Underground Development

Underground Development, Ltd.

Formerly| Z-Axis, Ltd. (1994–2008)
Type| Subsidiary
Industry| Video games
Fate| Dissolved
Founded| 1994; 32 years ago (1994) in San Mateo, California, U.S.
Founder| David Luntz
Defunct| February 12, 2010 (2010-02-12)
Headquarters|

Foster City, California

U.S.

Number of employees

| <45 (2008)
Parent| Activision (2002–2010)

Underground Development, Ltd. (formerly Z-Axis, Ltd.) was an American video game developer based in Foster City, California. It was founded in 1994 by David Luntz and sold to Activision in May 2002. Following a rebranding to Underground Development in February 2008, the company was closed in February 2010.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Games developed as Z-Axis
* 3 Games developed as Underground Development
* 4 References

## History

Z-Axis was founded by David Luntz in 1994,[1] originally located in San Mateo, California.[2] On May 22, 2002, Activision announced that they had acquired Z-Axis in exchange for a payment of US$20.5 million in cash and stock, and up to 93,446 additional shares in Activision linked to the studio's performance.[3][4] At the time, the studio was located in Hayward, California.[3] In February 2008, Z-Axis was rebranded as Underground Development.[5][6]

Activision reported in April 2008 that they were closing Underground Development, which had the time had under 45 employees in a Foster City, California office, at the end of the coming May.[7][8][9] The studio was fully closed on February 12, 2010.[10][11]

## Games developed as Z-Axis

Year  | Title  | Platform(s)

|
|

1996  | Madden NFL '96 | Sega Genesis
1998  | Fox Sports College Hoops '99 | Nintendo 64
1999  | Alexi Lalas International Soccer | PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color
Space Invaders | PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 64
Thrasher Presents Skate and Destroy | PlayStation
2000  | Software:Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs Pastrana | PlayStation
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX | PlayStation, Game Boy Color, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows
2001  | Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX: Maximum Remix | PlayStation
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 | PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Xbox
2002  | Aggressive Inline | PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Xbox
BMX XXX | PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox
2006  | Software:X-Men: The Official Game | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360
Cancelled  | Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 3[12] | PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox
Iron Man[13] | PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox

## Games developed as Underground Development

Year  | Title  | Platform(s)

|
|

2009  | Software:Guitar Hero: Van Halen | PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Cancelled  | Call of Duty: Devil's Brigade[14] | Xbox 360

## References

1. ↑ Nutt, Christian (January 4, 2008). "Q&A: Nunchuck Games' Luntz On Testing His Ninja Reflex". https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/107632/QA_Nunchuck_Games_Luntz_On_Testing_His_Ninja_Reflex.php.
2. ↑ IGN Staff (February 18, 1998). "Z-Axis Dunks High". http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/02/19/z-axis-dunks-high.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Activision Acquires Dave Mirra Developer, Z-Axis". May 22, 2002. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/92243/Activision_Acquires_Dave_Mirra_Developer_ZAxis.php.
4. ↑ "Activision goes straight up". June 3, 2002. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/article_46084.
5. ↑ "Z-Axis renamed to Underground Development - VG247". February 14, 2008. https://www.vg247.com/2008/02/14/z-axis-renamed-to-underground-development/.
6. ↑ Activision rebrands one of its internal studios. February 18, 2008. https://www.mcvuk.com/development/activision-rebrands-one-of-its-internal-studios. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
7. ↑ "Activision confirms Underground closure". April 19, 2008. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/activision-confirms-underground-closure.
8. ↑ Activision closing Underground Developments?. April 18, 2008. https://www.mcvuk.com/development/activision-closing-underground-developments. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
9. ↑ "Activision closes Underground Development studio". April 21, 2008. https://www.engadget.com/2008/04/21/activision-closes-underground-development-studio/.
10. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (February 12, 2010). "Activision Shutters Guitar Hero Creators, GH: Van Halen Developers [Update"]. https://kotaku.com/5470149/activision-shutters-guitar-hero-creators-gh-van-halen-developers-update.
11. ↑ "Activision shuts down RedOctane, Underground Development". February 13, 2010. https://www.engadget.com/2010/02/12/activision-shuts-down-redoctane-underground-development/.
12. ↑ "Activision Nabs Z-Axis - News". http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/7426/activision-nabs-z-axis.
13. ↑ Perry, Douglass C. (2003-11-21). "Z-Axis Hiring for Iron Man, X-Men" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/11/21/z-axis-hiring-for-iron-man-x-men-2.
14. ↑ "What Was Call of Duty: Devil's Brigade?". May 14, 2010. https://kotaku.com/what-was-call-of-duty-devils-brigade-5539160.

* v
* t
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Activision

A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard

Franchises|

* 3D Ultra Minigolf
* Assault Heroes
* Cabela's
* Call of Duty
* Crash Bandicoot
* Geometry Wars
* Guitar Hero
* King's Quest
* Pitfall!
* Space Quest
* Skylanders
* Spyro
* Tony Hawk
* True Crime

Subsidiaries|

| Current|

* Beenox
* Demonware
* High Moon Studios
* Infinity Ward
* Radical Entertainment
* Raven Software
* Sledgehammer Games
* Toys for Bob
* Treyarch
* Vicarious Visions

|

Former|

* Behaviour Santiago
* Bizarre Creations
* Budcat Creations
* FreeStyleGames
* Gray Matter Interactive
* Infocom
* Luxoflux
* Massive Entertainment
* Neversoft
* RedOctane
* Shaba Games
* Sierra Entertainment
* Swordfish Studios
* Underground Development

Related|

* Blizzard Entertainment
* King
* Vivendi Games

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