ACE Team
An independent Chilean video-game developer known for stylized, experimental games including Zeno Clash, Rock of Ages, and Abyss Odyssey.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
ACE Team is a Chilean independent video-game development studio based in Santiago. The company was founded by brothers Andres, Carlos, and Edmundo Bordeu in the late 1990s, although public accounts differ on whether the founding year was 1998 or 1999. The name ACE derives from the initials of the three brothers. Before entering commercial game development, the team made total conversions and modifications for existing computer games, including Batman Doom for Doom II: Hell on Earth, ZanZan for Doom II, and The Dark Conjunction for Quake III Arena. These projects helped establish the studio's technical and creative identity while it remained a small, self-directed operation. ACE Team began work on an ambitious original project called Zenozoik: Shattered Land in 2002. The project initially used the LithTech Jupiter engine, but its scope exceeded the team's available resources and experience. Development was suspended in 2003, when Andres and Carlos joined the Chilean developer Wanako Games. During their time there, they worked on commercial projects including Assault Heroes and met programmer and future business partner David Caloguerea. The brothers left Wanako Games with Caloguerea in 2007 and re-established ACE Team, after which development of the Zenozoik concept resumed. The project moved first to id Tech 4 and later to the Source engine; following advice associated with Valve, it was retitled Zeno Clash. The original prototype was not released, and the finished game functioned as a spiritual successor to it. Zeno Clash was released for Microsoft Windows in April 2009 and became the studio's international breakthrough. It combined first-person melee combat with fighting-game influences, fantasy exploration, surreal character design, and an unusually theatrical setting. ACE Team initially self-published the Windows release, later working with Tripwire Interactive and Iceberg Interactive on retail editions. Atlus USA published an Xbox 360 version with additional content under the title Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition in 2010. A sequel, Zeno Clash 2, followed as a broader continuation of the setting and combat concept. The studio subsequently expanded its creative range. Rock of Ages, released in 2011, combined obstacle-course racing, rolling-ball action, castle defense, and comic treatment of historical imagery. Abyss Odyssey applied side-scrolling action, role-playing progression, procedural environments, and a distinctive fantasy world. Later projects included The Deadly Tower of Monsters, a satirical retro-science-fiction action game; Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder, which developed the earlier series' competitive and multiplayer systems; and SolSeraph, which blended side-scrolling action with overhead settlement construction and defense. ACE Team's catalog is characterized by strong visual authorship, genre combinations, unusual worlds, and a preference for digitally distributed releases across personal computers and selected consoles. Reliable public information about its current staffing, ownership, operating status, and recent development activity is limited.
History
ACE Team emerged from the Chilean independent-development scene in the late 1990s. Brothers Andres, Carlos, and Edmundo Bordeu formed the studio and named it from their initials. Its earliest work consisted of total conversions for established games rather than original commercial products. Batman Doom, made for Doom II: Hell on Earth, was followed by other modifications such as ZanZan and The Dark Conjunction. The projects demonstrated the team's interest in building original settings and mechanics within existing technical frameworks. The studio's transition toward commercial development began after its modification work attracted industry attention. In 2002, ACE Team started an original project known as Zenozoik: Shattered Land. The game was ambitious relative to the size and experience of the team, and development was halted in 2003 when Andres and Carlos accepted positions at Wanako Games. At Wanako, they gained experience in commercial production and contributed to titles including Assault Heroes. They also met David Caloguerea, who later became a partner in the revived ACE Team. In 2007, Andres and Carlos left Wanako Games with Caloguerea and restarted ACE Team. Work on the earlier Zenozoik concept resumed, with the project transferred between several engines, including id Tech 4 and Source. The prototype was substantially reworked and renamed Zeno Clash. It was released for Windows in April 2009, initially through self-publishing. The game attracted attention for combining first-person combat, fighting-game-style melee, fantasy adventure, and surreal art direction. Partnerships with Tripwire Interactive, Iceberg Interactive, and Atlus USA subsequently supported retail editions and an Xbox 360 version called Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition. A sequel, Zeno Clash 2, expanded the property. ACE Team then pursued projects with increasingly varied structures. Atlus USA released Rock of Ages in 2011, a game centered on rolling a boulder through courses while defending and attacking castles. Its comic historical presentation and mixture of arcade action and strategy became a major part of the studio's identity. Abyss Odyssey followed in 2014, combining side-scrolling combat, exploration, procedural environments, and character progression. The Deadly Tower of Monsters, released in 2016, presented an action game as a fictional retro science-fiction film, complete with miniature-like scenery and genre parody. Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder continued the boulder-and-castle formula with expanded content and multiplayer features. SolSeraph, released in 2019, combined side-scrolling action with overhead town development and defensive strategy. Across these releases, ACE Team maintained an independent profile rather than becoming a large publisher-owned studio. Its games were primarily distributed digitally for personal computers and selected consoles, often through publishing collaborations. The available public record gives substantial detail about the studio's games but little confirmed information about its current corporate structure, workforce, ownership, or whether it remains actively producing new titles.
