Factor 5 GmbH was a German-American independent software and video game developer. The company was co-founded by five former Rainbow Arts employees in 1987 in Cologne, Germany, which served as the inspiration behind the studio's name.

In order to have a stronger relationship with Factor 5's North American partners like LucasArts, Factor 5, Inc. was established in the United States in May 1996 with legal support from LucasArts, and in late 1996 the core of the development team in Germany was relocated to the North American company headquarters in San Rafael, California. Julian Eggebrecht, one of the five initial co-founders, served as President of Factor 5's U.S. branch.

The U.S. company closed in May 2009, following the closure of Brash Entertainment, with which the company had multiple contracts. The original German company, headed by CEO Achim Moller, remained active due to its unrelated business policy and operations with the North American company.

However, in January 2011, Moller liquidated Factor 5 GmbH, and all game licenses were transferred to "Eggebrecht, Engel, Schmidt GbR".

On March 15, 2017, Factor 5 co-founder Julian Eggebrecht had announced that the company has returned and re-acquired the rights to the Turrican franchise.

History

The programming group which would eventually become Factor 5 had originally formed in the 1980s, in what cofounder Julian Eggebrecht described as a culture of hacking and multimedia programming on the local demo scene. Eggebrecht attended the Filmhochschule in Munich to become a movie director, and all the other members studied computer science.

Their first important success, however, came with Turrican, The suit was filed in Marin Superior Court.

Games

Factor 5 GmbH

Amiga

  • 1988: Katakis
  • 1989: R-Type
  • 1990: Turrican
  • 1990: Masterblazer (intro only)
  • 1991: Turrican II: The Final Fight
  • 1992: BC Kid
  • 1993: Turrican 3 (conversion program by Neon Studios)
  • 1994: Tony & Friends in Kellogg's Land

Atari ST

  • 1990: Turrican
  • 1991: Turrican II: The Final Fight

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

  • 1993: Super Turrican
  • 1994: Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures
  • 1995: Super Turrican 2

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis

  • 1993: Mega Turrican (released in 1994)
  • 1994: Mega Bomberman 8-players (unpublished demo)
  • 1996: International Superstar Soccer Deluxe

Game Boy

  • 1994: Contra: The Alien Wars
  • 1995: Animaniacs

MS-DOS

  • 1994: Tony & Friends in Kellogg's Land

PlayStation

  • 1996: Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire
  • 1997: Ballblazer Champions

Cancelled games

  • Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures (completed but unreleased) (Sega Mega Drive/Genesis)

Factor 5, Inc.

Nintendo 64

  • 1998: Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
  • 1999: Pokémon Stadium (Sound Compression Technology)
  • 1999: Resident Evil 2 (Sound Compression Technology)
  • 1999: Elmo's Letter Adventure (Sound Compression Technology)
  • 2000: San Francisco Rush 2049 (Sound Compression Technology)
  • 2000: Star Wars: Episode I: Battle for Naboo
  • 2000: Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
  • 2000: Pokémon Stadium 2 (Sound Compression Technology)

Microsoft Windows

  • 1999: Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D
  • 2001: Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo

GameCube

  • 2001: Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
  • 2003: Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike

PlayStation 3

  • 2007: Lair

Cancelled games

  • Animal Wars (PS3)
  • Icarus (reboot of Kid Icarus) (Wii)
  • Untitled Pilotwings project (GameCube)
  • Star Wars Rogue Squadron: Rogue Leaders Wii (completed but unreleased) (Wii)
  • Thornado (Nintendo 64)
  • Thornado (GameCube)
  • Turrican: Cyclone (PS3)
  • Virus (PS3)
  • WeFly (Wii)
  • Superman (PS3, Xbox 360)

Technology

  • MusyX: Dolby Sound Tools - Developed for Nintendo 64, GameCube, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance
  • DivX For Games SDK - Developed for GameCube

References

  • Factor 5 profile at IGN
  • Factor 5 profile at GameSpot