Petroglyph Games

Petroglyph Games is an American video game development studio headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company was established in 2003 by Joe Bostic, Michael Legg, and Steve Tall, programmers who had previously worked at Westwood Studios. Petroglyph was formed shortly after Westwood Studios was closed, bringing together developers with experience in the Command & Conquer and Red Alert traditions of real-time strategy design. The studio built its early reputation through licensed and original real-time strategy projects. Its first publicly announced major project was Star Wars: Empire at War, a Star Wars strategy game developed with LucasArts and released in 2006. The title combined strategic galactic-scale management with tactical ground and space battles, helping establish Petroglyph as a specialist in large-scale PC strategy games. The company subsequently worked with Sega on Universe at War: Earth Assault, an original military science-fiction real-time strategy game released in 2007. During the late 2000s and early 2010s, Petroglyph expanded beyond conventional boxed PC strategy releases. It explored free-to-play, online, massively multiplayer, social, and hybrid action-strategy formats through projects including Mytheon, End of Nations, Guardians of Graxia, Rise of Immortals, and Coin a Phrase. Some of these initiatives were developed with external partners or publishers, reflecting the studio's attempts to adapt its strategy expertise to changing distribution models and online business formats. Petroglyph also pursued independently funded development. In 2013 it launched and then cancelled a Kickstarter campaign for Victory after reporting insufficient interest. The experience was followed by continued work on traditional real-time strategy, including Grey Goo, developed with Six Foot and published by Grey Box. In 2017 and 2018, Petroglyph collaborated with Team17 on Forged Battalion, a strategy game released through early access. The studio's historical connection to Westwood Studios became especially significant in 2018, when Electronic Arts announced a partnership involving Petroglyph Games and Lemon Sky Studios to remaster Command & Conquer and Red Alert. Several original developers associated with the earlier games, including composer Frank Klepacki, participated in the project. The remasters reinforced Petroglyph's position as a custodian of classic Westwood-style real-time strategy while extending its role from original development into preservation and modernization of established franchises. Petroglyph's portfolio is centered on PC and console strategy entertainment, particularly real-time strategy, science-fiction, military, licensed-universe, and hybrid online games. Its brand is associated with experienced Westwood alumni, systems-driven gameplay, large-scale conflict, and a continued focus on strategy formats across conventional releases, downloadable products, early-access projects, and remastered editions.

Petroglyph Games was founded on April 1, 2003, in the aftermath of Westwood Studios' closure. Its founders, Joe Bostic, Michael Legg, and Steve Tall, were programmers associated with Westwood's influential real-time strategy development culture. The new studio initially drew on that background while establishing an independent production organization in Las Vegas; it moved into its own building on June 25, 2004. Petroglyph's first major public project was a Star Wars real-time strategy game. Announced in November 2004 and released in February 2006, Star Wars: Empire at War placed the studio in a prominent licensed entertainment universe and used both strategic and tactical layers to represent the Star Wars conflict. The project became one of the defining early releases associated with the company. The studio next broadened its portfolio through a partnership with Sega. Announced in 2005 and formally unveiled in 2007, Universe at War: Earth Assault was an original military and science-fiction real-time strategy game released in December 2007. Petroglyph then experimented with online and alternative distribution models. In partnership with True Games Interactive, it worked on the free-to-play PC title Mytheon, which was designed around microtransactions. It also pursued an announced massively multiplayer online real-time strategy project with Trion Worlds; that game was revealed as End of Nations in 2010. The project received multiple E3 awards that year, including recognition for its MMO and RTS presentation. Petroglyph's experimentation continued with smaller and differently structured projects. Guardians of Graxia was announced in 2010, while Rise of Immortals, a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena game, was announced in 2011. In 2013, the studio released the social guessing game Coin a Phrase for Apple's App Store. That year it also attempted to fund the action-strategy game Victory through Kickstarter. The campaign was cancelled in March after the company concluded that it was not attracting enough interest. The company returned to a more traditional real-time strategy focus with Grey Goo, announced in 2014. The game was produced with Six Foot and published by Grey Box. Petroglyph later collaborated with Team17 on Forged Battalion, which was announced in 2017 and entered early access in January 2018. The project combined real-time strategy with unit customization and an early-access development model. In November 2018, Electronic Arts announced that it would work with Petroglyph Games and Lemon Sky Studios on remastered editions of Command & Conquer and Red Alert. The collaboration had particular historical resonance because several original developers connected with the earlier Westwood games were involved, including composer Frank Klepacki. The resulting remaster initiative linked Petroglyph's current development work with the legacy that shaped its founding. Across its history, Petroglyph has moved between licensed strategy, original science-fiction and military games, online experiments, social and hybrid projects, early-access development, and remastering. Its identity remains closely tied to real-time strategy and to the design heritage of Westwood Studios, while its project history shows repeated attempts to adapt that expertise to new platforms, funding models, and online formats.

• 2018

  Forged Battalion enters early access

  [1]Petroglyph Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Petroglyph and Team17 place Forged Battalion into early access.

