JoWood

JoWooD Productions Software AG was an Austrian company founded in 1995 in Ebensee. It was not a development studio, but primarily a video game publisher that collaborated with a number of European developers and helped bring their games to the global market.

Among the best-known titles published by JoWooD Productions are the cult RPG series Gothic, the fantasy strategy game SpellForce, the action shooter Painkiller, the humorous puzzle series Neighbours from Hell, the adventure games The Guild, The Sting!, Industry Giant and Söldner: Secret Wars, and the racing series Traffic Giant. Many of these titles were released on PC, with some later receiving console versions as well.

JoWooD was known for supporting smaller European studios such as Piranha Bytes, Phenomic Game Development, Reality Pump Studios, Spellbound Entertainment and Mindware Studios. This collaboration resulted in a number of games that gained a strong fan base, particularly in Europe.

Following financial difficulties, the company filed for insolvency in 2011. Its assets and most of its game franchises were subsequently taken over by Nordic Games, now known as THQ Nordic, which continued to publish and revive many famous series.

Although JoWooD Productions no longer exists, it has left a significant mark on the history of the European games industry. Fans of classic RPGs, strategy games and adventure games still regard its games as some of the most significant titles of the turn of the millennium.