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Monolith Productions

2025-08-22T21:14:24Z

2600:8800:97:E200:90C0:A24E:95B5:68DF: /* Developed */closed table

{{short description|Defunct American video game developer}}
{{Distinguish|text=[[Monolith Soft]], a Japanese video game studio}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{More citations needed|date=February 2025}}{{Infobox company
| name = Monolith Productions, Inc.
| logo = File: Monolith Productions Logo.png
| logo_size = 150px
| logo_caption = Final logo, used from 2017 to 2025
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| foundation = {{start date and age|1994|10|25}}<ref>{{cite tweet|user=MonolithDev|number=1179501628631552001|date=October 2, 2019|title=October 25th is Monolith's 25th Anniversary. Twenty. Five. Years. In the business. And we've got a lot of fun stuff planned this month to celebrate. Stay tuned here for a big ol' look back at a long history of #gamedev.}}</ref>
| defunct = {{end date and age|2025|2|25}}
| fate = [[Dissolution (law)|Dissolved]]
| founders = {{Unbulleted list|Bryan Bouwman|Toby Gladwell|Brian Goble|[[Jace Hall]]|Garrett Price|Paul Renault|Brian Waite}}
| location = [[Kirkland, Washington]], United States
| industry = [[Video game industry|Video games]]
| products =
| num_employees = 100+ (2004)<ref>{{cite web|last=Fahey
|first=Rob|url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/monolith-productions-appoints-new-ceo|title=Monolith Productions appoints new CEO|website=gamesindustry.biz|date=January 16, 2004|access-date=October 27, 2016}}</ref>
| owner =
| parent = [[Warner Bros. Games]] (2004–2025)
| homepage = {{web archive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222220809/https://www.lith.com/|title=lith.com}}
}}

'''Monolith Productions, Inc.''' was an American [[video game developer]] based in [[Kirkland, Washington]]. The company was a subsidiary of [[Warner Bros. Games]] from August 2004 until its shutdown in 2025.<ref name="Warner">{{cite web|last=Thorsen|first=Tor|url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/6104711.html|title=Warner Bros. buys Monolith Productions|publisher=GameSpot|date=August 12, 2004|access-date=October 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060112145011/http://www.gamespot.com/news/6104711.html|archive-date=January 12, 2006}}</ref> It formerly published third-party games in the 1990s. In February 2025, it was reported that Warner Bros. Games had decided to close the studio.<ref name="Closure">{{Cite web |last=Blake |first=Vikki |date=2025-02-25 |title=Warner Bros shuttering Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and Warner Bros San Diego |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/warner-bros-reportedly-shuttering-monolith-productions-player-first-games-and-warner-bros-san-diego |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
Monolith Productions was founded on October 25, 1994 by Bryan Bouwman, Toby Gladwell, Brian Goble, [[Jace Hall]], Garrett Price, Paul Renault, and Brian Waite.<ref name="GameSpy">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespy.com/articles/697/697083p12.html |title=GameSpy Retro: Developer Origins, Page 12 of 19 |first=John |last=Keefer |date=March 31, 2006 |website=[[GameSpy]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609133032/http://www.gamespy.com/articles/697/697083p12.html |archive-date=June 9, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Co-founder Brian Goble had this to say regarding the company name.
{{blockquote|At the time we formed the company, [[MS-DOS|DOS]] was still the [[Operating system|OS]] of choice for games. Because of this, we knew we had to come up with a name that was 8 characters or less (for [[8.3 filename|8.3 filenames]]). We had been researching story and technology ideas for our demo CD and we were watching a lot of movies. "Monolith" came up, was semi mysterious, wasn't taken, and was 8 characters. Perfect.<ref name="GameSpy"/>}}

