Core Design Limited (known as Rebellion (Derby) Ltd between 2006 and 2010) was a British video game developer based in Derby, England. Founded in May 1988 by former Gremlin Graphics employees, it originally bore the name Megabrite until rebranding as Core Design in October the same year.

The company was acquired by CentreGold (the parent of U.S. Gold) in October 1994, which was itself acquired in turn by Eidos Interactive in April 1996.

In May 2006, the Core Design personnel and assets were acquired by Rebellion Developments, and the company became Rebellion Derby, which was then shut down in March 2010.

History Based in the city of Derby, England, Core Design was founded on 13 May 1988 by Chris Shrigley, Andy Green, Rob Toone, Terry Lloyd, Simon Phipps, Dave Pridmore, Jeremy Heath-Smith, Kevin Norburn and Greg Holmes. Most were former employees of Gremlin Graphics.

The studio was taken over by CentreGold (the parent company of U.S. Gold) in October 1994, with CentreGold itself being acquired by Eidos Interactive in 1996.

Heath-Smith regarded the acquisition as a relief, commenting, "The funding of development is so expensive that I doubt we could have continued to fund ourselves as an independent company." Eidos subsequently sold most of CentreGold, but retained U.S. Gold, the owners of Core Design.

The company is widely known for the Tomb Raider series. The first game was created by Toby Gard and Paul Douglas, released in 1996, and followed by several sequels. The success of the first Tomb Raider has been credited with making Eidos Interactive a major force in the industry, and turned Eidos's 1996 pretax loss of $2.6 million into a $14.5 million profit. In September 1997, Sony Computer Entertainment's US arm, SCEA, signed an agreement with Eidos to make the sequel exclusive to the PlayStation console. The deal was extended to include Tomb Raider III (1998). Fourth and fifth games in the franchise, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999) and Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000) respectively, followed.

After the critical failure of Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness in 2003, parent company Eidos put Crystal Dynamics, another Eidos-owned studio, in charge of Tomb Raider franchise development. This prompted the Core Design management team, Jeremy Heath-Smith along with his brother Adrian, to leave the company and establish a new one, Circle Studio. According to the brothers they hired many of Core Design's creative staff "We asked 37 people to join us and 36 came." and that "Core Design is now floundering around with a handful of people trying to get a project off the ground, and no real leadership, which is sad."

The remaining staff at Core Design worked on a timed puzzle game, Smart Bomb, for the PlayStation Portable (PSP), released in summer 2005. The company then worked on a proposal to remake the original Tomb Raider game, also for the PlayStation Portable. This version was cancelled by the publisher, Eidos, in favour of franchise development remaining with Crystal Dynamics.

In May 2006, Eidos announced that independent developer Rebellion Developments had acquired Core Design's assets and staff, while the Core brand and intellectual property, including Tomb Raider, remained in Eidos' possession. Under the new banner of Rebellion, the company went on to work on several titles including Free Running (2007), Shellshock 2: Blood Trails and Rogue Warrior (both 2009). Starting in January 2010, due to an expiring lease on Rebellion Derby's offices, Rebellion Developments started seeking restructuring opportunities for the studio. As no other possibility than closure was found, Rebellion Derby was closed down effective on 17 March 2010.

Legacy In July 2010, shortly after the closure of the studio, a nearby road in Derby was named "Lara Croft Way", in honour of the studio's contribution to the creative industries.

Games developed Year Game Platform(s) 1988 Action Fighter Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum 1989 Dynamite Düx Rick Dangerous Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum Saint and Greavsie Amiga Switchblade Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad GX4000 Axel's Magic Hammer Amiga, Atari ST 1990 Torvak the Warrior Corporation Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Sega Genesis Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Computer Game Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum Skidz Amiga, Atari ST Impossamole Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Turbografx-16 Rick Dangerous 2 Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum CarVup Amiga 1991 War Zone Chuck Rock Acorn, Amiga, Amiga CD32, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Sega CD, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, SNES, Master System Heimdall Acorn, Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Sega CD Frenetic Amiga, Atari ST 1992 Doodlebug Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck Amiga, CD32, Sega CD, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Master System Curse of Enchantia Amiga, MS-DOS Hook Sega CD, Sega Genesis Premiere Amiga, CD32 The Adventurers Amiga Thunderhawk Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Sega CD Wolfchild Amiga, Atari ST, Sega CD, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, SNES Jaguar XJ220 Amiga, Sega CD Wonder Dog 1993 Asterix and the Great Rescue Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Master System Encore MS-DOS Blastar Amiga Blob Cyberpunks Darkmere 1994 Corkers BC Racers Sega 32X, 3DO, Sega CD, MS-DOS Heimdall 2 Amiga, CD32, MS-DOS Universe Banshee Amiga, CD32 Dragonstone Battlecorps Sega CD Soulstar Bubba 'n' Stix Amiga, CD32, Sega Genesis 1995 Skeleton Krew Asterix and the Power of the Gods Sega Genesis The Big Red Adventure Amiga, MS-DOS The Scottish Open: Virtual GolfMS-DOS, PlayStation, Saturn Firestorm: Thunderhawk 21996 Shellshock Tomb Raider Blam! Machinehead PlayStation, Saturn 1997 Swagman Fighting Force Windows, PlayStation Tomb Raider II 1998 Ninja: Shadow of Darkness PlayStation Tomb Raider III Classic Mac OS, Windows, PlayStation 1999 Fighting Force 2 Dreamcast, PlayStation Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Dreamcast, Windows, PlayStation 2000 Tomb Raider: Chronicles Tomb Raider Game Boy Color 2001 Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword Project Eden Windows, PlayStation 2 Thunderhawk: Operation Phoenix PlayStation 2 2002 Herdy Gerdy Tomb Raider: The Prophecy Game Boy Advance 2003 Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness Mac OS X, Windows, PlayStation 2 2005 Smart Bomb PlayStation Portable 2007 Free Running

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