer and video game publisher established in 2001 by seasoned industry professionals John Romero, Tom Hall, Stevie Case, and Brian Moon. The studio concentrated on creating and distributing games across various platforms, with a particular emphasis on the burgeoning mobile gaming sector.
History
After collaborating at Id Software on Doom, Romero and Hall, who co-founded Ion Storm, joined forces with Case—also an Ion Storm level designer—to form a new venture. Following the commercial disappointment of Daikatana in 2000, Case departed Ion Storm early in 2001, with Romero and Hall leaving later that year after completing work on Anachronox.
In August 2001, they launched Monkeystone Games in Quinlan, Texas to focus on mobile game development for devices such as the Pocket PC. Romero sought to return to direct programming alongside Hall and Case, stepping away from their managerial roles at Ion Storm. The team expanded with former Ion Storm member Lucas Davis and CFO/COO Brian Moon, who had previously worked at Ensemble Studios.
Monkeystone's debut title, Hyperspace Delivery Boy!, was released for Pocket PC in December 2001. The company collaborated with ZIOSoft for subsequent projects and created Congo Cube (2003), initially for Windows before adapting it to BREW and J2ME platforms. In 2003, under contract with THQ Wireless, Monkeystone developed an N-Gage version of Red Faction. Additionally, they published third-party games like Bust'em, Argentum, and Baseball Mogul 2003 throughout 2002.
Romero exited Monkeystone in spring 2003 following a personal split from Case, describing the experience as his "worst." Hall left soon after; both joined Midway Games by October 2003. During this timeframe, Monkeystone worked on a now-cancelled N-Gage title based on The Chronicles of Riddick. The company moved operations to Austin, Texas to support Midway Studios Austin by programming the multiplayer component for the first-person shooter Area 51, which enabled them to settle outstanding business debts.
Monkeystone Games ceased operations after the release of Area 51 in 2005. Upon their departure from Midway, Romero and Hall each took on half of Monkeystone’s staff, marking the conclusion of the company’s activities.
Games
Monkeystone’s inaugural internally developed game, Hyperspace Delivery Boy!, launched on December 23, 2001, originally for the Pocket PC. It was subsequently ported to Windows, Mac, Linux, with a planned but unreleased version for the Game Boy Advance. The studio also published externally developed titles such as Argentum, Rocket Elite, and Night Shift.
Their follow-up project was the puzzle game Congo Cube, created for Windows and later adapted for Pocket PC as well as phones supporting Java ME and BREW. The third major release was a mobile conversion of the PlayStation 2 title Red Faction for Nokia’s N-Gage, finished in October 2003.
- Hyperspace Delivery Boy! (2001)
- Baseball Mogul 2003 (2002)
- Red Faction (2003)
- Jewels and Jim (2003)
- Congo Cube (2003)
- Dig It! (2003)
- Cartoon Network: Block Party (2004)
Staff
- John Romero – Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer
- Tom Hall – President and Chief Creative Officer
- Stevie Case – Chief Operating Officer
- Lucas Davis – Studio Director and Programmer
- Jess Dominguez – Programmer
- Eric Nava – Artist
- Eric Seiler – Artist
- Billy Browning – Artist
Closure
Brian Moon exited the company in 2002, with Stevie Case following in mid-2003. In October 2003, founders Tom Hall and John Romero departed to work at Midway Games. Lucas Davis assumed responsibility for the studio’s day-to-day management until Monkeystone ceased operations in January 2005.
Legacy
In 2022, John Carmack, co-founder of id Software, acknowledged Monkeystone and Romero for their pioneering contributions to mobile gaming. Their work served as inspiration for his own mobile projects, including Doom RPG (2005) and Orcs & Elves (2006).