Several of the founders, include Hall, were employees of software company [[Edmark]] at the time, and the group had gotten together frequently to play games like ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]''. Several felt they could try their own hand at making video games. To promote their initial ideas, they took advantage of the [[Compact Disc Digital Audio|Redbook audio]] format for compact discs that allowed both audio and digital files to be stored on the same media. Hall left Edmark to start promotion of the company, and ended up with [[Microsoft]], which was preparing for the release of [[Windows 95]]. Microsoft brought on Monolith to develop gaming CDs to demonstrate the capabilities of Windows 95 and [[DirectX]], with the remaining founders quitting Edmark and working out of offices at Microsoft's campus in Redmond, Washington.<ref name="gamesradar history">{{cite web | url = https://www.gamesradar.com/from-shogo-to-shadow-of-war-charting-the-chaotic-creative-history-of-monolith-productions/ | title = From Shogo to Shadow of War: Charting the chaotic, creative history of Monolith Productions | first = Robert | last = Zak | date = May 25, 2021
|quote = "We leased a bunch of buildings in this office park," says Garrett. "I remember walking through it with my wife and she asked 'How are you ever gonna fill all these up?' We just began rounding up our friends from other companies. We almost instantly had this whole crew." With the studio complex set up in 1996 – complete with sound studio and other high-end extras... "Q Studios was launched by our friend Nick Newhard," Garrett recalls. "In this whole pedal-to- the-metal thing, Jason was like 'Let's just acquire Q Studios, let's get Nick in, let's give him stock, let's make him a part of this too.'" Blood was a much-loved game, eventually replacing Doom as the go-to deathmatch game at Monolith.
|accessdate = February 27, 2025 | work = [[GamesRadar]] }}</ref>

Hall used the gaming CDs to continue to build out a list of contacts for future expansion. This led to a significant investment from Japanese print publisher [[Takarajimasha]], allowing Monolith to establish their own set of offices and bring on more staff to do full-time production by 1996.<ref name="gamesradar history"/> Initial work was done towards ''[[Claw (video game)|Claw]]'', a game based on a shelved project by Garrett. During development, Monolith acquired Q Studios, a development team led by a friend Nick Newhard. At the time, Q Studios was finishing work on ''[[Blood (video game)|Blood]]'' and Monolith switched to focus on shipping it instead. ''Blood'' was one of the last games to use the 2.5D [[Build (game engine)|Build engine]], but meanwhile Monolith also had a team building an in-house 3D engine. ''Blood'' was a hit with the Monolith team and replaced ''Doom'' as their office deathmatch game.<ref name="gamesradar history"/>

The company is best known for the ''[[Blood (video game)|Blood]]'', ''[[No One Lives Forever]]'' and ''[[F.E.A.R]]'' series. Monolith developed the [[LithTech]] [[game engine]] which was used for most of their games starting with ''[[Shogo: Mobile Armor Division]]'' in September 1998. Between 1997 and 1999, Monolith also [[video game publisher|published]] games–some developed by the studio, some by third parties.

By May 1997, the company employed more than 70 people.<ref>{{cite web|first=Sharon|last=Baker|url=http://seattle.bcentral.com/seattle/stories/1997/05/26/story3.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20010513034321/http://seattle.bcentral.com/seattle/stories/1997/05/26/story3.html|title=More than gore|website=[[Puget Sound Business Journal]]|archivedate=May 13, 2001|date=May 23, 1997|accessdate=July 7, 2025}}</ref>

In 2004, Monolith Productions was acquired by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (now Warner Bros. Games).<ref name="Warner"/>

In 2014, the company released the title ''[[Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor]]'' with a sequel entitled ''[[Middle-earth: Shadow of War]]'' being released in 2017.

In 2021, the company announced that they were developing a video game starring [[Wonder Woman]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Prescott |first1=Shaun |title=Wonder Woman game announced, is in development at Monolith Productions |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/wonder-woman-game-announced-is-in-development-at-monolith-productions/ |website=PC Gamer |publisher=PC Gamer |access-date=23 March 2022}}</ref>

In 2025, Warner Bros. Games closed the studio alongside [[Player First Games]] and [[WB Games San Diego]], cancelling ''Wonder Woman'' and refocusing development efforts on core intellectual properties.<ref name="Closure">{{Cite web |last=Blake |first=Vikki |date=2025-02-25 |title=Warner Bros shuttering Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and Warner Bros San Diego |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/warner-bros-reportedly-shuttering-monolith-productions-player-first-games-and-warner-bros-san-diego |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |language=en}}</ref>

