# Acclaim games down and out



## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Playdom pulls the plug on developer's entire catalog three months after acquiring the free-to-play online game specialist. 










Acclaim is apparently dead again. Barely three months after the free-to-play online game publisher was acquired by Playdom, the social gaming company has pulled the plug on Acclaim's entire catalog.

 Acclaim lasted barely three months under the Playdom umbrella.


On what used to be the official Acclaim Web site, visitors are given a short message saying that Acclaim games will no longer be in service, effective yesterday. The site also contains instructions on how customers can be reimbursed for unused Acclaim Coins (the in-game currency that drove the company's microtransactions) and plugs for Playdom's lineup of Facebook games. The site gives no indication that the Acclaim name will continue in any form. Playdom did not return GameSpot's request for comment as of press time.

Originally founded in 1987 as a publisher for consoles, PCs, and arcades, Acclaim enjoyed mixed success until its filing for bankruptcy in 2004. The company published critically lauded titles, such as Turok and Burnout 1 and 2, as well as less warmly received titles, such as BMX XXX, Batman Forever, and Space Jam. 

Following the breakup of the company, Throwback Entertainment purchased many of Acclaim's key intellectual properties, while former Activision executive Howard Marks purchased the brand name. Marks went on to reboot Acclaim Games as a free-to-play games portal and had some success with titles like Bots, 9Dragons, and the rhythm action game RockFree, which at one point boasted 15 million registered players.


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## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Bit of a shame this one, I have fond memories of some Acclaim titles (anyone remember Forsaken on the N64), most notably the first Turok game. I didnt know they had this service going though, till I read this article, so I fear the failure this time may well be down to not getting out there enough.

I wonder if we'll ever see them again.


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## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

This is sad but it was inevitable, Forsaken is and was a great game on the 64 it just seems weird that it was never really all that popular back in the day.


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## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

I think it was one of those games with loads of potential, and a bit of an acquired taste (I seemed to easily beat people at it, so maybe that was my appeal ), but given the time to get into it , it was great IMO. A modern version could be awesome IMO. Anyway, things move on I guess.


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## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

Well I thought it was great for the very reason you mentioned, a revamp of it would be something I would look forward to. A title that has something in common with Forsaken in terms of difficulty is Demon's Souls IMO.


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