Gremlin Interactive (defunct)

About

A UK-based games developer which created the Actua Soccer franchise among many others. The company began as Just Micro, changing its name to Gremlin Graphics Software and eventually Gremlin Interactive. After it was purchased by Infogrames in 1999 it became Infogrames Sheffield House. It closed its doors in 2001.

Gremlin Interactive was a British game development studio situated in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. They were originally known as Gremlin Graphics Software Ltd. but changed their name to Gremlin Interactive in 1994.

Initially, the company was a computer shop located in Sheffield, England called Just Micro. It subsequently expanded to become a full-fledged software house. By April 1999, Gremlin grew to a large company, emplying more than 300 people. Gremlin's primary publisher (in the US) was Interplay. The company was acquired by Infogrames in 1999 and was subsequently closed in 2003, though the Gremlin name itself was effectively defunct as of the 1999 acquisition. The original founder of the company, Ian Stewart, and his new company Urbanscan bought back the company's catalog and name from Atari in 2011.

Gremlin Interactive were also known for purchasing DMA Design in 1996, the Scottish company that produced Lemmings and the first Grand Theft Auto and would one day become Rockstar North. Control of DMA Design was (briefly) passed to Infogrames after the French company's acquisition of Gremlin.

Many of Gremlin's most successful products were sports and racing games such as Lotus, Premier Manager, Micro Machines and Actua Soccer. The also enjoyed acclaim and fan devotion for their computer game conversions of the Games Workshop table-top games Space Crusade and Hero Quest.