War Drum Studios LLC
  • War Drum Studios (2007–2020)
  • Grove Street Games (2020–present)
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
FoundedOctober 1, 2007; 16 years ago (2007-10-01) in Gainesville, Florida, US
Founders
  • Thomas Williamson
  • Michael Owen
Headquarters
Tioga, Florida
,
US
Key people
ProductsGrand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition
Number of employees
5 (2011)
Websitegrovestreetgames.com

War Drum Studios LLC,[1] doing business as Grove Street Games since 2020, is an American video game developer based in Tioga, Florida. The company was founded as War Drum Studios in October 2007 by Thomas Williamson and Michael Owen. It is known for developing mobile game ports, including several based on Rockstar Games properties.[2]

History

Grove Street Games was founded as War Drum Studios by Thomas Williamson and Michael Owen. Williamson had been the technology director for Artificial Studios and Owen a programmer at Gainesville Regional Utilities.[3] After Williamson left Artificial Studios in 2007, he and Owen established War Drum Studios in Gainesville, Florida, on October 1, 2007.[3][4][5] They became the chief executive officer and chief technology officer, respectively.[6] The company immediately began doing contract work, starting with porting Ghostbusters: The Video Game from the Wii to the PlayStation 2. By August 2011, War Drum Studios had five employees.[3] Around that time, the company was developing an original game, Chess: Revolution, alongside a free derivative codenamed Little Green Robots that starred the mascot of the Android operating system as chess pieces.[3][7]

In 2019, War Drum Studios named Morgan Hughes as chief operating officer. Hughes had joined the company as an intern in 2008 and had been the art director since 2010.[6] In August 2020, War Drum Studios rebranded as Grove Street Games, adopting the name of Gainesville's Grove Street neighborhood in which the company was based.[4] Later that year, the company became a member of the Coalition for App Fairness.[8] Grove Street Games relocated to the Tioga Town Center in neighboring Tioga in May 2022.[9]

Games developed

Year Title Platform(s) Publisher(s) Notes Ref(s).
2009 Ghostbusters: The Video Game PlayStation 2 Atari Port development [3]
2010 Lucha Libre AAA: Héroes del Ring PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Slang Assisted the development of the multiplayer component [10]
History Great Battles Medieval Android, iOS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Slitherine Software Port development [11][12][13]
2011 Monster Madness Android SouthPeak Games Port development [14]
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad Windows Tripwire Interactive Additional programming [15]
Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary Edition Android, Fire OS, iOS Rockstar Games Port development [16]
2012 Max Payne Mobile Android, iOS Port development [17]
Auralux Android, iOS War Drum Studios Port development [18][19]
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 10th Anniversary Edition Android, Fire OS, iOS Rockstar Games Port development [20]
2013 The Conduit HD Android High Voltage Software Port development [21]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Android, Fire OS, iOS, PlayStation 3, Windows Phone, Xbox 360 Rockstar Games Port development [22]
2014 Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Android, Fire OS, iOS Port development [23]
2015 Turtle Tumble Android, iOS War Drum Studios [24]
2016 Auralux: Constellations Android, iOS, Windows [25]
Bully: Anniversary Edition Android, iOS Rockstar Games Port development [26]
2018 Ark: Survival Evolved Android, iOS Studio Wildcard Port development [27]
2021 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S Rockstar Games [2][28]
2022 Ark: Ultimate Survivor Edition Nintendo Switch Studio Wildcard Port re-development [29]
Ark: Dinosaur Discovery Nintendo Switch [30]
2023 Ark: Survival Ascended PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S Remake of Ark: Survival Evolved [31]
2024 Ark 2 Windows, Xbox Series X/S Co-development [29]

