Boss Key Productions
{{Short description|American video game developer}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Boss Key Productions, Inc.
| logo = Boss Key Productions logo.png
| type = Private
| industry = Video games
| fate = Dissolved
| founded = {{Start date and age|2014|04|30}}
| founders = {{Unbulleted list|Cliff Bleszinski|Arjan Brussee}}
| defunct = {{Start date and age|2018|05|14}}
| hq_location_city = Raleigh, North Carolina
| hq_location_country = US
| key_people = Cliff Bleszinski (CEO)
| products = LawBreakers
| num_employees = 65
| num_employees_year = 2017
}}
Boss Key Productions, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in April 2014 by Cliff Bleszinski and Arjan Brussee, formerly of Epic Games, the company developed LawBreakers (2017) and Radical Heights (2018), both of which were commercial failures, effectively leading to the closure of the development team in May 2018.
History
File:Cliffy B and Boss Key at GDC 2016 (25846174186).jpg]]
Boss Key Productions was founded by former Epic Games employees Cliff Bleszinski and Arjan Brussee, in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 30, 2014.{{cite web |url=https://www.polygon.com/2014/7/4/5871047/cliff-bleszinski-boss-key-productions |title=Cliff Bleszinski creates Boss Key game studio with Guerrilla Games co-founder |first=Alexa Ray |last=Corriea |date=July 4, 2014 |website=Polygon |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227120113/http://www.polygon.com/2014/7/4/5871047/cliff-bleszinski-boss-key-productions |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}{{cite web |url=https://www.sosnc.gov/online_services/business_registration/annual_report/10522450 |title=North Carolina Secretary of State Business Registration Annual Report |website=North Carolina Secretary of State |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515043801/https://www.sosnc.gov/online_services/business_registration/annual_report/10522450 |archive-date=May 15, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }} The studio's inception and name were officially revealed on July 4, 2014, with Bleszinski and Brussee helming the establishment as chief executive officer and chief operating officer, respectively. Boss Key Productions' first project was LawBreakers, a first-person shooter for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4.{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/12/e3-2017-lawbreakers-release-date-announced |title=E3 2017: LawBreakers Release Date Announced |first=Alex |last=Osborn |date=June 12, 2017 |website=IGN |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923062803/http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/12/e3-2017-lawbreakers-release-date-announced |archive-date=September 23, 2017 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}
Although LawBreakers was received positively following its August 2017 release, it underperformed commercially, leading the team to move on to develop a battle royale game instead of supporting LawBreakers in the long term.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/radical-heights-boss-key-lawbreakers-1202747786/ |title='Lawbreakers' Studio Boss Key Unveils Battle Royale Game 'Radical Heights' |first=Brian |last=Crecente |date=April 9, 2018 |website=Variety |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502214039/http://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/radical-heights-boss-key-lawbreakers-1202747786/ |archive-date=May 2, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }} Subsequently, Brussee left Boss Key Productions in December 2017, announcing that he had returned to Epic Games to work on an "exciting secret project".{{cite web |url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/311429/Boss_Key_cofounder_Arjan_Brussee_departs_to_rejoin_Epic_Games.php |title=Boss Key co-founder Arjan Brussee departs to rejoin Epic Games |first=Chris |last=Kerr |date=December 11, 2017 |website=Gamasutra |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110174343/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/311429/Boss_Key_cofounder_Arjan_Brussee_departs_to_rejoin_Epic_Games.php |archive-date=January 10, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }} The battle royale game, titled Radical Heights, was released in April 2018 as a Steam Early Access title, officially dubbed "X-Treme Early Access".{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/04/radical-heights-is-too-embarrassing-a-pubg-clone-to-hide-behind-early-access/ |title=CliffyB's Radical Heights is a new low for cashing in on the PUBG craze |first=Sam |last=Machkovech |date=April 10, 2018 |website=Ars Technica |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515112309/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/04/radical-heights-is-too-embarrassing-a-pubg-clone-to-hide-behind-early-access/ |archive-date=May 15, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }} The game was received negatively by some critics, due to its very early state, and described as a mere "cash-in" in the light of the popularity of other battle royale games, such as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite Battle Royale.
On May 14, 2018, following the overall under-performance of both LawBreakers and Radical Heights, Bleszinski announced via Twitter that Boss Key Productions had shut down.{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/radical-heights-developer-boss-key-games-shuts-down-1826015127 |title=Radical Heights Developer Boss Key Games Shuts Down |first=Jason |last=Schreier |date=May 14, 2018 |website=Kotaku |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514183806/https://kotaku.com/radical-heights-developer-boss-key-games-shuts-down-1826015127 |archive-date=May 14, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }} The studio previously had 65 employees as of September 2017.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/cliff-bleszinski-on-lawbreakers-i-have-to-keep-thi/1100-6453333/ |title=Cliff Bleszinski On LawBreakers: "I Have To Keep This Game Alive" |first=Eddie |last=Makuch |date=September 15, 2017 |website=GameSpot |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612184710/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/cliff-bleszinski-on-lawbreakers-i-have-to-keep-thi/1100-6453333/ |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }} According to Bleszinski, he did not take a salary for two years in order to pay for his employees so they "could care for their families."{{cite web |last1=Lanier |first1=Liz |title=Cliff Bleszinski Says He's Not Making Any More Games |url=https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/cliff-bleszinski-says-no-more-games-1203033086/ |website=Variety |access-date=3 March 2020}}
Following the success of the 2014 game Alien: Isolation, Boss Key had been in discussions with 20th Century Fox to make a first-person shooter game set in the Alien franchise, where the player would play as Newt, guided by Ripley, as she fought through xenomorphs in Earth-based labs where they were being studied by the Weyland-Yutani corporation, in a style similar to Half-Life series. However, the project had been shelved as a result of the merger of Fox into Disney.{{cite web | url = https://www.vg247.com/2020/02/10/cliff-bleszinski-alien-fps-newt/ | title = Cliff Bleszinski's studio was in talks to make an Alien FPS where you played as Newt | first = James | last = Billcliffe | date = February 10, 2020 | access-date = February 10, 2020 | work = VG247 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline|Boss Key Productions}}
{{Portal bar|Companies|United States|Video games}}
{{Cliff Bleszinski}}
Category:2014 establishments in North Carolina
Category:2018 disestablishments in North Carolina
Category:Companies based in Raleigh, North Carolina
Category:Defunct companies based in North Carolina
Category:Defunct video game companies of the United States
Category:Video game companies disestablished in 2018