Acclaim Games
Social games developing company acquired by playdom.
Acclaim Games emerged in 2006 as a successor to the branding of the defunct Acclaim Entertainment. The new entity was founded by former Activision CEO Howard Marks and his partner Neil Malhotra. Marks, a veteran of the video game industry, purchased the "Acclaim" name and logo for a reported $100,000 following the bankruptcy of the original company in 2004. His vision was to pivot away from the traditional console market and embrace the burgeoning online gaming space.
Operating from Beverly Hills, California, Acclaim Games carved a niche in the North American and European markets by publishing free-to-play massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), many of which were originally from Asia. The company's business model was centered around offering games for free and generating revenue through in-game advertising and the sale of virtual items. This approach proved successful, and by December 2007, the company had amassed 15 million registered accounts and 500,000 active players. Acclaim's portfolio included a diverse range of fourteen titles, such as its launch game "BOTS!!", the martial arts-themed "9Dragons", the adult-oriented "2Moons", and the casual game "Dance Online". The company also experimented with social gaming on Facebook with titles like "Prize Potato".
Several of Acclaim's key titles were partnerships or localizations of existing games. "9Dragons," a 3D MMORPG set in Ming Dynasty China, was developed by the Korean company Indy21. "2Moons" was a retitled and re-storied version of the Korean game "Dekaron," published under the direction of David Perry. Acclaim also collaborated with French companies Feerik on "Ponystars" and "My Diva Doll," and with Celsius Online for "Tribal Nations". A significant milestone was the acquisition by social games publisher Playdom in May 2010. However, the integration was short-lived, as Playdom, which was subsequently acquired by The Walt Disney Company, closed the Acclaim Games studio just three months later in August 2010. Keywords: Acclaim Games, Howard Marks, Neil Malhotra, free-to-play, MMORPG, online games publisher, in-game advertising, virtual items, Playdom, 9Dragons, 2Moons, BOTS!!, social gaming, David Perry, Korean MMO, video game publisher, online entertainment, gaming business model, casual games, virtual worlds