Gaming Ads: Eidos

Originally founded as Eidos Technologies, the U.K.-based company focused on video compression for computers before becoming involved in video games. It was through the merging of Domark, Simis, and Big Red Software that Eidos Interactive was born in 1996. Shortly after the creation of Eidos Interactive, U.S. Gold was acquired and that acquisition included developer Core Design. The acquisition turned out to be huge as Core Design was working on Tomb Raider at the time; Tomb Raider released on November 14, 1996 and Eidos quickly became a household name after that.

Eidos would publish more than 200 games between 1996 and 2009. Aside from Tomb Raider, it published numerous other well known properties, such as Deus Ex, Hitman, Legacy of Kain, Thief, and Commandos. It also published the PC version of Final Fantasy VII and Traveller's Tales' first LEGO Star Wars Game, and co-published the first game in Rocksteady's Batman Arkham series with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. In 1998 Eidos acquired Gex creator Crystal Dynamics and in 2003 it had Crystal Dynamics take over development duties of the Tomb Raider series from Core Design.

Despite owning so many popular video game series, it ran into financial difficulties and in 2005 Eidos was taken over by SCi Entertainment. Under SCi the development studio Eidos Montreal (Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided) was founded in 2007. In 2008 SCi changed its corporate name to Eidos and in 2009 it was purchased by Square Enix.

Eidos albums: Facebook - Google Photos

Gaming Ads: Crystal Dynamics

Founded by Judy Lang, David Morris, and Madeline Canepa in 1992, the California-based Crystal Dynamics celebrated its 25th anniversary just a few weeks ago. However, it does not appear that any of the original founders are still with the company. Its first game, Crash 'n Burn, is a racing game with combat released in 1993 for the 3DO console. In 1995 Crystal Dynamics released Gex, which is likely its best known original property. It also published a number of games developed by other studios as you'll see in the ads. Perhaps the most popular of those games is Silicon Knights' Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, a series in which Crystal Dynamics developed the sequels for.

In 1998 Eidos Interactive acquired Crystal Dynamics and in 2003 the developer was entrusted with the Tomb Raider series. Due to financial shortcomings at Eidos, in 2009 Square Enix acquired the publisher and thus Crystal Dynamics. For the past 10 years the developer has primarily worked on the Tomb Raider franchise as it was rebooted in 2013. The studio is also currently collaborating with Eidos Montreal to develop a game based on Marvel Comics' Avengers.

Crystal Dynamics albums: Facebook - Google Photos