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'{{Infobox company | name = Pandemic Studios | logo = [[Image:pandemiclogo.svg|256px]] | caption = | type = [[Subsidiary]] | slogan = | fate = | predecessor = | successor = | foundation = [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], [[California]], [[United States]] (1998) | defunct = Westwood, CA (2009) | location = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], [[United States]] | key_people = Andrew Goldman, [[Chief executive officer|CEO]]<br />[[Josh Resnick]], [[President]] | industry = [[Interactive entertainment]]<br />[[Video game industry|Computer and video games]] | products = ''[[Full Spectrum Warrior]]''<br />''[[Star Wars: Battlefront (series)|Star Wars: Battlefront]] ([[Star Wars: Battlefront|I]] & [[Star Wars: Battlefront II|II]])''<br />''[[Destroy All Humans! (series)|Destroy All Humans!]] ([[Destroy All Humans!|I]] & [[Destroy All Humans! 2|II]])''<br />[[Mercenaries (series)|''Mercenaries'' series]]<br />([[#Games|See complete products listing]]) | owner = | parent = [[Electronic Arts]] | homepage = [https://web.archive.org/web/20090430013637/http://www.pandemicstudios.com/corp/index.php http://www.pandemicstudios.com/] (archived version 2009) }} '''Pandemic Studios''' was an independent developer founded in 1998. Between 2007 and 2009 it became an [[Electronic Arts]]-owned developer, and shortly afterwards closed. It was an [[United States|American]] and [[Australia]]n [[video game developer]] with offices in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] and [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]]. Notable titles include ''[[Full Spectrum Warrior]]'', ''[[Star Wars: Battlefront]]'', ''[[Dark Reign 2]]'', ''[[Destroy All Humans!]]'', ''[[Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction]]'', ''[[Mercenaries 2: World in Flames]]'', ''[[Star Wars: Battlefront II]]'' and ''[[The Saboteur]]''. ==History== The company's president was [[Josh Resnick]] and its [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] was Andrew Goldman &mdash; both formerly worked at [[Activision]], and Pandemic was founded with an [[equity investment]] by Activision in 1998. Pandemic's first two games, ''[[Battlezone II: Combat Commander|Battlezone II]]'' and ''[[Dark Reign 2]]'', were both sequels to Activision games. In 2000, Pandemic opened a satellite studio in the Brisbane suburb of [[Fortitude Valley]]. The first project was ''[[Army Men: RTS]]'', a console [[real-time strategy|RTS]] game using the ''Dark Reign 2'' engine. The studio later developed ''Destroy All Humans!''. In 2003, the Los Angeles studio moved from its founding location at [[Santa Monica]] to a high-rise building in Westwood. In November 2005, it was announced that Pandemic and [[BioWare]] would be joining forces, with private equity fund [[Elevation Partners]] investing in the partnership. Both companies retained their brands and identities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tgnforums.stardock.com/?ForumID=141&AID=91131|title=Bioware & Pandemic Merge|publisher=[[TotalGaming.net]]|format=News|date=November 3, 2005}}</ref> On October 11, 2007, it was announced that [[VG Holding Corp.]], the owners of [[BioWare]] and Pandemic Studios, would be acquired by [[Electronic Arts]] as of January 2008, subject to [[Federal Trade Commission|FTC]] approval.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071011006083&newsLang=en|title=EA To Acquire BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios}}</ref> In February 2009, their office in [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]] was shut down.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ausgamers.com/news/read/2707354|title=Pandemic Brisbane Shut Down |date=February 11, 2009|accessdate=February 12, 2009|publisher=Ausgamers.com}}</ref> In November 2009, Electronic Arts cut a total of 1,500 jobs which affected various studios, including shutting down of Pandemic. On November 17, 2009, EA officially confirmed Pandemic Studios' closure, laying off 228 employees. EA absorbed 35 Pandemic employees into its [[EA Los Angeles]] studio to support ''The Saboteur'' and an unannounced project which was later revealed to be ''Mercs Inc'', a sequel to the ''Mercenaries'' series.<ref name="Mercs Inc">{{cite web |url=http://kotaku.com/5412103/ea-makes-mercs-inc-a-new-pandemic-game-official-[update |title=EA Makes Mercs Inc, A New "Pandemic" Game, Official [UPDATE] |author=Stephen Totilo |date=November 24, 2009 |work= |publisher=[[Kotaku]] |accessdate=November 21, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://kotaku.com/5406830/confirmed-ea-closes-pandemic-studios-says-brand-will-live-on |title=Confirmed: EA Closes Pandemic Studios, Says Brand Will Live On |author=Brian Crecente |date=November 17, 2009 |work= |publisher=[[Kotaku]] |accessdate=November 17, 2009 }}</ref> In response, a few former employees of Pandemic created an [[Office Space]]-style video where they are shown smashing their office printer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kotaku.com/5410999/pandemic-studios-says-goodbye-geek-gangsta-style |title=Pandemic Studios Says Goodbye Geek Gangsta Style |author=Kotaku |date=November 23, 2009 |work= |publisher=[[Kotaku]] |accessdate=November 23, 2009 }}</ref> Over a dozen former Pandemic developers are now employed at [[343 Industries]] having worked on ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]'' and ''[[Halo 4]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gamer.blorge.com/2010/11/21/microsoft-hires-ex-pandemic-members-for-new-halo-game/ |title=Microsoft hires ex-Pandemic members for new Halo game |publisher=gamer.blorge.com |date=November 21, 2010 |accessdate=June 2, 2011}}</ref> Other former employees have gone to work for [[Infinity Ward]], [[Treyarch]], [[Respawn Entertainment]] and many others. ==Games== Pandemic Studios developed the first two main titles of the successful [[Star Wars: Battlefront (series)|''Star Wars: Battlefront'' series]] namely ''[[Star Wars: Battlefront]]'' and ''[[Star Wars: Battlefront II]]'' as well as ''[[Full Spectrum Warrior]]'' and the [[Mercenaries (series)|''Mercenaries'' series]]. The studio also developed the last game in the ''[[Army Men]]'' published by [[The 3DO Company|3DO]], ''[[Army Men: RTS]]''. The studio was also responsible for developing the first two games in the [[Destroy All Humans! (series)|''Destroy All Humans!'' series]], and its final project released was ''[[The Saboteur]]''. At time of closure the studio still had multiple projects in development namely Project X and Y which are listed on Pandemic's official site. Project X has been listed since 2007 while Project Y was recently listed in 2009. Soon after the studio's closure it was revealed that Project Y was ''[[Mercs Inc]]'', a new title in the ''Mercenaries'' series which is being developed by Pandemic Studios at EALA, the Project Y listing on the official site disappeared when the game was announced.<ref name="Mercs Inc"/> In addition, another main Mercenaries game, ''Mercenaries 3: No Limits'', was in production at the time of the studio's closure and was subsequently cancelled.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kotaku.com/5690052/your-first-and-last-look-at-mercenaries-3 |title=Your First (And Last) Look At Mercenaries 3 |author=Luke Plunkett |date=November 15, 2010 |work=[[Kotaku]] |publisher=[[Gawker Media]] |accessdate=November 14, 2010}}</ref> Many projects that were being developed at Pandemic's Brisbane studios were also cancelled when it closed including ''[[The Dark Knight (video game)|The Dark Knight]]'' and two unannounced games, Project Q and Z. {| class="wikitable sortable" width=100% ! Release<br />Date ! Title(s) ! Genre(s)/Notes ! Platform(s) |- | [[1999 in video gaming|1999]] | ''[[Battlezone II: Combat Commander]]'' | [[First-person shooter]], [[real-time strategy]] | [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] |- | [[2000 in video gaming|2000]] | ''[[Dark Reign 2]]'' | Real-time strategy | [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] |- | rowspan="3"| [[2002 in video gaming|2002]] | ''[[Triple Play 2002]]'' | [[Sports]] | |- | ''[[Army Men: RTS]]'' | Real-time strategy | [[Nintendo GameCube]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], |- | ''[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2002 video game)|Star Wars: The Clone Wars]]'' | [[Action game|Action]] | [[Nintendo GameCube]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] |- | rowspan="2"| [[2004 in video gaming|2004]] | ''[[Full Spectrum Warrior]]'' | [[Real-time tactics]], [[Soldier sim|Combat Simulation]] | [[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] |- | ''[[Star Wars: Battlefront (2004 video game)|Star Wars: Battlefront]]'' | [[First-person shooter]], [[third-person shooter]] | [[PlayStation 2]], [[Macintosh]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] |- | rowspan="3"| [[2005 in video gaming|2005]] | ''[[Star Wars: Battlefront II]]'' | First-person shooter, third-person shooter | [[PlayStation 2]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] |- | ''[[Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction]]'' | Third-person shooter | [[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] |- | ''[[Destroy All Humans!]]'' | Third-person shooter, [[Adventure game|Adventure]] | [[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] |- | rowspan="2"| [[2006 in video gaming|2006]] | ''[[Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers]]'' | Real-time tactics, Combat Simulation | [[PlayStation 2]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] |- | ''[[Destroy All Humans! 2]]'' | Third-person shooter, Adventure | [[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] |- | [[2008 in video gaming|2008]] | ''[[Mercenaries 2: World in Flames]]'' | Third-person shooter | [[PlayStation 2]], [[PlayStation 3]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Xbox 360]] |- | rowspan="2"| [[2009 in video gaming|2009]] | ''[[The Lord of the Rings: Conquest]]'' | Action | [[PlayStation 3]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Xbox 360]], [[Nintendo DS]] |- | ''[[The Saboteur]]'' | [[Action-adventure game|Action/adventure]], Third-person shooter, [[Stealth game|Stealth]] | [[PlayStation 3]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Xbox 360]] |- | rowspan="4" | Cancelled | ''[[The Dark Knight (video game)|The Dark Knight]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/88736-Screwing-Up-Batman|title=Screwing Up Batman}}</ref> | Tie-in to [[The Dark Knight (film)|''The Dark Knight'' (film)]] | [[PlayStation 3]] |- | ''Mercenaries 3'' | Third title in the ''Mercenaries'' series | [[PlayStation 3]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Xbox 360]] |- |''The Next Big Thing'' |Previously titled ''No Limits Racing''.<br />The project was supposed to utilize [[Mii]]s and<br />feature celebrity cameos like [[Mr. T]] and [[David Hasselhoff]]. |[[Wii]] |- | ''Star Wars: Battlefront III'' | Third title in the ''Battlefront'' series. Cancelled when it was 99% finished,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://kotaku.com/5964799/battlefront-iii-was-99-percent-done-when-lucasarts-scrapped-it|title=Battlefront III was 99% done when LucasArts scrapped it, but was then rebooted by EA for a release in 2015.|last=Good|first=Owen|date=|work=|access-date=|via=}}</ref> later rebooted by EA. | [[PlayStation 3]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Xbox 360]] |} ==References== {{Reflist}} {{EA}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences members]] [[Category:Companies established in 1998]] [[Category:Defunct video game companies]] [[Category:Electronic Arts]] [[Category:Video game companies of the United States]] [[Category:Video game development companies]] [[Category:Companies disestablished in 2009]]'