Stormfront Studios

Stormfront Studios, Inc.
Company type	Private
Industry	Video games
Predecessor	Beyond Software
Founded	1988
Founder	Don Daglow
Defunct	2008-03-31
Fate	Ceased operations following publisher Sierra Entertainment closure
Headquarters	San Rafael, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Don Daglow (Founder)
Products	Video games including Neverwinter Nights, Tony La Russa Baseball series, NASCAR Racing series, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Blood Wake, Demon Stone, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Eragon
Number of employees	50+ (2007)

Stormfront Studios, Inc. was a United States-based video game developer located in San Rafael, California. By 2007, the firm had grown to include more than 50 developers organized into two distinct teams and maintained full ownership of its proprietary engines, development tools, and technologies. By the close of that year, games produced by Stormfront had collectively sold in excess of fourteen million units. The studio ceased operations on March 31, 2008, subsequent to the closure of their publisher, Sierra Entertainment.

Stormfront received significant accolades and nominations from prestigious organizations such as The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, G4, BAFTA, The IGDA Game Developers Choice Awards, the EMMA Awards, SCEA, and the Software Publishers Association.

In 2008, Neverwinter Nights was recognized alongside titles like EverQuest and World of Warcraft at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for its contributions to the advancement of MMORPGs. The award was accepted by Don Daglow on behalf of Stormfront Studios, as well as AOL and Wizards of the Coast.

History

Founded in 1988 by industry veteran Don Daglow, who brought experience from roles at Mattel Intellivision, Electronic Arts, and Broderbund, Stormfront's leadership team included seasoned professionals from companies such as Disney, Electronic Arts, Ensemble Studios, LucasArts, Origin Systems, THX, Vivendi Universal, and Warner Bros..

Initially operating under the name Beyond Software, the company adopted the Stormfront brand in 1993 due to trademark conflicts.

Highlights 1988–1993

Neverwinter Nights: Early partnerships with AOL led to groundbreaking online games including Quantum Space (1989), recognized as the first play-by-email game, and the original graphical MMORPG Neverwinter Nights (1991–1997). This title maintained the highest revenue record for online RPGs for nearly ten years until it was overtaken by Ultima Online. Subsequently, BioWare secured rights to create new multiplayer RPGs under the Neverwinter name.
Tony La Russa Baseball: Stormfront’s debut project in 1988 developed into a thriving baseball game series created in collaboration with manager Tony La Russa, who continues to serve on the company's Board of Directors. Founder Daglow had previous experience designing baseball titles such as Baseball, Intellivision World Series Baseball, and Earl Weaver Baseball.
Gold Box Dungeons & Dragons Games: Beginning in 1990, Stormfront partnered with Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) to develop entries in the acclaimed Gold Box D&D RPG franchise. This collaboration yielded their first chart-topping success with Gateway to the Savage Frontier (1991) and innovative games like Treasures of the Savage Frontier (1992), which featured AI-driven characters capable of emotional responses.
Stronghold (1993): A trailblazing real-time strategy game distinguished by its early adoption of a 3D viewpoint and graphical user interface at a time when text-based menus were prevalent.

Key Achievements 1993–1999

The initial installments of the highly successful American auto racing franchise, NASCAR Racing, were developed by Stormfront for EA Sports. The project Andretti Racing, spearheaded by John Madden Football designer Scott Orr, laid the foundation for the NASCAR series.
Stormfront was responsible for creating the original PC editions of Madden NFL for EA Sports.
In 1997, Stormfront produced Byzantine: The Betrayal for Discovery Channel, which earned several European EMMA Awards, including Best Adventure Game and Game of the Year.
Developed Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf under EA Sports.
Released Tony La Russa Baseball 3 and Old Time Baseball during 1994-1995 as self-published titles distributed by EA. However, the 1994–95 MLB strike negatively impacted sales, leading Stormfront to concentrate exclusively on development thereafter.
Pioneered the use of motion control photography in gaming with EA's Eagle Eye Mysteries (1993).

