Pivotal Games was founded in March 2000, by fifteen employees formerly of Pumpkin Studios (the developer of Warzone 2100), led by Jim Bambra, Nick Cook and Alex McLean.[1] Pumpkin Studios, founded by Bambra and Cook in August 1996, had previously been closed down by its parent company, Eidos Interactive, that same month.[1] In August 2000, the company was acquired by Kaboom Studios.[1] Between 2002 and 2008, Pivotal Games developed all five instalments in the Conflict series, as well as The Great Escape, based on the film of the same name.
In September 2003, after financial struggles of parent company Kaboom Studios, who had at that point had already closed down sister studios Attention to Detail and Silicon Dreams Studio, SCi Games showed interest in acquiring the company.[2] Kaboom Studios went into receivership on 9 September 2003,[3] with all remaining assets, including still-active Pivotal Games, being transferred to Ernst & Young for sale.[4] On 29 September 2003, SCi acquired Pivotal Games from Ernst & Young for a total of £2.36 million.[5] In May 2005, SCi Games finalised its acquisition and merger with Eidos Interactive, the parent of Eidos Interactive, which would become in charge of SCi Games' subsidiaries.[6] In March 2008, SCi Games closed down fourteen operating projects to counter an £81.4 million net loss from the preceding fiscal year, leading to rumours that Pivotal Games was also to be closed.[7] On 14 July 2008, it was officially announced that the studio was to shut its doors, and 99 staff had already been made redundant,[8] leaving only a team of 10–12 specialist personnel.[9] Pivotal Games was closed on 13 August 2008.[10]
The Conflict franchise has sold more than 6 million units.[11] Each game in the series has received good to negative reviews. Most of the reviews were mixed or average.[12]
Conflict: Desert Storm II (2003), also known as Conflict: Desert Storm II - Back to Baghdad, is set during the Persian Gulf War too and sees the same characters returning to Baghdad.
Conflict: Vietnam (2004) is set during the Vietnam War. The characters from the first two games do not return, with new characters being introduced instead.
Conflict: Global Terror (2005), also known as Conflict: Global Storm, is set during modern times. The game reunites the characters from the first two games, while also adding a new character.
Conflict: Denied Ops (2008) is also set during modern times. The game only sees the return of Paul Foley, last seen in the previous entry, with new characters being introduced as well.
