Raven Software

Raven Software is an American games studio founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel in Middleton, Wisconsin. Throughout its history, the studio has built an excellent reputation for its action games, fantasy shooters and its collaboration on one of the most successful games series of all time.

Its first major success came in the 1990s with the Heretic and Hexen series, developed in collaboration with id Software. These dark fantasy first-person shooters featured spells, magical weapons, intricately designed levels and an atmosphere that still ranks them amongst the classics of the genre today.

Another significant franchise was the Soldier of Fortune series, known for its realistic weapon modelling and the revolutionary GHOUL technology, which enabled detailed enemy damage modelling. The games gained popularity primarily amongst fans of action shooters thanks to their fast-paced gameplay and cinematic missions.

Raven Software also created a number of licensed games, including Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, X-Men Legends, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Wolfenstein (2009), Singularity and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is still considered one of the best film-based games to this day.

In 1997, the studio was acquired by Activision. In the years that followed, Raven Software became increasingly involved in the development of the Call of Duty series. It contributed to Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Modern Warfare Remastered, Call of Duty: Warzone, Black Ops Cold War, Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III and other recent instalments in the series.

Today, Raven Software is one of Activision’s most important studios and plays a key role in the development and support of the Call of Duty series. With a history spanning more than thirty years and a string of legendary titles to its name, it ranks among the most respected American development studios in the gaming industry.