NovaLogic, Inc. was an American software developer and publisher established in 1985 and based in
Calabasas, California
Calabasas (, ; Spanish language in California, Spanish for "winter squash, squashes") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States.John A. Garcia. Garcia's background in computer software started in Southern California in the early 1980s, when he worked at
Datasoft
Datasoft, Inc. (also written as DataSoft) was a software developer and publisher for home computers founded in 1980 by Pat Ketchum and based out of Chatsworth, Los Angeles, Chatsworth, California. Datasoft primarily published video games, includi ...
. The company was known for their Voxel Space engine, which was utilized in franchises such as the ''
Comanche
The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...
'' and ''
Delta Force
The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), also known as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as Task Force Green, is a Special operation forces, special operat ...
'' series. In October 2016, NovaLogic's assets were bought out by
THQ Nordic
THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were r ...
who are not currently using the label.
History
Originally, NovaLogic worked on new versions of previously published games. Taito America was a major client of the company and most (if not all) of NovaLogic's earliest games were PC conversions of Taito arcade games. NovaLogic's 1992 game '' Comanche: Maximum Overkill'' was the first release that utilized the Voxel Space engine, which allowed for larger outdoor environments and more detailed terrain. The engine was conceived by
electrical engineer
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
Kyle Freeman. Freeman's engine stemmed from his earlier creations of medical technology. In addition, the cancelled
CD-i
The Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I, later CD-i) is a digital optical disc data storage format as well as a hardware platform, co-developed and marketed by Dutch company Philips and Japanese company Sony. It was created as an extension of CDDA ...
sequel to ''
Super Mario World
''Super Mario World'', known in Japan as '' is a 1990 platform game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The player controls Mario on his quest to save Princess Peach and Dino ...
'', '' Super Mario's Wacky Worlds'', was in development by NovaLogic. Due to the failure of the Phillips CD-i platform, the project was cancelled in 1993.
''Comanche: Maximum Overkill'' kickstarted a string of releases by NovaLogic that simulated military battles. Other games included the '' F-22'' plane simulators, '' Armored Fist'' tank simulators, and expanding the ''Comanche'' helicopter simulators. After releasing several successful military-themed games, the company started NovaLogic Systems, Inc. (NLS) on February 13, 1996. They were initially contracted by the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
to create training simulations for the branch. In 1997, NovaLogic launched its free online matchmaking service, NovaWorld. The service allowed for large online battles and stat tracking.
In 1998, NovaLogic continued to evolve their Voxel Space engine for the inaugural game in the ''
Delta Force
The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), also known as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as Task Force Green, is a Special operation forces, special operat ...
'' series. The game was a
first-person shooter
A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...
set in large outdoor environments in a realistic military setting. It also featured the online NovaWorld system, which allowed for large numbers of players in a singular server. The game was well-received and it prompted the company to continue the franchise. '' Delta Force 2'' was released in 1999, followed by '' Delta Force: Land Warrior'' in 2000. The trilogy of ''Delta Force'' titles were successful in the United Kingdom as indicated by ELSPA's chart. ''Delta Force'' peaked at #3 in February 1999, ''Delta Force 2'' peaked at #2 in February 2000, and ''Delta Force: Land Warrior'' peaked at #1 in March 2001.
NovaLogic also ventured into space combat with '' Tachyon: The Fringe'', featuring Bruce Campbell in the lead voice acting role. In 2001, the company released '' Comanche 4'', the fourth and final game in the long-running series. NovaLogic, in collaboration with artist
Gerald Brom
Gerald Brom (born March 9, 1965), known professionally as Brom, is an American Gothic art, gothic fantasy artist and illustrator, known for his work in role-playing games, novels, and comic books, comics.
Early life
Brom was born March 9, 1965, i ...
, also planned to develop a PC fantasy first-person shooter entitled ''Necrocide: The Dead Must Die'' based on the ''Delta Force: Land Warrior'' engine; however, the game got cancelled in 2002.
''Delta Forces first game on consoles was released in 2002, titled '' Delta Force: Urban Warfare'' for the Sony PlayStation. It was released late in the original PlayStation's life, in July 2002. The fourth main game in the series was released in 2003 as '' Delta Force: Black Hawk Down''. The game was a success, and it sold over 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom alone while peaking at #2 on ELSPA's chart in April 2003. It was also the best-selling game for the month of April in the United States, peaking at #1 on NPD Techworld's chart.
NovaLogic launched '' Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising'' in 2004, which was another first-person shooter similar to the ''Delta Force'' series, but the game had more focus on
multiplayer
A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
. The company claimed to have set a world record for the "largest first-person shooter game", which was quickly refuted by
Sony Online Entertainment
Daybreak Game Company LLC is an American video game developer based in San Diego. The company was founded in December 1997 as Sony Online Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, but was spun off to an independent investor in ...
for its game '' PlanetSide'' that had routinely hosted hundreds of players on a single server. Ultimately the company settled for the title of "largest modern combat first-person shooter without a subscription".
One year later, NovaLogic released ''Delta Force: Black Hawk Down'' for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
and
Microsoft Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
consoles, developed by Climax Group. The port allowed up to 50 players in a multiplayer game, breaking the record for the largest console multiplayer battles at the time. That same year, NovaLogic was fined $153,500 by the
Business Software Alliance
The Software Alliance, also known as BSA, is a trade group of business software companies established in 1998. Its principal activity is trying to stop copyright infringement of software produced by its members. It is a member of the International ...
after an audit found they had unlicensed copies of software by Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, FileMaker, Macromedia, Microsoft, and Symantec.
NovaLogic continued their flagship franchise with the fifth main game '' Delta Force: Xtreme'' in 2005. The company had taken elements from the initial 1998 ''Delta Force'' game and recreated them in ''Delta Force: Xtreme'', with updated graphics and gameplay. In 2008, publisher MTR Soft had displayed information about NovaLogic's then-upcoming title '' Delta Force: Angel Falls''. In December 2008, NovaLogic announced they had cut ties with MTR Soft, due to MTR using the license to gain additional funds. Also in 2008, NovaLogic released an alpha build of NovaWorld 2.0 that featured better performance and features. In June 2009, NovaLogic released the sixth main ''Delta Force'' game, titled '' Delta Force: Xtreme 2''. It was released simultaneously at retail and online via digital download. The game's engine and features were extremely similar to the previous game ''Delta Force: Xtreme''. It became the final game in the franchise, as ''Delta Force: Angel Falls'' was never completed. ''Delta Force: Xtreme 2'' also ultimately became the final game released by NovaLogic. All titles released by the company afterwards were either compilations or re-releases.
In 2012, NovaLogic attempted to sue
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
for its usage of the ''Delta Force'' name within its game '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'', alleging that the usage would confuse consumers and would also damage NovaLogic's reputation. One year later, NovaLogic lost the case in court as the judge ruled in Activision's favor. On October 31, 2016, it was announced that the game developer and publisher
THQ Nordic
THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were r ...
had acquired all of NovaLogic's assets, while buying out
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
' minority stake. The NovaLogic name remained dormant after the purchase; however, THQ Nordic revived the ''Comanche'' name for a new game in the franchise, with an
early access
Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release Software release life cycle, developm ...
release in 2020.
In August 2023, Tencent revealed a revival of the series with ''Delta Force: Hawk Ops''. It was described as a large-scale PvP first-person shooter with
cross-platform
Within computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several Computing platform, computing platforms. Some ...