Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited, was a British software house based in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, working mostly in the

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

market. Like many software houses established in the 1980s, their primary market was the

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data bu ...

range of computers such as the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

Commodore 16 The Commodore 16 is a home computer made by Commodore International with a 6502-compatible 7501 or 8501 CPU, released in 1984 and intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20. A cost-reduced version, the Commodore 116, was ...

and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

. The company was acquired by French

video game publisher A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer. They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer ...

Infogrames Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA ()), also known as Atari Group, is a French holding company headquartered in Paris that owns mainly video gaming-related interactive entertainment properties. Atari SA's core subsidiaries include ...

in 1999 and was renamed Infogrames Studios in 2000. Infogrames Studios closed down in 2003.

History

The company, originally a computer store called Just Micro, was established as a software house in 1984 with the name Gremlin Graphics Software Ltd by Ian Stewart and Kevin Norburn with US Gold's Geoff Brown owning 75% of the company until mid-1989. Gremlin's early success was based on games such as '' Wanted: Monty Mole'' for the

and '' Thing on a Spring'' for the

. In 1994, it was renamed as Gremlin Interactive, now concentrating on the 16-bit, PC and console market. Gremlin enjoyed major success with the '' Zool'' and ''

Premier Manager ''Premier Manager'' is a series of a football management simulation video games started in 1992. Published by Gremlin Interactive, it was first developed by Realms of Fantasy, later passed to Spanish company Dinamic Multimedia. The later games ...

'' series in the early 1990s, and then with ''

Actua Soccer ''Actua Soccer'' (''VR Soccer'' in North America) is a sports video game developed and published by Gremlin Interactive for MS-DOS, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn. The game features a variety of teams and leagues to choose from, including national ...

'', the first

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

game in full 3D; other successful games included the '' Lotus'' racing series; a futuristic racing game, '' Motorhead''; a stunt car racing game, ''

Fatal Racing ''Fatal Racing'', known as ''Whiplash'' in North America, is a 3D stunt car racing video game developed and published by Gremlin Interactive in Europe in 1995 for MS-DOS, and published in 1996 by Interplay Productions in North America. In ''Fat ...

'' (1995); and the 1998 flight simulator '' Hardwar''. Following EA's success with the

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

brand, Gremlin also released their own sports videogame series, adding

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and

Ice Hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

to their '' Actua Sports'' series. During this time, they used a '' motif'' from the Siegfried Funeral March from ''

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86D, is the last of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). I ...

'' as introductory music. The company was floated on the stock market to raise funds. In 1997, Gremlin acquired Imagitec Design and

DMA Design Rockstar North (Rockstar Games UK Limited; formerly DMA Design Limited) is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Edinburgh. The studio is best known for creating the ''Lemmings (series), Lemmings'' and ''Grand ...

(creators of ''

Grand Theft Auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is prima ...

'' and ''

Lemmings A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also incl ...

''). In 1999, they themselves were bought by

for around £24 million and renamed "Infogrames Sheffield House". Infogrames closed the studio in 2003. The building they latterly occupied near Devonshire Green has since been demolished when Infogrames Sheffield House was supposed to be renamed "Atari Sheffield House". In October 2003, Zoo Digital, the successor company to Gremlin, purchased the company's assets from the now-named

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

. Following the administration of Zoo Digital (later renamed Zushi Games), Gremlin Interactive's catalogue and name were bought up by Ian Stewart's new company Urbanscan. The Gremlin trademarks (including the g Gremlin logo) are now owned by Warner Bros Entertainment.

Key staff

Gremlin staff had included: * Kevin Bulmer – Designer/graphics artist * Jon Harrison – Designer/graphics artist * Gary Priest – Programmer * Bill Allen – Programmer * Richard Stevenson – Programmer * David Martin – Marketing Director *

Ben Daglish Ben Daglish (31 July 1966 – 1 October 2018) was an English composer and musician. Born in London, his parents moved to Sheffield when he was one year old. He was known for creating many soundtracks for home computer games during the 1980s, inc ...

– Outsourced Musician * Ade Carless – Designer/graphics artist * Shaun McClure – Graphics artist / Art Resource Manager *

Antony Crowther Antony Crowther (born 10 May 1965) is a former designer, programmer, and musician of Commodore 64 games. During the 1980s he worked for Alligata, Gremlin Graphics and later his own company, Wizard Development. Career The first computer game he ...