- 2019
SolSeraph releases
[1]SolSeraph combines side-scrolling action with overhead settlement construction and defense mechanics.
- 2017
Rock of Ages 2 releases
[1]Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder expands the series with additional content and multiplayer-oriented features.
- 2016
The Deadly Tower of Monsters releases
[1]ACE Team publishes a retro-science-fiction action game framed as a deliberately exaggerated film production.
- 2014
Abyss Odyssey releases
[1]The studio releases an action-adventure title built around exploration, combat, progression, and procedural environments.
- 2011
Rock of Ages releases
[1]ACE Team introduces its boulder-rolling and castle-defense formula in Rock of Ages.
- 2010
Zeno Clash reaches retail and Xbox 360
[1]Retail editions and the Xbox 360 Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition expand the game's platform and publishing reach.
- 2009
Zeno Clash launches
[1]The studio releases Zeno Clash for Windows, gaining international recognition for its first-person melee combat and surreal fantasy setting.
- 2007
ACE Team is re-established
[1]The Bordeu brothers and David Caloguerea leave Wanako Games and resume work under ACE Team.
- 2003
Development pauses
[1]Work on the Zenozoik project stops while Andres and Carlos join Wanako Games.
- 2002
Zenozoik: Shattered Land begins
[1]ACE Team starts development of the ambitious project that would eventually evolve into Zeno Clash.
Products and positioning
Independent video-game developer focused on stylized worlds, distinctive art direction, experimental mechanics, and hybrid action, strategy, and adventure formats.
First-person action game · 2009
Zeno Clash
ACE Team's breakthrough title combines first-person melee combat, fighting-game influences, fantasy exploration, and surreal character and environment design. It was initially released for Windows and later received retail editions and an Xbox 360 version with additional content under the Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition name.
First-person action game
Zeno Clash 2
A sequel that continues the Zenozoik setting and develops the series' distinctive first-person melee combat and fantasy action format.
Arcade strategy game · 2011
Rock of Ages
A hybrid arcade and strategy game in which players roll a giant boulder through courses while attacking opposing fortifications and arranging defenses. Its comic treatment of historical imagery and physics-based courses became one of ACE Team's most recognizable design signatures.
Action-adventure game · 2014
Abyss Odyssey
A side-scrolling action-adventure title that combines combat, exploration, character progression, and procedurally structured underground environments within an unusual fantasy setting.
Action-adventure game · 2016
The Deadly Tower of Monsters
An action game presented as a fictional retro science-fiction movie. Miniature-like scenery, narration, deliberately artificial effects, and genre-film parody shape both its visual style and its humor.
Arcade strategy game · 2017
Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder
A follow-up to Rock of Ages that retains boulder racing and castle defense while broadening the course design, presentation, and multiplayer-focused gameplay.
Action-strategy game · 2019
SolSeraph
A hybrid title combining side-scrolling action stages with overhead settlement construction and defensive strategy. It extends ACE Team's recurring interest in combining distinct gameplay formats.
Brand decisions
2009
Self-publishing of Zeno ClashProduct launchBackground
ACE Team developed a distinctive first-person action game after several iterations of the earlier Zenozoik project.
Action taken
The studio released Zeno Clash for Microsoft Windows through self-publishing.
Aftermath
Later retail and console collaborations with Tripwire Interactive, Iceberg Interactive, and Atlus USA broadened the title's distribution.
2007
Re-establishment as an independent studioStrategyBackground
After work at Wanako Games, the Bordeu brothers and David Caloguerea returned to independent development and revived ACE Team.
Action taken
The team resumed development of the earlier Zenozoik concept under its own studio identity.
Aftermath
The project was reworked and ultimately became Zeno Clash, ACE Team's international breakthrough.
Sources1 sources
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