The Collective

The Collective, Inc. was an American video game development studio headquartered in Newport Beach, California. It was established in 1997 by Douglas Hare, Richard Hare, and Gary Priest, who had previously worked for Virgin Interactive. The studio operated during a period when licensed entertainment properties were a major part of the console and PC game market, and its portfolio consequently included games based on well-known film, television, comic-book, and literary properties. Among The Collective's documented projects were Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Fallen, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, and The Da Vinci Code. These projects placed the company in several genres, including action-adventure, third-person combat, and story-driven licensed games. The studio's identity was therefore associated less with a single recurring franchise than with its ability to develop large-scale adaptations for external intellectual-property owners and publishers. The company's major structural turning point came in 2005, when it merged with Backbone Entertainment. The transaction created Foundation 9 Entertainment, a larger independent game-development group. The Collective's senior leaders assumed important roles in the combined organization: Douglas Hare became a co-president, Richard Hare became chief creative officer, and Gary Priest became co-chairman. The merger ended The Collective's operation as an independent studio while retaining its personnel and capabilities within the new corporate structure. In 2007, Foundation 9 announced that The Collective would be combined with another subsidiary, Shiny Entertainment. The two teams moved into new offices in Irvine, California, and the combined operation was placed under the leadership of Shiny executive Michael Persson. In March 2008, the resulting studio was given the name Double Helix Games. This succession completed the absorption of The Collective's development organization into a later studio identity. The Collective is consequently a defunct studio brand rather than an active publisher or consumer-facing game label. The studio also had several reported projects that did not reach commercial release, including proposed games connected to Witchblade, a possible follow-up to Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, a project involving Jonathan Harker from Dracula, and a Dirty Harry game. Available reference material does not establish release dates, publishers, budgets, sales figures, or the precise reasons for cancellation. Its historical significance lies primarily in its work on licensed games and in its role as one of the development organizations that became part of Foundation 9 and later Double Helix Games.

The Collective was founded in 1997 in Newport Beach, California, by brothers Douglas and Richard Hare and Gary Priest. The three founders had previously worked for Virgin Interactive and established the new studio as an independent developer during the expansion of the console and PC games business. The company developed games for external publishers and intellectual-property holders, with a portfolio weighted toward licensed entertainment properties. The studio's documented releases included Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Fallen, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, and The Da Vinci Code. These projects covered science-fiction, television, film, comic-book, and literary source material. The Collective's work reflected the commercial importance of licensed games in the late 1990s and 2000s, when developers were frequently commissioned to translate established entertainment franchises into interactive formats. On March 29, 2005, The Collective's merger with Backbone Entertainment was announced. The combination formed Foundation 9 Entertainment, a larger development group assembled from multiple studios. The Collective's leadership joined the new company: Douglas Hare became a co-president, Richard Hare became chief creative officer, and Gary Priest became co-chairman. This transaction marked the end of The Collective as an independent corporate operation, although its development resources continued within Foundation 9. Foundation 9 later reorganized its studio structure. On October 9, 2007, it announced that The Collective would be merged with Shiny Entertainment. Both teams relocated to new 60,000-square-foot offices in Irvine, California, where the combined studio was to operate under Shiny's Michael Persson. In March 2008, the merged operation was named Double Helix Games. The Collective's personnel and creative capabilities thus became part of a successor studio rather than continuing under the original name. Several projects were reportedly in development at The Collective but were cancelled before release. These included proposed titles based on Witchblade and Dirty Harry, a possible follow-up to Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, and a game featuring Jonathan Harker from Dracula. The available reference material does not provide reliable release schedules, financial information, publisher details, or documented cancellation explanations for those projects. The company's surviving historical profile is therefore centered on its released licensed games and its corporate succession through Foundation 9 and Double Helix Games.

• 2008

  Successor studio becomes Double Helix Games

  [1]The Collective (company)en.wikipedia.org

  The combined Collective–Shiny operation adopted the name Double Helix Games.

• 2007

  Combination with Shiny Entertainment announced

  [1]The Collective (company)en.wikipedia.org

  Foundation 9 announced that The Collective and Shiny Entertainment would be merged and relocated to shared offices in Irvine, California.

• 2005

  Merger with Backbone Entertainment

  [1]The Collective (company)en.wikipedia.org

  The Collective merged with Backbone Entertainment to create Foundation 9 Entertainment, with its founders taking senior positions in the combined company.

• 1997

  The Collective is founded

  [1]The Collective (company)en.wikipedia.org

  Douglas Hare, Richard Hare, and Gary Priest founded the video game development studio after leaving Virgin Interactive.

A specialist video game development studio focused substantially on licensed action and adventure titles for console and PC platforms.

• Licensed science-fiction action-adventure game

  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Fallen

  A video game adaptation of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine television setting. It is among the best-known projects associated with The Collective and illustrates the studio's emphasis on converting established screen properties into interactive action-adventure experiences.

• Licensed action game

  Buffy the Vampire Slayer

  A game based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television franchise. The project extended the supernatural action setting of the television property into an interactive format and formed part of The Collective's portfolio of licensed entertainment adaptations.

• Licensed action-adventure game

  Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb

  An Indiana Jones action-adventure title developed by The Collective. It was one of the studio's prominent film-property projects and combined exploration, combat, and franchise-driven storytelling.

• Licensed action-adventure game

  Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure

  A game developed around Marc Ecko's original creative property. Its inclusion in The Collective's catalog demonstrates that the studio worked not only with established film and television licenses but also with broader fashion, art, and urban-culture concepts.

• Licensed mystery action-adventure game

  The Da Vinci Code

  A game adaptation of The Da Vinci Code property. The project continued The Collective's focus on narrative-led licensed games derived from major entertainment and publishing franchises.

• 2007

  Merge The Collective with Shiny EntertainmentM&A

  Background

  Foundation 9 reorganized two of its internal development subsidiaries into a single studio operation.

  Action taken

  Foundation 9 combined The Collective and Shiny Entertainment, moved their teams to Irvine offices, and placed the merged operation under Michael Persson.

  Aftermath

  The combined studio was renamed Double Helix Games in 2008, completing the transition away from The Collective's original identity.

  Source

• 2005

  Combine with Backbone EntertainmentM&A

  Background

  The Collective and Backbone Entertainment were both game-development businesses, and their combination created a larger multi-studio organization.

  Action taken

  The companies merged to form Foundation 9 Entertainment. The Collective's Douglas Hare, Richard Hare, and Gary Priest became a co-president, chief creative officer, and co-chairman respectively.

  Aftermath

  The Collective ceased operating as an independent studio brand while its personnel and development capabilities continued within Foundation 9.

  Source

1. 1The Collective (company)en.wikipedia.org