Bitsquid

Bitsquid AB, the company that created the Bitsquid game engine, was founded in 2009 in Stockholm, Sweden, Niklas Frykholm and Tobias Persson, two engineers who had previously worked at game studio Grin, and by the owners of game developer Fatshark.{{cite web |author=James Pember |date=May 9, 2013 |title=Bitsquid: a high-end game engine focusing on performance, flexibility and productivity |url=http://swedishstartupspace.com/2013/05/09/bitsquid/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401030654/http://swedishstartupspace.com/2013/05/09/bitsquid/ |archive-date=April 1, 2014 |website=Swedish Startup Space}}{{Cite news |last=Park |first=Morgan |date=2024-02-21 |title=Helldivers 2 was built on an obscure Swedish engine discontinued in 2018: 'Our crazy engineers had to do everything with no support' |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-engine-bitsquid-autodesk-stingray/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}

The game engine was built to be flexible and scalable, with support for visual scripting, Lua, and C++ for advanced users.{{Cite web |last=Wahlund |first=Mark |date=2015-08-20 |title=Building Warhammer Vermintide with Stingray |url=https://80.lv/articles/warhammer-vermintide-stingray-interview/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=80.lv |language=en}} The use of Lua allowed Bitsquid to be smaller and lighter than other game engines thanks to its lean code base.{{cite web |author=Falcon |first=Jonah A. |date=13 March 2013 |title=Bitsquid bringing its proprietary game engine to PlayStation 4 |url=http://www.gamewatcher.com/news/2013-13-03-bitsquid-bringing-its-proprietary-game-engine-to-playstation-4?class_name=News&latest_items_page=13&seed=105983589384173822668612381986983931479 |website=Gamewatcher}}

In April 2010, Bitsquid and Fatshark released a demo highlighting the Bitsquid engine's capabilities. Support for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 was made available that fall.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2010-04-22 |title=Stone Giant |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/stone-giant-bitsquid-tech-demo-now-available-for-us-all-to-download-and-try |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |language=en}} In 2011, Fatshark released Hamilton's Great Adventure, the first game to run on Bitsquid. In 2013, Bitsquid was made available for development in PlayStation 4 games.

Bitsquid was acquired by Autodesk in June 2014.{{Cite web |date=June 9, 2014 |title=Autodesk Acquires Bitsquid |url=http://news.autodesk.com/press-release/corporate-sustainability/autodesk-acquires-bitsquid |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140612010659/http://news.autodesk.com/press-release/corporate-sustainability/autodesk-acquires-bitsquid |archive-date=June 12, 2014 |website=Autodesk, Inc.}}{{cite news |author=Rachel Weber |date=9 June 2014 |title=Autodesk acquires Bitsquid and its engine |url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-06-09-autodesk-acquires-bitsquid-and-its-engine |website=Gamesindustry.Biz}} The money from the sale helped Fatshark develop Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide, the studio's first self-published AAA game.{{Cite web |title=Meet Fatshark |url=https://www.fatshark.se/about |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=Fatshark |language=en-US}} Frykholm and Persson went on to develop a short-lived "modular" game engine called The Machinery.{{Cite web |last=Takahashi |first=Dean |date=2021-07-07 |title=Our Machinery launches hackable lightweight game engine |url=https://venturebeat.com/games/our-machinery-launches-hackable-lightweight-game-engine/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}}

In 2015, Bitsquid was retooled into Autodesk Stingray, which integrated with the company's game development toolchain, including 3ds Max, Maya, Mudbox, and Maya LT.{{cite web |date=August 3, 2015 |title=Autodesk Launches Stingray Game Engine at GDC Europe 2015 |url=https://investors.autodesk.com/news-releases/news-release-details/autodesk-launches-stingray-game-engine-gdc-europe-2015 |website=Autodesk}}{{cite web |author=Stephen Kleckner |date=3 August 2015 |title=Autodesk's Stingray may be a big threat to Unity and Unreal in the game-engine wars |url=https://venturebeat.com/2015/08/03/autodesks-stingray-may-be-a-big-threat-to-unity-and-unreal-in-the-game-engine-wars/ |website=VentureBeat}} Autodesk hoped to compete with other low-cost-to-enter game engines like Unreal Engine, Unity, and CryEngine. Stingray was offered on a monthly subscription basis and even packaged with some of the company's other offerings.{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2015/08/03/autodesk-stingray/ |title=Autodesk targets small studios with its Stingray game engine |website=Engaget |author=Steve Dent |date=15 August 2015}}

In June 2017, Autodesk introduced Stingray as a 3ds Max plugin called 3ds Max Interactive. This feature allowed 3ds Max users to create virtual reality experiences.{{Cite web |last=Dubey |first=Parul |date=June 12, 2017 |title=Autodesk 3ds Max 2018.1 Now Includes 3ds Max Interactive, a Real-Time Engine Based on Autodesk Stingray |url=https://informedinfrastructure.com/31958/autodesk-3ds-max-2018-1-now-includes-3ds-max-interactive-a-real-time-engine-based-on-autodesk-stingray/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=Informed Infrastructure |language=en-US}} In December 2017, citing its inability to compete with Unreal Engine and Unity, Autodesk announced Stingray's end of sale and development as a standalone product, effective as of January 7, 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/stingray/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/stingray-end-of-sale-faq.html|title=Changes to Autodesk Stingray FAQ {{!}} Stingray {{!}} Autodesk Knowledge Network|website=knowledge.autodesk.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-12-14}}{{Cite web |last=McAloon |first=Alissa |date=December 14, 2017 |title=Autodesk is discontinuing its Stingray game dev engine |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/production/autodesk-is-discontinuing-its-stingray-game-dev-engine |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=www.gamedeveloper.com |language=en}} 3DS Max Interactive was discontinued on March 30, 2022.{{Cite web |title=Is 3ds Max Interactive available for 3ds Max 2022 and above? |url=https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Is-3ds-Max-Interactive-available-for-3ds-Max-2022.html |website=knowledge.autodesk.com}}

On February 8, 2024, Arrowhead Game Studios released Helldivers 2, a third-person co-op shooter built in Stingray, six years after official support ended.{{Cite web |last=McKenzie |first=Theodore |date=2024-02-21 |title=Helldivers II Was Built on an Archaic Engine That You Can't Access |url=https://80.lv/articles/helldivers-ii-was-built-on-an-archaic-engine-that-you-can-t-access-anymore/?fbclid=IwAR1N31DKzHXTEfhsPTwh8Fgs3eWpcNcnx5vY-dUnXnnJHdIUQoSl1XcokIE |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=80.lv |language=en}} CEO Johan Pilestedt confirmed that the game had entered production before the shutdown in 2018.

Bitsquid and Stingray were primarily used by Sweden-based developers, such as Fatshark and Arrowhead Game Studios. Each have used the engine in a number of their games. Games built with the engine include:{{Cite web |title=3D Engine: Bitsquid |url=https://www.mobygames.com/group/10075/3d-engine-bitsquid/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=MobyGames |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=3D Engine: Stingray |url=https://www.mobygames.com/group/11242/3d-engine-stingray/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=MobyGames |language=en}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.autodesk.com/stingrayengine Autodesk Stingray] Product homepage
• [http://bitsquid.blogspot.com/ Bitsquid Blog]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140208081323/http://bitsquid.se/company.html Bitsquid Homepage] Original company page in 2013

{{Video game engines}}

{{Autodesk products}}

Category:Video game engines

Category:Autodesk discontinued products

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