S2 Games
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founder | Marc "Maliken" DeForest, Jesse Hayes, Sam McGrath |
| Fate | Transferred ownership of Heroes of Newerth to Garena in 2015 |
| Headquarters | Rohnert Park, California , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Savage: The Battle for Newerth, Savage 2: A Tortured Soul, Heroes of Newerth, Strife, Savage Resurrection, Brawl of Ages |
S2 Games was a game development company established by Marc "Maliken" DeForest, Jesse Hayes, and Sam McGrath, with its headquarters located in Rohnert Park, California and an additional development branch in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
History
Their first release, Savage: The Battle for Newerth, combined elements of real-time strategy, third-person shooter, and role-playing games, and was launched in the summer of 2003. The company self-published the follow-up title, Savage 2: A Tortured Soul, which became available on January 16, 2008. The third game in the series, Heroes of Newerth, drew significant inspiration from Defense of the Ancients and was released on May 12, 2010.
In 2015, S2 Games transferred ownership of Heroes of Newerth to Garena in order to focus on their upcoming MOBA project, Strife. Subsequently, Garena delegated the management of Heroes of Newerth to Frostburn Studios, a subsidiary based in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Titles
- Savage: The Battle for Newerth (2003) (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
- Savage 2: A Tortured Soul (2008) (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
- Heroes of Newerth (2010) (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
- Strife (2015) (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
- Savage Resurrection (2016) (Windows)
- Brawl of Ages (2017) (Windows)
Key events
- In 2003, S2 Games released its inaugural commercial product, Savage: The Battle for Newerth.
- Three staff members left in 2004 to establish Offset Software.
- The original Savage: The Battle for Newerth was made available as freeware in 2006.
- Savage 2: A Tortured Soul launched in 2008 and transitioned to freeware status by 2009.
- The release of Heroes of Newerth occurred in 2010; it shifted to a free-to-play format by 2011 with all heroes becoming free by 2012.
- By 2012, Heroes of Newerth had amassed more than 10 million registered players.
- In 2013, S2 Games revealed plans for Strife, branding it as a "second generation MOBA".
- Ownership rights for Heroes of Newerth were sold to Garena and Frostburn Studios in 2015.
- Upon re-release in 2017, Savage Resurrection adopted a free-to-play approach.