Human Head Studios

Human Head Studios, Inc.

Type| Private
Industry| Video games
Successor| Roundhouse Studios
Founded| October 1997; 28 years ago (1997-10)
Founders|

* Ben Gokey
* Shane Gurno
* Ted Halsted
* Paul MacArthur
* Chris Rhinehart
* James Sumwalt

Defunct| November 13, 2019; 6 years ago (2019-11-13)
Headquarters|

Madison, Wisconsin

U.S.

Key people

| Chris Rhinehart
Paul MacArthur
Ben Gokey
Ted Halsted
Jim Sumwalt
Shane Gurno
Products| Rune
Prey

Human Head Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer located in Madison, Wisconsin.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Games developed
* 2.1 Cancelled
* 2.2 As Roundhouse Studios
* 3 References
* 4 External links

## History

Human Head Studios was founded in October 1997 by a group of six developers formerly from Raven Software: Ben Gokey, Chris Rhinehart, Paul MacArthur, Ted Halsted, James Sumwalt, and Shane Gurno—later joined by game producer Tim Gerritsen as co-owner in June 1998. Regarding the origin of the studio's name, Gerritsen explained: "When the guys were thinking of leaving Raven Software, someone posted a message via e-mail that they had lost some money. This started people saying they had lost all sorts of things. One person posted that they had misplaced a bag of human heads and this gave the inspiration for the name."[1] Their first game was Rune, a third-person Viking action game. The company also worked on the long-anticipated first-person shooter Prey, a game that was executive produced by 3D Realms.

On April 20, 2007, a news report indicated that the company's headquarters were partially destroyed in a fire.[2] No injuries were reported. On October 1, 2007, the company moved back into their newly renovated offices. In 2014, Human Head announced that they have revived a multiplayer video game called Minimum from TimeGate Studios, which filed for bankruptcy in 2013.[3] Their final major release was the infamous The Quiet Man, an action-adventure beat-em-up published by Square Enix which features full-motion video cutscenes.

On November 13, 2019, the studio announced its closure, immediately after the release of Rune II. The whole team subsequently formed a new studio, Roundhouse Studios, under ZeniMax Media. Chris Rhinehart of Human Head/Roundhouse stated that "Sadly, we had to wind down the business of Human Head Studios and close its doors", but had been able to reach out to ZeniMax to establish this new studio.[4] Roundhouse Studios was closed without releasing any games in May 2024, only having codeveloped Redfall with Arkane Austin, and its team was moved to ZeniMax Online Studios.

## Games developed

Year | Title | Publisher(s) | Platform(s)

|
|
|

2000 | Rune | Gathering of Developers | Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux
2000 | Blair Witch Volume II: The Legend of Coffin Rock | Microsoft Windows
2001 | Rune: Halls of Valhalla | Microsoft Windows
2001 | Rune: Viking Warlord | Take-Two Interactive | PlayStation 2
2004 | Dead Man's Hand | Atari, SA | Xbox, Microsoft Windows
2006 | Prey | 2K Games | Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, macOS, Linux
2011 | Brink[5] | Bethesda Softworks | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2012 | Fort Courage | Human Head Studios | iOS
2013 | Defiance[5] | Trion Worlds | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2014 | Minimum | Atari, SA | Microsoft Windows
2015 | Lost Within[6] | Amazon Game Studios | iOS, Android
2015 | Dungeon Defenders II | Trendy Entertainment | Xbox One, PlayStation 4[7]
2018 | The Quiet Man[8] | Square Enix | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4
2018 | Survived By | Digital Extremes | Microsoft Windows
2019 | Rune II | Ragnarok Game, LLC | Microsoft Windows

### Cancelled

* Prey 2[9]

### As Roundhouse Studios

Year  | Title  | Publisher(s)  | Platform(s)

|
|
|

2023  | Redfall[10] | Bethesda Softworks | Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X/S

## References

1. ↑ Keefer, John (March 31, 2006). "GameSpy Retro: Developer Origins, Page 7 of 19". http://www.gamespy.com/articles/697/697083p7.html.
2. ↑ "Massive Fire Destroys East Side Building". Channel3000. April 20, 2007. http://www.channel3000.com/news/12618256/detail.html.
3. ↑ Chalk, Andy (April 10, 2014). "Ex-Prey 2 Studio Takes Over TimeGate's Minimum". The Escapist. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133848-Ex-Prey-2-Studio-Takes-Over-TimeGates-Minimum.
4. ↑ Ivan, Tom (November 13, 2019). "New Bethesda studio formed as Human Head Studios closes". Video Games Chronicle. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/new-bethesda-studio-formed-as-human-head-studios-closes/.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 R. Conklin, Aaron (July 24, 2014). "Inside the minds of Human Head Studios". Isthmus. https://isthmus.com/screens/games/inside-the-minds-of-human-head-studios/.
6. ↑ Phillips, Tom (March 3, 2015). "Prey developer Human Head announces survival horror Lost Within". Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-03-09-prey-developer-human-head-announces-survival-horror-lost-within.
7. ↑ Crecente, Brian (June 11, 2015). "Dungeon Defenders 2 coming to PS4 this year with help from Prey developer". Polygon. http://www.polygon.com/2015/6/11/8766547/dungeon-defenders-2-coming-to-ps4-this-year-with-help-from-prey.
8. ↑ Minotti, Mike (June 11, 2018). "The Quiet Man may be Square Enix's first deaf hero". VentureBeat. https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/11/the-quiet-man-may-be-square-enixs-first-deaf-hero.
9. ↑ Pitcher, Jenna (October 30, 2014). "Bethesda officially confirms Prey 2 cancellation". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/31/prey-2-is-officially-cancelled.
10. ↑ J. Capel, Chris (October 10, 2022). "Redfall game and Prey 2006 devs have an unannounced project". PCGamesN. https://www.pcgamesn.com/redfall/prey-new-game. Retrieved May 25, 2023.

## External links

* Human Head Studios at MobyGames

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