('Ratt') – Designer, programmer * Asad Habib – Lead Tester * Paul Whitehead – Tester / Designer * Ian Stewart – Managing director * Kevin Norburn – Operations director * Patrick Phelan – Software manager/sound engineer * Chris Harvey – Lead console programmer * Wayne Laybourn – Artist * Chris Shrigley – Designer / Programmer * Peter Harrap – Programmer * Chris Kerry – Programmer * Shaun Hollingworth – Programmer * MicroProjects Ltd (Jason Perkins, Mark Rogers, Anthony Clarke) * Richard Hall – Production Manager

Video games

As Gremlin Interactive

*''Monty Mole'' series (1984–1990) **'' Wanted: Monty Mole'' (1984) **'' Monty Is Innocent'' (1985) **''

Monty on the Run ''Monty on the Run'' is a computer game created by the software house Gremlin Graphics and released in 1985 for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 16, written by Peter Harrap for the ZX Spectrum with the iconic in-game music ...

'' (1985) **'' Auf Wiedersehen Monty'' (1987) **'' Moley Christmas'' (1987) **'' Impossamole'' (1990) *'' Potty Pigeon'' (1984) *'' Bounder'' (1985) **''Re-Bounder'' (1987) *'' Grumpy Gumphrey Supersleuth'' (1985) *'' Gauntlet'' (1985) **'' Gauntlet: The Deeper Dungeons'' (1987) *'' Thing on a Spring'' (1985) *'' Zone X'' (1985) *'' Jack the Nipper'' (1986) **'' Jack the Nipper II: In Coconut Capers'' (1987) *'' Trailblazer'' (1986) **'' Cosmic Causeway: Trailblazer II'' (1987) *'' Alternative World Games'' (1987) *'' Basil the Great Mouse Detective'' (1987) *''

Deflektor ''Deflektor'' is a puzzle video game developed by Vortex Software and published by Gremlin Graphics in December 1987. The game was followed by a 1989 sequel, ''Mindbender''. The game was also ported to the Sharp X68000 by Bullet-Proof Software ...

'' (1987) *'' Gary Lineker's Superstar Soccer'' (1987) *'' Technocop'' (1988) *'' Motor Massacre'' (1988) *''

Dark Fusion ''Dark Fusion'' is a horizontally-scrolling platform game, platform shooter published by Gremlin Graphics in 1988. Levels are divided into three zones: Combat zone, Alien zone, and Flight zone. To enter a new zone, the player must first find a f ...

'' (1988) *'' Mickey Mouse: The Computer Game'' (1988) *''

The Muncher ''The Muncher'' is a video game for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum that was released in 1988. It was produced by Beam Software and released by Gremlin Graphics. The game involves the monster from '' Chewits'' attacking modern day Japan. Gamep ...

'' (1988) *''

Axel's Magic Hammer ''Axel's Magic Hammer'' is a platform game developed by Core Design and published by Gremlin Interactive, Gremlin Graphics in 1989. The game was released for the Amiga and Atari ST. References External links

* * 1989 video games Amiga ...

'' (1989) *''

Federation of Free Traders A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the co ...

'' (1989) *'' H.A.T.E.: Hostile All-Terrain Encounter'' (1989) *''

Switchblade A switchblade (also known as switch knife, automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, flick knife, gravity knife, flick blade, or spring knife) is a pocketknife with a sliding or pivoting blade contained in the handle which is extended ...

'' (1989) **'' Switchblade II'' (1991) *'' Lotus'' series (1990–1992) **''Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge'' (1990) **''Lotus Turbo Challenge 2'' (1991) **''Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge'' (1992) *'' Skidz (1990) *'' Super Cars'' (1990) **'' Super Cars II'' (1991) *'' Toyota Celica GT Rally'' (1990) *'' Venus The Flytrap'' (1990) *''

HeroQuest ''HeroQuest'', is an adventure board game created by Milton Bradley Company, Milton Bradley in conjunction with the British company Games Workshop in 1989, and re-released in 2021. The game is loosely based around archetypes of fantasy role-pl ...

'' (1991) **'' HeroQuest II: Legacy of Sorasil'' (1994) *'' BSS Jane Seymour'' (aka ''Spacewrecked'') (1990) *'' Team Suzuki'' (1991) *'' Utopia: The Creation of a Nation'' (1991) *''

Harlequin Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...

'' (1992) *'' Jeep Jamboree: Off Road Adventure'' (1992) *'' Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing'' (1992) *''

Plan 9 from Outer Space ''Plan 9 from Outer Space'' is a 1957 American Independent film, independent science fiction film, science fiction-horror film produced, written, directed, and edited by Ed Wood. The film was shot in black-and-white in November 1956 and had ...