== Technology ==
{{Main|LithTech}}

==Video games==

=== Developed ===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Title
! colspan="3" | Platform(s)
|-
!scope="col"| [[Personal computer|PC]]
!scope="col"| [[Video game console|Console]]
!scope="col"| [[Handheld game console|Handheld]]
|-
|rowspan="2" | 1997
| ''[[Blood (video game)|Blood]]''
| [[MS-DOS]], [[Microsoft Windows]]
| —
| —
|-
| ''[[Claw (video game)|Claw]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| —
| —
|-
|rowspan="3" | 1998
| ''[[Get Medieval]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| —
| —
|-
| ''[[Shogo: Mobile Armor Division]]''
| Microsoft Windows, [[Classic Mac OS|Mac OS]], [[Linux]], [[AmigaOS]]
| —
| —
|-
| ''[[Blood II: The Chosen]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| —
| —
|-
|rowspan="2" | 1999
| ''[[Gruntz]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| —
| —
|-
| ''TNN Outdoors Pro Hunter 2''
| Microsoft Windows
| —
| —
|-
|rowspan="2" | 2000
| ''[[Sanity: Aiken's Artifact]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| —
| —
|-
| ''[[The Operative: No One Lives Forever]]''
| Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
| [[PlayStation 2]]
| —
|-
|rowspan="2" | 2001
| ''Tex Atomic's Big Bot Battles''
| Microsoft Windows
| —
| —
|-
| ''[[Aliens Versus Predator 2]]''
| Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
| —
| —
|-
| 2002
| ''[[No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way]]''
| Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
| —
| —
|-
|rowspan="2" | 2003
| ''[[Tron 2.0]]''
| Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
| [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]]
| [[Game Boy Advance]]
|-
| ''[[Contract J.A.C.K.]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| —
| —
|-
|rowspan="3" | 2005
| ''[[The Matrix Online]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| —
| —
|-
| ''[[F.E.A.R. (video game)|F.E.A.R.]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| [[PlayStation 3]], [[Xbox 360]]
| —
|-
| ''[[Condemned: Criminal Origins]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| Xbox 360
| —
|-
| 2008
| ''[[Condemned 2: Bloodshot]]''
| —
| PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
| —
|-
| 2009
| ''[[F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
| —
|-
|rowspan="2" | 2012
| ''[[Gotham City Impostors]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
| —
|-
| ''[[Guardians of Middle-earth]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
| —
|-
| 2014
| ''[[Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor]]''
| Microsoft Windows, [[macOS|OS X]], Linux
| [[PlayStation 4]], [[Xbox One]], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
| —
|-
| 2017
| ''[[Middle-earth: Shadow of War]]''
| Microsoft Windows
| PlayStation 4, Xbox One
| —
|-
|}

=== Published ===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Title
! colspan="1" | Platform(s)
|-
!scope="col"| [[Personal computer|PC]]
|-
| 1994
| ''[[Maabus]]''
| [[MS-DOS]]
|-
| 1998
| ''[[Rage of Mages]]''
| [[Microsoft Windows]]
|-
|rowspan="3" | 1999
| ''[[Rage of Mages II: Necromancer]]''
| Microsoft Windows
|-
| ''[[Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator]]''
| Microsoft Windows
|-
| ''[[Gorky 17]]''
| Microsoft Windows, [[Classic Mac OS|Mac OS]], [[Linux]], [[AmigaOS]]
|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|https://web.archive.org/web/19961109152319/http://lith.com:80/HiBand/index.html}} (archived)
*[http://www.mobygames.com/company/monolith-productions-inc Monolith Productions] profile on [[MobyGames]]
*[http://www.giantbomb.com/monolith-productions-inc/3010-864/ Monolith Productions] entry on [[Giant Bomb]]

