High Moon Studios

High Moon Studios is an American video game development studio based in Carlsbad, California. The studio was originally founded in 2001 under the name Sammy Studios as part of the Sammy corporation. It later became independent and adopted the name High Moon Studios. It currently operates as part of Activision.

Throughout its history, the studio has focused primarily on action games and shooters, with a large proportion of its output comprising games based on well-known franchises. High Moon Studios is best known for its video game adaptations of the Transformers universe.

The studio’s first major independent project was the action-horror game Darkwatch, released in 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game combines a Wild West setting with vampires, monsters and supernatural elements, and is one of the few original franchises created by the studio.

Great success came with Transformers: War for Cybertron. This 2010 action game is set on the Transformers’ home planet before their arrival on Earth. Players can fight on the side of both the Autobots and the Decepticons, and individual characters are able to transform between robot and vehicle forms during the game.

War for Cybertron was followed by Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, which further developed the conflict between the Autobots and the Decepticons and depicts the final stages of the War for Cybertron. Both games are among High Moon Studios’ best-known projects and helped the studio establish a strong position amongst developers of licensed action games.

High Moon Studios also created Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the video game adaptation of the film of the same name. During the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 generation, the studio was thus one of the most prominent developers of games based on the Transformers licence.

Another well-known project is Deadpool from 2013. This action game, based on the Marvel comic book character, combines close-quarters combat, firearms and the protagonist’s signature humour. Throughout the game, Deadpool frequently comments on the events unfolding, blurring the traditional boundary between the character and the player.

The studio also contributed to the development of Destiny and later began to collaborate extensively on the Call of Duty series. High Moon Studios contributed to the development of several major titles in this series alongside other Activision studios.

High Moon Studios has thus gradually shifted from developing its own projects to the role of a major support studio working on Activision’s large-scale productions.

Thanks to games such as Darkwatch, Transformers: War for Cybertron, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and Deadpool, High Moon Studios ranks amongst the well-known American developers primarily associated with the era of PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The studio is particularly appreciated by Transformers fans for its portrayal of the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons on Cybertron.