Certain Affinity
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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | August 25, 2006 |
| Founder | Max Hoberman |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas, US |
Number of locations | 2 (2019) |
Key people | Max Hoberman (President)[1] Stephanie Letendre (VP Finance)[1] Mojdeh Gharbi (VP Business Ops and Marketing)[1] |
| Owners | Keywords Studios (2024–present) |
Number of employees | 180+[1] (2024) |
| Subsidiaries | Certain Affinity Toronto |
| Website | www |
Certain Affinity is an American video game development studio based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2006 by Max Hoberman and a small number of other ex-Bungie employees and other industry veterans. On October 18, 2024, Certain Affinity was acquired by Keywords Studios.
History
[edit]Certain Affinity's creation was announced in December 2006. The studio was founded by ex-Bungie employee Max Hoberman. In addition to staff from Bungie, it also includes ex-members of companies such as Microsoft, Red Storm, Origin, Electronic Arts, Digital Anvil, NCSoft, and the now-defunct Midway Austin and Ion Storm Austin.[2]
The studio's first work was in creating two additional multiplayer levels for the popular Xbox game Halo 2. These maps, called "Tombstone" and "Desolation" (which comprised the "Blastacular Map Pack") were the last Halo 2 maps to be released; they are remakes of levels from the original Halo, called "Hang 'Em High" and "Derelict" respectively.[3] They were released for Halo 2 on the Xbox Live on April 17, 2007. These maps were not released for Halo 2 Vista, but were replaced with two new maps exclusive to Halo 2 Vista: "District" and "Uplift". Certain Affinity worked closely with members of Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios during the development of these two maps.[citation needed]
Certain Affinity started working on another project in November 2006, which was revealed to be an unannounced original IP game in the action role-playing game genre.[4]
Certain Affinity's first original game was Age of Booty, a downloadable real-time strategy game released on Steam, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. The title was published by Capcom on October 15, 2008.[5][6]
The company helped Valve port Left 4 Dead to the Xbox 360.[7]
In 2009, the company announced the completion of Halo Waypoint, developed in conjunction with 343 Industries.[8]
The company worked on the "Defiant Map Pack" for Halo: Reach, released on March 15, 2011.[9]
The company announced its new game, due to release in summer 2011, called Crimson Alliance, at RTX 2011.[10][11]
Certain Affinity also partnered with 343 Industries again for the development of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, which was released exclusively for Xbox 360 on November 15, 2011.[8]
At RTX 2012, Certain Affinity announced that the studio was working with 343 Industries again on developing the Forge map-making tools for Halo 4.[12]
At RTX 2014, Certain Affinity showed off their involvement in Halo: The Master Chief Collection with the reveal of one of the six remade Halo 2 maps, Coagulation, along with a new vehicle, the Gungoose.[13]
In 2017, Leyou Tech invested $10 million in Certain Affinity to develop an original game.[14]
In March 2024, it was announced that Certain Affinity would be laying off 25 employees, or 10% of the company's workforce.[15]
On October 18, 2024, Certain Affinity was acquired by Keywords Studios. The acquisition include a team of 180 employees based in the U.S. and Canada. Certain Affinity will continue to operate under its current leadership, including CEO Max Hoberman and President and COO Paul Sams.[16]
Games
[edit]| Year | Title | Additional information | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Halo 2 | Multiplayer DLC (Blastacular Map Pack) | Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 |
| 2008 | Age of Booty | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade | |
| 2008 | Call of Duty: World at War | Multiplayer and Multiplayer DLC | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 |
| 2008 | Left 4 Dead | Assisting development | Xbox 360 |
| 2009 | Halo Waypoint | Co-developed with 343i | Xbox 360 |
| 2010 | Call of Duty: Black Ops | Multiplayer DLC | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| 2011 | Halo: Reach | Multiplayer DLC (Defiant Map Pack) | Xbox 360 |
| 2011 | Crimson Alliance | Xbox Live Arcade | |
| 2011 | Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary | Co-developed with 343i | Xbox 360 |
| 2012 | Halo 4 | Co-developed with 343i | Xbox 360 |
| 2013 | Call of Duty: Ghosts | Multiplayer and Multiplayer DLC | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One |
| 2014 | Halo: The Master Chief Collection | Multiplayer | Xbox One |
| 2014 | Age of Booty Tactics | Multiplayer | iOS |
| 2016 | Doom | Multiplayer Co-developed with id Software | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One |
| 2016 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered | Co-developed with Raven Software, High Moon Studios and Beenox | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One |
| 2021 | Halo Infinite | Co-developed with 343i | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X |
| TBA | Last Expedition | TBA | |
| Transformers Reactivate' | Passed off to Splash Damage | Microsoft Windows | |
| Project: Loro | A new original FPS game | TBA | |
| Exodus | Co-developed with Archetype Entertainment | TBA |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Certain Affinity Company Profile".
- ^ "Certain Affinity about page". Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- ^ "Certain affinity Maps revealed". Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- ^ "Mapmakers to the Stars". Archived from the original on April 6, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- ^ Faylor, Chris (March 4, 2008). "Certain Affinity Making Pimps at Sea, Sorta". Shacknews. Retrieved March 5, 2008.
- ^ "Age of Booty Release Date". Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
- ^ "Cat Outta The Bag". Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
- ^ a b Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 11, 2012). "Meet Certain Affinity, the Halo 4 Developer You've Never Heard Of". Eurogamer. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
- ^ "Halo: Reach Defiant Map Pack Announced!". Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
- ^ "Crimson Alliance Announced". Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- ^ "Current website for Crimson Alliance". Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- ^ Hilliard, Kyle (July 8, 2012). "Halo 4's Forge Mode Developed By Certain Affinity". Game Informer. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
- ^ Xbox Wire Staff. "343 Shows Off Returning Favorites and New Additions for Halo: The Master Chief Collection". news.xbox.com. Xbox. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
- ^ "Austin Game Maker Certain Affinity Lands $10 Million Investment from Hong Kong Firm - SiliconHills". SiliconHills. October 17, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (April 1, 2024). "Halo Infinite support studio Certain Affinity lays off employees for the first time in 17 years, blames industry slowdown and 'reluctance of third party investors to fund games or game companies'". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ^ Valentine, Rebekah (October 18, 2024). "Halo, Hogwarts Legacy Co-developer Certain Affinity Becomes the Latest Keywords Studios Acquisition". IGN. Retrieved October 18, 2024.