{{Portal bar|1990s|United States|Video games}}
{{Monolith games}}
{{Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment}}
{{Warner Bros.}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Monolith Productions| ]]
[[Category:2004 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1994]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 2025]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in Kirkland, Washington]]
[[Category:Defunct video game companies based in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Video game companies established in 1994]]
[[Category:Video game companies disestablished in 2025]]
[[Category:Video game development companies]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Games]]
[[Category:1994 establishments in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:2025 disestablishments in Washington (state)]]

Imperial Service Club

2025-08-22T07:05:23Z

2600:8800:97:E200:90C0:A24E:95B5:68DF: /* Barrack Street */end italic

{{Use Australian English|date=May 2024}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2021}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
The '''Imperial Service Club''' was a club for Australian military officers returning from war service.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p-eoDwAAQBAJ&dq=Imperial+Service+Club+australia+-wikipedia&pg=PA240|publisher=Springer|author=Philip Payton|title=Australia, Migration and Empire: Immigrants in a Globalised World |date=2019|isbn=9783030223892 }}</ref>

The club was incorporated into the Royal Automobile Club of Australia ([[RACA]]) in 1986, bringing with it a history stretching back to [[World War I]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/key-enablers/3822-a-place-to-share-stories-and-remember-mates-for-veterans-old-and-young|title=A place to share stories and remember mates for veterans old and young|date=2 April 2019 |publisher=Defence Connect}}</ref>

==History==
The ISC's first premises were in Penzance Chambers at 29 [[Elizabeth Street, Sydney]]. These were secured and furnished at the end of 1917 by a committee of returned officers who "felt the need and realised the national value of such an institution". The first ideas for this institution may have emerged from the Oxford Hotel at the corner of King and [[Phillip Street]]s, a regular meeting house for the Royal New South Wales Lancers.

An early Club document proclaimed, "It is scarcely possible to emphasise too strongly the necessity for such a Club as this, which will be a rallying point for the Officers who have served and will bind them into one strong united body, which they certainly were on service".
The objects of the Club were stated as:
# Social;
# Preserve the Friendships formed on Service;
# Maintain the Patriotic Spirit which made the AIF.

According to a fund-raising document issued in 1919, the qualifications for ISC membership were “Commissioned rank in HM Naval or Military Forces, and Active Service in a War of the Empire”. It was also intended to later admit those officers who were not of military age during the First World War, “including graduates of Duntroon Military and Jervis Bay Naval Colleges”.

The second floor of the Elizabeth Street building was fitted out to include a Smoking and Reading Room, a Billiards Room with one table, Dining and Card Rooms, and a Lounge. A dormitory and servants’ quarters were provided on the fifth floor.

===Phillip Street===
Soon after the Club was opened it became apparent that the Elizabeth Street premises were too small, and it was decided at a general meeting held at the end of 1918 to purchase a site and build new premises. By 1 September 1919, the Club had 900 members, and distinguished visitors to the Club had included the Governor-General Sir Ronald Ferguson, the State Governor [[Walter Edward Davidson|Sir Walter Davidson]], and the [[Admiral]] of the Fleet [[Earl Jellicoe|Viscount Jellicoe]].

The Committee purchased three buildings covering a 62 ft frontage at 140, 142 and 144 Phillip Street, and produced plans to remodel the front portion, obtaining a total of four floors and a basement for a total cost estimated, including purchase, at £36,000. Of this, it was necessary to raise £11,600 by direct appeal to the members. The Club President, Commander RS Lambton, sent out a letter describing the situation as "almost a matter of 'life or death' – 'club or no club'".

===Barrack Street===
The results of the appeal for funds are unrecorded, other than a list of donations including £2000 from the State government and £400 from the [[Australian Jockey Club]]. It is uncertain whether the Phillip Street premises were ever occupied. (If they were, it is an interesting coincidence that the ISC would have been a near neighbour of RACA, which occupied 132–134 Phillip Street at this time.) Certainly by the 1930s the Imperial Service Club was operating from what were to be long-held rooms in Barrack Street. One of Sydney's shortest streets, Barrack Street once formed the side gate of the George Street military barracks.

