Trapdoor Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
FoundedAugust 2008; 15 years ago (2008-08)
FounderKen Schachter
Defunct16 December 2012 (2012-12-16)
FateDissolved
Headquarters
Montreal
,
Canada
Key people
Ken Schachter
Number of employees
15 (2011)

Trapdoor Inc. was a Canadian video game developer based in Montreal. Founded in August 2008 by Ken Schachter, the company developed Warp and co-published Polytron Corporation's Fez, both released in 2012. A third title, Heist, was cancelled after six months in development before Trapdoor was shut down in December 2012.

History

Trapdoor was established in August 2008 by Ken Schachter, formerly the chief technology officer for American Apparel and later the studio manager of Gameloft Montreal.[1] By October that year, the company had hired Alex Charbonneau, a former game designer for Gameloft Montreal and Ubisoft Montreal, as lead game designer. Trapdoor stated that it would strictly follow the International Game Developers Association's developer crediting standard. Trapdoor's first game would be an original intellectual property for personal computers, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.[2] By May 2011, Trapdoor employed 15 people, with Schachter managing the studio.[3]

In November 2010, Electronic Arts' EA Partners announced a publishing deal with Trapdoor for the game Warp.[4] The game was released for Xbox 360 in February 2012, as well as for Windows and PlayStation 3 the following March.[5] Trapdoor announced in March 2011 that it would co-publish the Polytron Corporation-developed game Fez, which was released in April 2012 for Xbox 360.[6][7] A third title, codenamed Heist, entered production in early 2012 but was cancelled six months into development. Trapdoor was disestablished on 16 December 2012.[8]

Games

References

  1. ^ Freeman, Will (12 November 2009). "CANADA SPECIAL: Trapdoor". MCV. ISSN 1469-4832. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  2. ^ Caoili, Eric (21 October 2008). "Ubisoft, Gameloft Vets Form Independent Studio". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  3. ^ Vanden Bossche, Andrew (4 May 2011). "Interview: Trapdoor Studios On Warp And Small-Scale Development". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  4. ^ Romano, Sal (10 November 2011). "EA and Trapdoor sign, announce Warp". Gematsu. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  5. ^ Zeidler, Bratt (15 February 2012). "XBLA's House Party kicks off today with Warp". Destructoid. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  6. ^ Gilbert, Ben (13 March 2011). "Fez being co-published by Trapdoor". Engadget. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  7. ^ Grant, Christopher (29 March 2021). "'Fez' release date is Friday the 13th, on XBLA". Polygon. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  8. ^ Robertson, Liam (1 June 2015). "Heist [XBLA/PSN/PC – Cancelled]". Unseen64. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  9. ^ "GI Joyride for iPhone". Macworld. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
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