Blackbird Interactive is a Canadian video game development studio based in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

History

Blackbird was founded in 2007 by former members of

Relic Entertainment Relic Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as THQ Canada Inc.) is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver, founded in 1997. The studio specializes in real-time strategy games and is known for series such as '' Homeworld'', '' Warhammer 4 ...

and

EA Canada EA Vancouver (formerly known as EA Burnaby, then EA Canada) is a Canadian video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The development studio opened as Distinctive Software in January 1983, and is also Electronic Arts's largest a ...

. CEO Rob Cunningham and chief creative officer Jon Aaron Kambeitz had also been founding members of Relic, and had been on the development team for the 1999

RTS RTS may refer to: Medicine * Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim * Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma * Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...

Homeworld ''Homeworld'' is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra Studios on September 28, 1999, for Windows. Set in space, the science fiction game follows the Kushan exiles of the planet Kharak after t ...

'' and its 2003 sequel, ''

Homeworld 2 ''Homeworld 2'' is a real-time strategy video game sequel to '' Homeworld'', developed by Relic Entertainment and released in 2003 by now defunct publisher Sierra Entertainment. Its story concerns Hiigara's response to a new enemy called the Vayg ...

''. In 2010, after beginning operations, Blackbird began working on a game they considered a "spiritual successor" to ''Homeworld'', entitled ''Hardware: Shipbreakers''. The studio entered into negotiations with

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initial ...

, which controlled Relic, for adapting their original game into a ''Homeworld'' game, but were unable to secure access to the

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

. THQ went bankrupt in April 2013, and sold off its assets at auction. Blackbird and

Gearbox Software Gearbox Software, L.L.C is an American video game developer, video game development company based in Frisco, Texas. It was established as a limited liability company in February 1999 by five developers formerly of Rebel Boat Rocker. Randy Pitch ...

were among the bidders for the IP rights to ''

''; Gearbox won the auction at $1.35 million. Gearbox allowed Blackbird to use the ''Homeworld'' IP and invested in the ''Hardware: Shipbreakers'' project, which was renamed ''Homeworld: Shipbreakers'' in September 2013. In December 2015, it was officially announced for release as '' Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak''; it was released on January 20, 2016. In February 2017, Blackbird announced a collaboration with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

to create Project Eagle, an interactive art model of a base on

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

to be demonstrated live on stage at the 2017

D.I.C.E. Summit The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...

. In August 2019, Blackbird announced that it had begun development of a new Homeworld title, ''

Homeworld 3 ''Homeworld 3'' is a real-time strategy video game developed by Blackbird Interactive and published by Gearbox Software. The game was released on May 13, 2024. Gameplay ''Homeworld 3'' is a 3D real-time strategy game set in space. According ...

'', as a direct sequel to ''Homeworld 2'' released in 2003. As of the announcement date, the game was still in pre-production stages, and a tentative release date of late 2022 was given. Many key developers of the first two ''Homeworld'' games will return to lead the development of ''Homeworld 3'', including Blackbird CEO Rob Cunningham and ''Homeworld'' soundtrack composer

Paul Ruskay Paul Ruskay is a sound designer and composer of several video games and films. He currently runs his own sound studio, Studio X Labs. He is most noted as being the composer (with the exception of two tracks) of the game '' Homeworld''. His sty ...

. In November 2019, Blackbird announced that it had been involved in the development of ''

Minecraft Earth ''Minecraft Earth'' was an augmented reality and geolocation-based sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios and Blackbird interactive and published by Xbox Game Studios. A spin-off of the video game ''Minecraft'', it was first announced in May ...

''. Blackbird revived the ''Shipbreaker'' name and concept with the space salvage simulator '' Hardspace: Shipbreaker'', which was released in early access on June 16, 2020. From September to December 2021, Blackbird trialed the four-day work week with two of its teams, one of which was the team behind ''Shipbreaker''. The trial was a success, with the majority of developers surveyed stating that it improved their work-life balance, wellness, and ability to complete work. The studio intends to implement the four-day work week across all of its teams, beginning in April 2022. Citing the cancellation of several unannounced projects, Blackbird Interactive laid off 41 employees in August 2023. In February 2024, Homeworld 3 was delayed from March 8 to May 13 in order to incorporate player feedback from the game's demo release. That same month, another round of layoffs took place.

Games developed

References

External links

*{{officialsite, http://blackbirdinteractive.com Canadian companies established in 2007 Companies based in Vancouver Video game companies established in 2007 Video game companies of Canada Video game development companies 2007 establishments in British Columbia