VIS Entertainment

VIS Entertainment plc was a British games studio founded in 1996 in Dundee, Scotland. The studio specialised in developing action, adventure and licensed video games for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance and PC platforms. In its day, it was one of Scotland’s leading games companies.

One of the studio’s first well-known projects was the action game State of Emergency 2, a sequel to the controversial title from Rockstar Games. VIS Entertainment was also involved in the development of games based on well-known film and television licences, including The Great Escape, inspired by the war film of the same name, and the horror action game Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick, based on the cult film series Evil Dead.

The studio’s portfolio also included titles such as Run Like Hell, The Prisoner, The Italian Job, Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death, Dead to Rights II (Game Boy Advance) and a number of games designed for handheld consoles. The developers were known for their ability to work with various licences and adapt well-known film and television brands into video games.

In 2005, the company ran into financial difficulties and went into administration. Some of the staff subsequently founded a new studio, Axis Animation, which focused on creating computer animation for the film and games industries. The VIS Entertainment brand thus ceased operations.

Although the studio existed for just under ten years, it left behind a number of interesting games that are still associated today with the era of the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox. Thanks to its action games and licensed titles, VIS Entertainment secured its place in the history of the British games industry.