References

  1. ^ "Detail by Entity Name – War Drum Studios LLC". Florida Department of State. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022 – via Sunbiz.org.
  2. ^ a b Stark, Chelsea (October 22, 2021). "Grand Theft Auto's trilogy remaster coming Nov. 11". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e Clark, Anthony (August 3, 2011). "Local companies vie for a piece of video game market". The Gainesville Sun. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Mavrakis, Emily (August 14, 2020). "Business news: Company rebranding and new leadership". The Gainesville Sun. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  5. ^ Grove Street Games [@GroveStGames] (October 1, 2018). "We're celebrating our 11th anniversary with some fun giveaways!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021 – via Twitter. Today is our studio's 11th anniversary!
  6. ^ a b "About Us". Grove Street Games. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  7. ^ Perenson, Melissa J. (May 18, 2011). "Cool Android Tablet Apps to Watch For". PCWorld. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  8. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (November 18, 2021). "Apple to cut App Store commission to 15% for some devs". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  9. ^ "Tioga Town Center Welcomes Grove Street Games". The Business Report of North Central Florida. April 11, 2022. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  10. ^ Morgan (April 16, 2010). "Slang: AAA: Heroes del Ring". War Drum Studios. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  11. ^ Heaslip, Stephen (October 22, 2009). "HISTORY: Great Battles Medieval Trailer". Blue's News. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  12. ^ Morgan (August 31, 2010). "Slitherine Software: HISTORY™ Great Battles Medieval". War Drum Studios. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  13. ^ Morgan (June 27, 2013). "Great Battles Medieval on Mobile". War Drum Studios. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  14. ^ Newman, Jared (February 2, 2011). "Android 3.0 Honeycomb Event: 7 New Features Up Close". PCWorld. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  15. ^ Rising Storm Game Manual. Tripwire Interactive. 2011. p. 19.
  16. ^ Sterling, Jim (December 27, 2011). "Review: Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary". Destructoid. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  17. ^ Hinkle, David (April 12, 2012). "PSA: Max Payne Mobile now available". Engadget. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  18. ^ McNeill, E (November 10, 2015). "How a tiny game that should have failed grossed $800,000". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  19. ^ Blagdon, Jeff (April 2, 2021). "'Auralux' minimalist real-time strategy game coming to Tegra Zone this month". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  20. ^ Russakovskii, Artem (December 7, 2012). "Rockstar Games And War Drum Studios Launch Grand Theft Auto: Vice City For Android [Updated x2]". Android Police. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  21. ^ Fahey, Mike (March 14, 2013). "The Conduit Was an Average Wii Game. Now It's an Excellent Mobile FPS". Kotaku. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  22. ^ Leadbetter, Richard (October 31, 2014). "GTA: San Andreas HD on Xbox 360 is a mobile port". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  23. ^ Vasile, Cosmin (December 19, 2014). "Rockstar Launches GTA: Chinatown Wars on Android". Softpedia. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  24. ^ Morgan (July 9, 2015). "turtle tumble available worldwide!". War Drum Studios. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  25. ^ Burns, Chris (November 10, 2015). "Ultra-addictive space dots game Auralux returns with "Constellations"". SlashGear. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  26. ^ Phillips, Tom (December 8, 2016). "Rockstar's Bully celebrates 10th anniversary with iPhone, Android release". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  27. ^ Wilson, Jason (June 14, 2018). "Ark: Survival Evolved launches free-to-play version for iOS and Android". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  28. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (October 22, 2021). "GTA: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition out digitally in November followed by a physical release in December". VG247. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  29. ^ a b "Studio Wildcard Debuts ARK 2 Trailer Featuring Vin Diesel & Newly Signed Auliʻi Cravalho Plus Content Plan Reveals for Acclaimed ARK Franchise" (Press release). Studio Wildcard. June 12, 2022. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022 – via GlobeNewswire.
  30. ^ Makuch, Eddie (October 21, 2022). "Ark: Ultimate Survivor Edition For Switch Delayed Due To "Unprecedented Environmental Circumstances"". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  31. ^ Romano, Sal (October 26, 2023). "ARK: Survival Ascended now available in Early Access for PC, coming to PS5 and Xbox Series in November". Gematsu. Archived from the original on October 26, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.

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