Companies & Studios
From bedroom operations to publishing empires.
Activision
The first third-party publisher
Founded by rebellious Atari programmers who wanted credit for their work, Activision invented third-party publishing and proved developers mattered.
Atari
The company that started it all
Atari created the video game industry with Pong, dominated it with the 2600, and nearly destroyed it through hubris and shovelware.
Capcom
From arcade to empire
Japanese developer Capcom created Street Fighter, Mega Man, Resident Evil, and countless arcade classics, shaping gaming for decades.
Codemasters
Budget geniuses turned mainstream hitmakers
From Dizzy to Micro Machines, Codemasters blended sibling creativity, aggressive marketing, and tight budgets.
Commodore
Computers for the masses, not the classes
From typewriter repair to the best-selling computer ever, Commodore's C64 and Amiga defined home computing for millions.
Electronic Arts
We see farther
Trip Hawkins founded Electronic Arts with a revolutionary idea: treat game developers like artists and put their names on the box.
Firebird
British Telecom’s budget-to-premium powerhouse
Firebird turned a telecom side project into a publishing label that ranged from £1.99 tapes to prestige releases like Elite.
Hewson Consultants
Cult publisher for Britain’s sharpest coders
Hewson spotted garage talent, paid fair royalties, and helped launch classics like Paradroid, Uridium, and Cybernoid.
id Software
The house that Doom built
id Software created Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake, defining PC gaming and pioneering shareware distribution.
Imagine Software
The rise and spectacular fall
Imagine Software burned bright and crashed hard, becoming a cautionary tale of hype, overspending, and unfulfilled promises.
Konami
From jukeboxes to the Konami Code
Japanese arcade pioneer Konami created Frogger, Gradius, and Castlevania, plus gaming's most famous cheat code.
Llamasoft
Psychedelic software from a Welsh farmhouse
Founded by Jeff Minter, Llamasoft mixed arcade precision with absurd humour, mail-order hustle, and loyal fans.
Mastertronic
£1.99 hits from a London basement
Mastertronic flooded newsagents with budget games, giving bedroom coders a fast path from hobby to paycheck.
Melbourne House
From Australia with code
Melbourne House published some of the 8-bit era's most acclaimed games, from Way of the Exploding Fist to The Hobbit.
MicroProse
Simulations and strategy
MicroProse built an empire on military simulations and strategy games, publishing works by Sid Meier that defined genres for decades.
MOS Technology
The chip fab that changed everything
MOS Technology created the 6502 processor and the engineers who designed the SID and VIC-II—the silicon heart of the Commodore 64.
Namco
From amusement rides to Pac-Man
Namco created Pac-Man, Galaga, and dozens of arcade classics, establishing Japanese arcade dominance alongside Taito and Sega.
Nintendo
From playing cards to world domination
Nintendo's century-long journey from Kyoto card maker to gaming giant included love hotels, toys, and the console that saved an industry.
Ocean Software
The Manchester powerhouse
Ocean Software dominated 8-bit gaming with licensed hits, arcade conversions, and some of the era's most memorable loading screens.
Origin Systems
We create worlds
Origin Systems created Ultima and Wing Commander, pioneering story-driven games before Electronic Arts acquired and eventually shuttered the studio.
Psygnosis
Art direction as identity
Rising from Imagine's ashes, Psygnosis combined Roger Dean artwork with ambitious games, from Shadow of the Beast to WipEout.
Rare
From Spectrum legends to Nintendo royalty
Rare evolved from Ultimate Play the Game on the ZX Spectrum to become Nintendo's most important Western partner, creating Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye.
Sega
The arcade giant that challenged Nintendo
From American slot machines to Japanese arcades to console wars with Nintendo, Sega's journey defined competitive gaming.
Sensible Software
Innovation from Chelmsford
Jon Hare and Chris Yates built Sensible Software into a creative powerhouse, from Wizball to Sensible Soccer to Cannon Fodder.
System 3
The Last Ninja's creators
Mark Cale's System 3 delivered some of the C64's most technically impressive games, from The Last Ninja to International Karate+.
Taito
Invaders from Japan
Taito created Space Invaders and helped establish Japanese arcade dominance, shaping gaming's golden age.
Ultimate Play the Game
Before they were Rare
The Stamper brothers' Ultimate created the most technically impressive games of the Spectrum era before becoming Nintendo's Rare.
US Gold
America's games, Britain's shelves
US Gold brought American software to European markets, publishing arcade conversions and licensed games throughout the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.