The Club was situated on several floors above Sydney's first Savings Bank, the Savings Bank of New South Wales, later the Government Savings Bank. Barrack Street itself survived potential demolition under Dr. Bradfield's plans to extend a 100 ft-wide Martin Place to York Street as part of Sydney's redesign in preparation for the new Harbour Bridge.

The [[Sydney Harbour Bridge|Harbour Bridge]] provides another ISC connection; the de [[Francis de Groot|Groot]] incident is alleged to have been planned in the ISC's Barrack Street rooms, according to Sydney historian Shirley Fitzgerald. On 19 March 1932, Francis Edward de Groot, described by the ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'' as "an officer of the New Guard", rode past Premier [[Jack Lang (Australian politician)|Jack Lang]] and cut the ribbon on the Bridge, shouting "I declare this bridge open on behalf of the respectable citizens of New South Wales". He was arrested and charged with "being deemed to be insane" and released the next day. With Lang's nationalism anathema to the officer and commercial classes, current ISC members agree it likely that such an "officers' coup" could have originated in the city's primary meeting place for commissioned servicemen.

The Club became the venue of choice for Battalion reunions and annual dinners. Links were maintained with forces in action during the [[Second World War]]. In 1942, when the crucial role of the 2/17th Battalion in the Battle of El Alamein was learned, ISC members from the 1/17th sent a message of congratulations to their successors. This message was said to have "tickled them most of all".

===York Street===
The Imperial Service Club's next premises were in [[York Street, Sydney|York Street]]. Facilities included a small gymnasium, a steam and [[sauna]] room, [[billiards]] tables, and public and private dining rooms. Characters still fondly remembered by members today included Betty the cashier, who "knew everyone and everything", and Rupert the waiter, who was kept on even when he "got the shakes" in later life. Celebrated regulars included Brigadier [[Frederick Galleghan|Sir F 'Black Jack' Galleghan]], who had commanded AIF troops in Changi and later became deputy head of the [[Commonwealth Investigation Service]] (which evolved from the wartime Military Intelligence Bureau). He could be seen most lunchtimes in the "always full" dining room, enjoying his sandwich and cup of tea. Newly commissioned young officers would usually be invited to York Street by other officers for a celebratory drink.

The York Street premises proved the Club's downfall. A fixed rent had been negotiated, but a vital clause in the contract was overlooked, allowing the raising of rent to market rates after a fixed period. This came into effect in 1984/5, almost doubling the Club's rent.

In April 1985 the ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'' reported a proposal by the ISC to the Union Club in Bent Street regarding a merger. The article detailed the Club's declining membership accompanied by escalating average fees, from a high of 4145 members and average fees of $31 in 1974, to 1574 members and fees of $260 in 1985. "Each day brings us nearer to the inevitable liquidation", said ISC President Colonel Browne.
The Club's problems were attributed to "declining membership, coupled with the effect of inflation, random breath testing and changing community attitudes towards clubs". It also noted the Club's reduction to only "dining facilities and a small bank of poker machines".

==Joining RACA==
The Union Club merger was rejected the following week. RACA's then President, Basil Clifton, later recalled that the Union club had a problem because "at that time some nurses were members of the Imperial Club but the Union Club did not accept lady members. So the Imperial Club approached me and, after due discussion with the RACA Council, we decided that we would go ahead with a merger.”

The Imperial Service Club was incorporated within RACA in 1986. At RACA's annual general meeting of February 1987, a special resolution was passed that the name of the club be changed to Royal Automobile Club of Australia incorporating Imperial Service Club. The ISC was allowed to devolve its assets into RACA as a subsidiary company, ISC Holdings Pty Ltd. The voluntary liquidation of this company was begun in 1991, the first distribution of $1,700,000 being noted in the RACA President's Report of that year.

RACA's 100th year saw the opening of the newly refurbished ISC Lounge on the third floor of the Macquarie Street Clubhouse. From there the Imperial Service Club continues its activities.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Motorsport in Australia]]
[[Category:Automobile associations in Australia]]
[[Category:1917 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:1986 disestablishments in Australia]]