Key Achievements 2000–2005

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), published by Electronic Arts for PS2, GameCube, and Xbox, was based on Peter Jackson's film adaptation. It became a top seller in 2002-2003, featuring playable characters Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, along with authentic scenes and music from the movies. The game received the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Award for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering.
Blood Wake (2001), an Xbox launch title for Microsoft, showcased advanced water effects and intense naval combat gameplay. It subsequently joined the Xbox Platinum hits collection.
Released Demon Stone (2004), published by Atari for PS2, Xbox, and PC. The game introduced dynamic character switching during battles and earned nominations from both the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and BAFTA.

Key Achievements 2006–2008

Published The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) on Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, and PC through Sierra. This title was based on the Paramount film adaptation of the children's fantasy series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi.
Developed Eragon (2006), published by Vivendi Universal Games, available on Xbox 360, PS2, Xbox, and PC; inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox film adapted from Christopher Paolini's bestselling novel.
Stormfront Studios ceased operations on March 31, 2008.

Interactive Television

Since 1990, Stormfront has been involved in creating interactive television games, producing demonstration projects for clients such as OpenTV.

Titles Developed

Year	Title	Publisher	Platform(s)
1996	Andretti Racing	EA Sports	PC, PlayStation, Sega Saturn
1997	Andretti Racing '98	EA Sports	PC
2001	Blood Wake	Microsoft Game Studios	Xbox
1997	Byzantine: The Betrayal	Discovery Channel	PC
1994	Eagle Eye Mysteries in London	Creative Wonders (EA Kids)	PC, Mac
1993	Eagle Eye Mysteries	Creative Wonders (EA Kids)	PC, Mac
2006	Eragon	Vivendi Universal Games	Xbox 360, Xbox, PC, PS2
1994	ESPN Baseball Tonight	Sony	PC
1995	ESPN National Hockey Night	Sony	PC
2004	Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone	Atari	Xbox, PC, PS2
1991	Gateway to the Savage Frontier	SSI	PC, Commodore 64, Amiga
1999	Hot Wheels Turbo Racing	EA	PlayStation, Nintendo 64
2001	Legend of Alon D'ar	Ubisoft	PS2
2000	Lego My Style: Kindergarten	Lego Media	PC, Mac	-	2000	Lego My Style: Preschool	Lego Media	PC, Mac	-	1996	Madden NFL 97	EA Sports	PC	-	1997	Madden NFL 98	EA Sports	PC	-	1994	Mario Andretti Racing	EA Sports	Sega Genesis	-	1997	NASCAR 98	EA Sports	PlayStation, Sega Saturn	-	1998	NASCAR 99	EA Sports	PlayStation, Nintendo 64	-	1999	NASCAR 2000	EA Sports	PC, PlayStation, Nintendo 64	-	1991	Neverwinter Nights	AOL, SSI	PC	-	1995	Old Time Baseball	Self-published	PC	-	2001	Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor	Ubisoft	PC	-	1993	Rebel Space	Prodigy	PC, Mac	-	1996	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Harbinger	Viacom New Media	PC, Mac	-	1998	Starfire Soccer Challenge	Purple Moon	PC, Mac	-	1993	Stronghold	SSI	PC	-	2002	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	EA	PS2, Xbox, GBA	-	2008	The Spiderwick Chronicles	Sierra	Wii, Xbox 360, PC	-	2000	Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 2001	EA Sports	PlayStation	-	1991	Tony La Russa Ultimate Baseball	SSI	PC	-	1993	Tony La Russa Ultimate Baseball	EA Sports	Sega Genesis	-	1994	Tony La Russa Baseball '95	EA Sports	Sega Genesis	-	1994	Tony La Russa Baseball II	SSI	PC	-	1995	Tony La Russa Baseball 3	Self-published	PC	-	1996	Tony La Russa Baseball 3: 1996 Edition	Self-published	PC	-	1997	Tony La Russa Baseball 4	Maxis	PC	-	1992	Treasures of the Savage Frontier	SSI	PC, Amiga	-	1989	Quantum Space	AOL	PC, Mac, Apple II, C64	-	1988	The QuantumLink Serial	AOL	PC, Mac, Apple II, C64

References

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