Studio Wildcard

Jeremy Stieglitz and Augi Lye founded the developer Trendy Entertainment in 2009. In September 2013, after being publicly accused of creating a hostile work environment, Stieglitz's role within the company was reduced to president of NomNom Games, a minor subsidiary of the studio. In April 2014, he notified the management of Trendy Entertainment and its primary investor, Insight Venture Partners, that he intended to leave the company because he could not trust or work with certain employees at the company. At the time, Stieglitz was subject to a non-compete agreement, barring him from competing with and hiring employees from Trendy Entertainment for three years. Pursuant to an agreement signed in July that year, Stieglitz was bound to Trendy Entertainment until August 15, 2014, with the length of his non-compete agreement in turn reduced to one year. Stieglitz consequently left the company that August, stating that he would take a break before re-entering the video game industry. According to Trendy Entertainment, Stieglitz had been secretly approaching the company's staff with the prospect of joining a new video game studio, so the company's lawyers reminded him of the non-compete agreement on August 18, 2014.{{cite web |url=https://www.gainesville.com/news/20160330/video-game-developers-waging-real-life-legal-battle |title=Video game developers waging real-life legal battle |first=Anthony |last=Clark |date=March 30, 2016 |website=The Gainesville Sun |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502052123/https://www.gainesville.com/news/20160330/video-game-developers-waging-real-life-legal-battle |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/game-studios-enter-legal-battle-over-the-making-of-ark-1766689744 |title=Game Studios Enter Legal Battle Over The Making Of Ark: Survival Evolved |first=Jason |last=Schreier |author-link=Jason Schreier |date=March 23, 2016 |website=Kotaku |access-date=December 8, 2018 |archive-date=December 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209124229/https://kotaku.com/game-studios-enter-legal-battle-over-the-making-of-ark-1766689744 |url-status=live}}

Stieglitz founded Studio Wildcard in October 2014. It was incorporated as a limited liability company under the jurisdiction of Florida, while offices were established in the Seattle area. Doug Kennedy, Jesse Rapczak, and Susan Browning Stieglitz (Stieglitz's wife) were co-founders of the company.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-11-14-ark-dev-retail-was-not-something-we-had-planned-to-do |title=Ark dev: "Retail was not something we had planned to do" |first=James |last=Brightman |date=November 14, 2017 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |access-date=December 8, 2018 |archive-date=December 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123703/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-11-14-ark-dev-retail-was-not-something-we-had-planned-to-do |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-03-21-epic-games-the-barrier-between-xbox-and-playstation-will-inevitably-come-down |title=Epic: The barrier between Xbox and PlayStation "will inevitably come down" |first=Matthew |last=Handrahan |date=March 21, 2018 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |access-date=December 8, 2018 |archive-date=December 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123844/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-03-21-epic-games-the-barrier-between-xbox-and-playstation-will-inevitably-come-down |url-status=live}} Kennedy was appointed as Studio Wildcard's chief executive officer. Legally, Browning Stieglitz was listed as the company's manager under her maiden name, Susan Browning, while Stieglitz was not listed. In December 2015, Snail Ark Inc. (a California corporation and subsidiary of SDE Inc.) was merged into Studio Wildcard. Subsequently, three managers of the former Snail Ark Inc. became managers of Studio Wildcard, while Browning Stieglitz was removed as one.{{cite web |url=http://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ConvertTiffToPDF?storagePath=COR%5C2015%5C1221%5C79775003.Tif&documentNumber=L14000161311 |title=Articles of Merger for Florida Limited Liability Company, L14000161311 |date=December 15, 2015 |website=Florida Department of State |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502045729/http://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ConvertTiffToPDF?storagePath=COR%5C2015%5C1221%5C79775003.Tif&documentNumber=L14000161311 |url-status=live}} Studio Wildcard later identified SDE Inc. as its parent company.{{cite web |url=https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/cacdce/2:2018cv06426/717949 |title=Wildcard Properties, LLC v. Pride Games Studio et al |website=Justia |quote=Filing 3: CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT filed by Plaintiff Wildcard Properties, LLC identifying SDE Inc. as Corporate Parent. (Wheeler, Brian) |access-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217123059/https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/cacdce/2:2018cv06426/717949 |url-status=live}} SDE Inc. has been described as an affiliate of Snail Games USA, the American branch of the Chinese video game company Snail Games.{{cite web |last1=Schuhmann |first1=Gerd |title=ARK Survival Evolved: Der Gaming-Skandal, über den keiner spricht |url=https://mein-mmo.de/ark-survival-evolved-gaming-skandal-keiner-spricht/ |website=Mein-MMO.de |language=de-DE |date=20 April 2017}}

