Factor 5, a privately held company, was founded in Cologne, Germany in 1987 by five gaming enthusiasts. They have earned a reputation in the video game industry and with gamers, as one of the front-runners in developing exciting games for a variety of platforms. Factor 5 goes to the very limit of each platform we have ever worked on and produces games which stand out for their technical excellence and playability.
Factor 5 found early success with Katakis in 1988, a basic clone of R-Type. Not only successful in its own merits, but good enough to earn the young company the exclusive conversion rights of R-Type for the then hugely popular Amiga.
The breakout success for Factor 5 was 1990's Turrican. This game became an instant hit and eventually turned into a franchise spawning several sequels on virtually all then-popular gaming platforms. To this day, Turrican has a strong cult following. The gaming community eagerly awaits the day when Factor 5, which retains rights to develop future versions of the franchise for most platforms, will release a new Turrican game.
In 1994, Indiana Jones - Greatest Adventures for Super Nintendo, marked the start of a decade long collaboration with LucasArts Entertainment that changed the lives of the Factor 5 team forever. When work was finished on Star Wars Rebel Assault II for the Sony Playstation, it became clear that the developer was too far away from their publisher, LucasArts. The boys packed their bags and found a new home in San Rafael, CA, which was, up until recently, the hub of all of LucasArts' activities.
After the move to California, the company continued to develop highly successful games for LucasArts Entertainment, based mainly on the two most popular franchises; Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II (2001) and Rebel Strike (2003) are heralded as two of the best games ever made for the GameCube.
Meanwhile, the company's technical expertise led to the development of two Factor 5 exclusives: MusyX and a DivX codec for game consoles. MusyX brings high-quality surround sound to a variety of Nintendo gaming platforms, while with the introduction of DivX, Factor 5 and DivX, Inc. brought the ultimate video-playback solution to both the GameCube and Microsoft's XBox.
Factor 5 have most recently created "Lair" for the PlayStation 3, an exclusive title for Sony Computer Entertainment. Now focusing on both original IP creation like "Turrican" and "Lair", and carefully chosen content from other media that our teams are excited about, Factor 5 has games and technology in production for all major console manufacturers and multiple Publishers.