'' (1992) *''

'' series (1992–2000) **''

'' (1992) **''

Premier Manager 2 ''Premier Manager 2'', also known as ''PM2'', is a football management simulator video game for the Amiga, Atari ST, and DOS platforms. It was released in 1993 by Gremlin Interactive. The objective of the game is to manage a football club succ ...

'' (1993) **''

Premier Manager 3 ''Premier Manager 3'', also known as ''PM3'', is a football management simulator video game for the Amiga and MS-DOS platforms. It was released in 1994 by Gremlin Interactive. The objective of the game is to manage a football club successfully ...

'' (1994) **''

Premier Manager 97 ''Premier Manager 97'' is a football management simulator video game developed by Gremlin Interactive and published by Sega for the Mega Drive in 1996. A PC Windows version was released in 1997. It is the fourth game in the ''Premier Manager'' ...

'' (1996) **''

Premier Manager 98 ''Premier Manager 98'' is a football management simulation video game released for the PC in 1997 and the PlayStation the following year. It was developed by Dinamic Multimedia and published by Gremlin Interactive. It is the fifth game in the ...

'' (1997) **'' Premier Manager: Ninety Nine'' (1999) *''

Space Crusade ''Space Crusade'' is an adventure board game produced by Milton Bradley together with Games Workshop and was first made in 1990. It was produced in the UK and available in some other countries including Finland, Ireland, France, Spain, Denma ...

'' (1992) *''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...

'' (1992) **''

Top Gear 2 ''Top Gear 2'' (released as ''Top Racer 2'' in Japan) is a racing game video game developed and published by Gremlin Interactive. A direct sequel to the 1992 game ''Top Gear'', it was first released by Kemco for the SNES in North America in Septe ...

'' (1993) **'' Top Gear 3000'' (1995) *'' Zool'' (1992) **''

Zool 2 ''Zool 2'' is a side-scrolling platform video game originally developed by The Warp Factory and published by Gremlin Graphics for the Amiga in November 1993. It is the sequel to the original '' Zool'', which was released earlier in 1992 on variou ...

'' (1993) *'' Jungle Strike'' (1993) *'' Litil Divil'' (1993) *'' Full Throttle: All-American Racing'' (1994) *'' K240'' (1994) *'' Newman/Haas IndyCar featuring Nigel Mansell'' (1994) *'' Race Days'' (1994) *'' Shadow Fighter'' (1994) *'' Actua Sports'' series (1995–1999) **''

'' (1995) **'' Actua Golf'' (1996) **'' Actua Soccer 2'' (1997) **'' Actua Golf 2'' (1998) **''Actua Ice Hockey'' (1998) **''Actua Tennis'' (1998) **''Actua Soccer 3'' (1998) **'' Actua Pool'' (1999) **''Actua Ice Hockey 2'' (1999) **''Actua Golf 3'' (1999) **''

UEFA Euro 96 England ''UEFA Euro 96 England'' is an association football video game developed by Gremlin Interactive and published by Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List ...

'' (1996) *''

'' (1995) *'' Loaded'' (1995) **'' Re-Loaded'' (1996) *'' Slipstream 5000'' (1995) *'' Normality'' (1996) *'' Hardcore 4X4'' (1996) *'' Fragile Allegiance'' (1996) *'' Realms of the Haunting'' (1997) *''

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

'' (1997) *'' Buggy'' (1998) *'' Motorhead'' (1998) *'' N2O'' (1998) *''

Body Harvest ''Body Harvest'' is a 1998 action-adventure video game developed by DMA Design and published by Gremlin Interactive for the Nintendo 64. It was intended to be a launch title for the system, but was delayed due to its original publisher, Nintend ...

'' (1998) *'' Hardwar'' (1998) *'' Wild Metal Country'' (1999) *''

Soulbringer ''Soulbringer'' is a fantasy RPG developed by Gremlin Interactive and published by Interplay Entertainment and Infogrames in 2000. It was later packed and shipped in combination with Interplay's '' Planescape: Torment''. Plot The game starts o ...

'' (2000)

As Infogrames Sheffield House

References

External links

Wayback Archive

Gremlin Interactive profile
from

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

{{Authority control 1984 establishments in England 2003 disestablishments in England Atari Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom Video game companies established in 1984 Video game companies disestablished in 2003 Defunct companies based in Sheffield Video game development companies