During 2015, Trendy Entertainment and its lawyers repeatedly contacted Stieglitz in regard to his involvement with Studio Wildcard, including through a cease and desist letter sent in July that year. On December 18, 2015, Trendy Entertainment filed a lawsuit against him and Studio Wildcard at Florida's Eighth Circuit Civil Court in Alachua County. The company alleged that Stieglitz had violated the non-compete agreement by establishing Studio Wildcard, developing Ark: Survival Evolved, and hiring employees from Trendy Entertainment. At the time of the lawsuit, Studio Wildcard employed six former Trendy Entertainment staffers, including two key programmers whose departure was stated to have caused "substantial damages" for Trendy Entertainment. The lawsuit further alleged that Studio Wildcard's technology used for Ark appeared "indistinguishable" to Trendy Entertainment's PlayVerse technology, and that Studio Wildcard had hired the contractor Instinct Games away from Trendy Entertainment. It also claimed that listing Browning Stieglitz under her maiden name—as opposed to her married name, which had been used for her roles in Yum Cupcakery, Sarkara Sweets, and Ingenue Avenue—had been an effort to conceal Stieglitz's role within Studio Wildcard. Insight Venture Partners filed a parallel lawsuit on February 11, 2016.

Through the lawsuit, Trendy Entertainment sought for {{US$|600 million|link=yes}} in damages as well as a permanent injunction against Studio Wildcard releasing video games.{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/ark-survival-evolved-developers-settle-lawsuit-1771234316 |title=Ark: Survival Evolved Developers Settle Ugly Lawsuit |first=Jason |last=Schreier |author-link=Jason Schreier |date=April 15, 2016 |website=Kotaku |access-date=December 8, 2018 |archive-date=December 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123947/https://kotaku.com/ark-survival-evolved-developers-settle-lawsuit-1771234316 |url-status=live}} In response to the allegations, Studio Wildcard's lawyers stated that the complaint read "more like a salacious tabloid story" than a statement of the facts that would entitle Trendy Entertainment to relief under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, and that many of the allegations were "disparaging and included simply to be provocative. They are irrelevant, immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous." The defense later argued that, because the non-compete clause had expired in August 2015, Trendy Entertainment had only filed the lawsuit after Studio Wildcard's December 2015 acquisition to profit from the success of Ark. They also claimed that the game could not have competed with Trendy Entertainment's products, as Ark was rated for mature audiences, was more expensive, and required better hardware to function. Furthermore, they stated that Studio Wildcard had not poached any employees, rather that some had left Trendy Entertainment prior to joining Studio Wildcard, were hired by individual founders (excluding Stieglitz), or decided to leave Trendy Entertainment on their own after learning of Studio Wildcard. Stieglitz separately stated that he had kept his involvement with Studio Wildcard secret to avoid comments from Internet trolls.{{cite web |url=https://www.gainesville.com/article/LK/20160511/News/605129946/GS |title=Developer of 'Ark: Survival Evolved' pays $40 million to settle lawsuit with Trendy |first=Anthony |last=Clark |date=May 11, 2016 |website=The Gainesville Sun |access-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-date=December 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217000557/https://www.gainesville.com/article/LK/20160511/News/605129946/GS |url-status=live}} The parties ultimately settled for {{US$|40 million|long=no}} on April 13, 2016.