• 2018

  Command & Conquer remaster partnership announced

  [1]Petroglyph Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Electronic Arts names Petroglyph and Lemon Sky Studios as partners for Command & Conquer and Red Alert remastering.

• 2014

  Grey Goo announced

  [1]Petroglyph Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Petroglyph announces development of a new real-time strategy game with Six Foot and Grey Box.

• 2013

  Victory crowdfunding campaign is cancelled

  [1]Petroglyph Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Petroglyph ends its Kickstarter campaign for Victory because of limited interest.

• 2010

  End of Nations receives E3 recognition

  [1]Petroglyph Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  The Petroglyph and Trion project receives multiple awards at E3 2010.

• 2007

  Universe at War: Earth Assault unveiled

  [1]Petroglyph Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  The studio formally presents its original military science-fiction strategy project with Sega.

• 2006

  Star Wars: Empire at War released

  [1]Petroglyph Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Petroglyph releases its major Star Wars real-time strategy title.

• 2004

  Studio moves into its own building

  [1]Petroglyph Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Petroglyph moves into an independent company facility in Las Vegas.

• 2003

  Petroglyph Games is founded

  [1]Petroglyph Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Joe Bostic, Michael Legg, and Steve Tall establish Petroglyph after the closure of Westwood Studios.

A specialist strategy-game developer rooted in the Westwood Studios real-time strategy tradition, with an emphasis on PC-focused science-fiction, military, licensed, online, and remastered strategy experiences.

• Licensed real-time strategy game · 2006

  Star Wars: Empire at War

  A Star Wars real-time strategy game released in 2006. It combines a broad strategic layer covering the galactic conflict with tactical battles on planetary surfaces and in space. The title was Petroglyph's first major publicly announced project and became one of the studio's best-known releases.

• Military science-fiction real-time strategy game · 2007

  Universe at War: Earth Assault

  An original military and science-fiction real-time strategy game developed with Sega. It was formally unveiled in 2007 and released later that year, expanding Petroglyph's work beyond licensed properties into an original conflict setting.

• Free-to-play online PC game · 2010

  Mytheon

  An online PC project developed with True Games Interactive and designed around a free-to-play model supported by microtransactions. It represented Petroglyph's effort to apply its development capabilities to an alternative online business and distribution format.

• Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game

  End of Nations

  An MMORTS developed with Trion Worlds and publicly revealed in 2010. The project attracted substantial attention at E3 2010, where it received multiple awards in MMO and strategy-related categories.

• Strategy game · 2010

  Guardians of Graxia

  A strategy title announced by Petroglyph in 2010. The available reference material identifies the announcement but does not provide enough detail to characterize its complete mechanics or commercial history.

• Free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena game · 2011

  Rise of Immortals

  A free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena project announced in 2011. It illustrates Petroglyph's expansion from conventional real-time strategy into online competitive formats.

• Social guessing game · 2013

  Coin a Phrase

  A social guessing game launched by Petroglyph on Apple's App Store in 2013. It was a departure from the studio's established large-scale strategy portfolio and an example of its experimentation with mobile and social game formats.

• Action-strategy game

  Victory

  An action-strategy project for which Petroglyph launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2013. The campaign was cancelled in March of that year because it did not generate sufficient interest, and the available reference material does not indicate a subsequent commercial release.

• Real-time strategy game

  Grey Goo

  An original real-time strategy game announced in 2014. It was developed by Petroglyph, produced by Six Foot, and published by Grey Box, continuing the studio's focus on strategic conflict in a science-fiction setting.

• Real-time strategy game · 2018

  Forged Battalion

  A real-time strategy game developed with Team17 and announced in 2017. It entered early access in January 2018, using an iterative release model rather than launching first as a finished conventional boxed product.

• Remastered real-time strategy collection

  Command & Conquer Remastered Collection

  A remastering initiative involving Petroglyph Games, Electronic Arts, and Lemon Sky Studios for the Command & Conquer and Red Alert series. The project brought former Westwood-associated developers, including composer Frank Klepacki, into work on updated editions of the classic strategy games.

• 2018

  Return to the Command & Conquer legacy through remasteringStrategy

  Background

  Petroglyph was founded by former Westwood developers and had long been associated with the real-time strategy tradition represented by Command & Conquer and Red Alert.

  Action taken

  Electronic Arts partnered with Petroglyph Games and Lemon Sky Studios to remaster the two classic series.

  Aftermath

  The partnership connected Petroglyph's current studio identity with the franchise heritage of its founders and other former Westwood developers.

  Source

• 2013

  Cancel the Victory Kickstarter campaignOther

  Background

  Petroglyph attempted to use Kickstarter to finance the action-strategy game Victory, but the campaign did not attract the level of interest required to continue.

  Action taken

  The studio cancelled the crowdfunding campaign.

  Aftermath

  The available reference material does not document a subsequent release of Victory.

  Source

1. 1Petroglyph Gamesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Petroglyph Games official websitepetroglyphgames.com