Underground Development, Ltd. (formerly Z-Axis, Ltd.) was an American video game developer based in Foster City, California. It was founded in 1994 by David Luntz and sold to Activision in May 2002. Following a rebranding to Underground Development in February 2008, the company was closed in February 2010.
History Z-Axis was founded by David Luntz in 1994, originally located in San Mateo, California. On May 22, 2002, Activision announced that they had acquired Z-Axis in exchange for a payment of in cash and stock, and up to 93,446 additional shares in Activision linked to the studio's performance. At the time, the studio was located in Hayward, California. In February 2008, Z-Axis was rebranded as Underground Development.
Activision reported in April 2008 that they were closing Underground Development, which had the time had under 45 employees in a Foster City, California office, at the end of the coming May. The studio was fully closed on February 12, 2010.
Games developed as Z-Axis Year Title Platform(s) 1996 Madden NFL '96 Sega Genesis 1998 Fox Sports College Hoops '99 Nintendo 64 1999 Alexi Lalas International Soccer PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color Space Invaders PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 64 Thrasher Presents Skate and Destroy PlayStation 2000 Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs Pastrana PlayStation Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX PlayStation, Game Boy Color, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows 2001 Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX: Maximum Remix PlayStation Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Xbox 2002 Aggressive Inline PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Xbox BMX XXX PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox 2006 X-Men: The Official Game PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360CancelledMat Hoffman's Pro BMX 3PlayStation 2, GameCube, XboxIron ManPlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox
Games developed as Underground Development Year Title Platform(s) 2009 Guitar Hero: Van Halen PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360CancelledCall of Duty: Devil's Brigade Xbox 360
References