By February 2016, Studio Wildcard employed 60 people at its office in Bellevue, Washington.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ark-survival-evolved-dev-talks-frame-rate-issues-p/1100-6434362/ |title=Ark: Survival Evolved Dev Talks Frame Rate Issues, PS4 Version, Comparisons to Minecraft |first=Eddie |last=Makuch |date=February 2, 2016 |website=GameSpot |access-date=December 8, 2018 |archive-date=December 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209165145/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ark-survival-evolved-dev-talks-frame-rate-issues-p/1100-6434362/ |url-status=live}} By May, there were 25 employees in Seattle and 10 in Gainesville, Florida. Ark, which had been in early access since 2015, was released in August 2017.{{cite web |url=https://www.usgamer.net/articles/ark-survival-evolved-is-finally-out-after-years-in-early-access |title=Ark: Survival Evolved is Finally Out After Years in Early Access |first=Matt |last=Kim |date=August 29, 2017 |website=USgamer |access-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-date=September 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903182551/https://www.usgamer.net/articles/ark-survival-evolved-is-finally-out-after-years-in-early-access |url-status=live}} For PixArk, a spin-off developed by Snail Games and announced in 2018, Studio Wildcard provided "design and technical input".{{cite web |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/pixark-is-a-voxel-based-spinoff-of-ark-survival-evolved/ |title=PixARK is a voxel-based spinoff of Ark: Survival Evolved |first=Austin |last=Wood |date=January 26, 2018 |website=PC Gamer |access-date=February 18, 2021 |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812071055/https://www.pcgamer.com/pixark-is-a-voxel-based-spinoff-of-ark-survival-evolved/ |url-status=live}} At The Game Awards 2018, Studio Wildcard announced Atlas, a massively multiplayer online game featuring pirates.{{cite web |url=https://www.polygon.com/game-awards-tga/2018/12/6/18129883/ark-survival-atlas-trailer-pirate-mmo-tga-2018 |title=Ark Survival Evolved creators' new game is a massive pirate MMO called Atlas |first=Ben |last=Kuchera |date=December 6, 2018 |website=Polygon |access-date=December 8, 2018 |archive-date=December 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209124316/https://www.polygon.com/game-awards-tga/2018/12/6/18129883/ark-survival-atlas-trailer-pirate-mmo-tga-2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2018/12/06/atlas-is-a-new-game-of-sailing-and-monsters-from-ark-survival-evolved-studio/ |title=Atlas is a new game of sailing and monsters from Ark: Survival Evolved studio |first=Mike |last=Minotti |date=December 6, 2018 |website=VentureBeat |access-date=December 8, 2018 |archive-date=December 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209124232/https://venturebeat.com/2018/12/06/atlas-is-a-new-game-of-sailing-and-monsters-from-ark-survival-evolved-studio/ |url-status=live}} To develop Atlas, Studio Wildcard had set up a sister studio, Grapeshot Games, and run a one-year-long recruitment phase to ensure that the development of the game was not coming at the expense of Ark.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-12-17-why-go-for-a-surprise-launch |title=Why go for a surprise launch? |first=Brendan |last=Sinclair |date=December 17, 2018 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |access-date=December 22, 2018 |archive-date=December 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222173131/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-12-17-why-go-for-a-surprise-launch |url-status=live}} A sequel to Ark, Ark II, was announced at The Game Awards 2020.{{cite web |url=https://www.vg247.com/2020/12/11/ark-2-announced-studio-wildcard-stars-vin-diesel/ |title=Ark 2 announced from Studio Wildcard, stars Vin Diesel |first=Stephany |last=Nunneley |date=December 11, 2020 |website=VG247 |access-date=December 11, 2020 |archive-date=December 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211021613/https://www.vg247.com/2020/12/11/ark-2-announced-studio-wildcard-stars-vin-diesel/ |url-status=live}} Vin Diesel, who stars in Ark II, joined Studio Wildcard as "president of creative convergence" (executive producer) to oversee the game.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-14-vin-diesel-joins-studio-wildcard-as-executive-producer-on-ark |title=Vin Diesel joins Studio Wildcard as executive producer on Ark |first=Rebekah |last=Valentine |date=December 14, 2020 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |access-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-date=December 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216015420/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-14-vin-diesel-joins-studio-wildcard-as-executive-producer-on-ark |url-status=live}} In October 2023, Studio Wildcard was said to facilitate the re-release of massive multiplayer online game Myth of Empires by Angela Game.{{Cite web |last=Batchelor |first=James |date=2023-10-11 |title=Myth of Empires legal dispute over allegedly stolen Ark: Survival Evolved source code now settled |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/myth-of-empires-legal-dispute-over-allegedly-stolen-ark-survival-evolved-source-code-now-settled |access-date=2024-08-23 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.studiowildcard.com/}}

Category:2014 establishments in Washington (state)

Category:American companies established in 2014

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Category:Video game companies based in Washington (state)

Category:Video game companies established in 2014

Category:Video game development companies