# NStigate Games > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/NStigate_Games > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/NStigate_Games.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NStigate_Games > Source revision: 1353004574 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **nStigate Games** (formerly known as **Nihilistic Software**) was an American [video game developer](/source/Video_game_developer) based in [Novato, California](/source/Novato,_California). ## History Nihilistic was founded in March 1998 by Ray Gresko, Robert Huebner, and Steve Tietze. Gresko and Huebner had formerly worked at [LucasArts](/source/LucasArts), and Tietze had worked at [Rogue Entertainment](/source/Rogue_Entertainment). Many of Nihilistic's employees were drawn from LucasArts, working on games such as *[Jedi Knight](/source/Star_Wars_Jedi_Knight:_Dark_Forces_II)*.[1] The first game produced by Nihilistic was *[Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption](/source/Vampire:_The_Masquerade_-_Redemption)*, set in a role-playing world created by [White Wolf](/source/White_Wolf,_Inc.). Released in 2000, *Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption* was published by [Activision](/source/Activision) for [Microsoft Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows) and [Apple Macintosh](/source/Apple_Macintosh) computers. For their next project, Nihilistic began to develop *[StarCraft: Ghost](/source/StarCraft:_Ghost)*, supervised by *StarCraft* creator [Blizzard Entertainment](/source/Blizzard_Entertainment). In mid-2004, Nihilistic ceased working on*StarCraft: Ghost*, amid delays caused by poor coordination between Blizzard executives and Nihilistic developers. The project was taken up by [Swingin' Ape Studios](/source/Swingin'_Ape_Studios), which was later bought by Blizzard. Finally in March 2006, Blizzard Entertainment announced that *StarCraft: Ghost* was placed on indefinite hold.[2] Meanwhile, in 2005, Nihilistic completed development on *[Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects](/source/Marvel_Nemesis:_Rise_of_the_Imperfects)*, a fighting game based on [Marvel Comics](/source/Marvel_Comics)' various superheroes. *Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects* was published by [Electronic Arts](/source/Electronic_Arts), for the [PlayStation 2](/source/PlayStation_2), [Xbox](/source/Xbox_(console)) and [GameCube](/source/GameCube). Nihilistic released their first 'next-gen' title, *[Conan](/source/Conan_(2007_video_game))* for both the [PlayStation 3](/source/PlayStation_3) and [Xbox 360](/source/Xbox_360) game consoles. According to a preview article in the March 2007 issue of *[Game Informer](/source/Game_Informer)*, *Conan* is an action/adventure game based on [Robert E. Howard](/source/Robert_E._Howard)'s famous [sword and sorcery](/source/Sword_and_sorcery) hero, [Conan the Barbarian](/source/Conan_the_Barbarian). This title was released by the publisher [THQ](/source/THQ) on October 23, 2007. In the fall of 2009, [Konami](/source/Konami) published Nihilistic Software's first downloadable game, *[Zombie Apocalypse](/source/Zombie_Apocalypse_(video_game))* on [Xbox Live](/source/Xbox_Live) for the Xbox 360 and on the [PlayStation Network](/source/PlayStation_Network) for the PlayStation 3. *Zombie Apocalypse* is multiplayer, arcade-style dual stick shooter with zombies as the opponent. They developed *[PlayStation Move Heroes](/source/PlayStation_Move_Heroes)* for the [PlayStation 3](/source/PlayStation_3) (for the [PlayStation Move](/source/PlayStation_Move)) which was released in March 2011.[3] On May 29, 2012, Nihilistic released *[Resistance: Burning Skies](/source/Resistance:_Burning_Skies)* for the [PlayStation Vita](/source/PlayStation_Vita).[4] On October 17, 2012, Nihilistic reorganized their business to focus on mobile gaming, changing their name to nStigate.[5] On November 13, 2012, nStigate released *[Call of Duty: Black Ops – Declassified](/source/Call_of_Duty:_Black_Ops_%E2%80%93_Declassified)* for the Vita.[6] The game was panned critically for poor design and crippling technical problems.[7] The company announced that they'd began to restructure the studio once more and announced that they’d be focusing on developing digital and mobile titles,[8] yet due to the failure of *Declassified* the company was unable to reach any agreements with major companies and would be forced to close the following month.[9] ## Games Game title Release Platform Metacritic Notes Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption 2000 Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh 74/100 Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects 2005 PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 53/100 (PS2), 58/100 (Xbox), 54/100 (GameCube) Conan 2007 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 69/100 Zombie Apocalypse 2009 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 61/100 (PS3), 66/100 (Xbox 360) PlayStation Move Heroes 2011 PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Move) 53/100 Resistance: Burning Skies 2012 PlayStation Vita 60/100 Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified 2012 PlayStation Vita 33/100 ## References 1. ["StarCraft: Ghost - What Went Wrong"](https://www.polygon.com/2016/7/5/11819438/starcraft-ghost-what-went-wrong). *[Polygon](/source/Polygon_(website))*. July 5, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2019. 1. Schreier, Jason (October 2024). *Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment*. [New York City](/source/New_York_City): [Grand Central Publishing](/source/Grand_Central_Publishing). pp. 113–117. ISBN 9781538725429. 1. [Sony Computer Entertainment](/source/Sony_Computer_Entertainment) Staff. ["Heroes On The Move - Games & Media"](http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/heroes-on-the-move-ps3.html). *PlayStation.com*. [Sony Computer Entertainment](/source/Sony_Computer_Entertainment). Retrieved 16 June 2010. 1. James Ransom-Wiley. ["Resistance NGP being developed by Nihilistic, isn't a port"](http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/27/resistance-ngp-being-developed-by-nihilistic-isnt-a-port/). *Joystiq*. AOL Inc. Retrieved 27 January 2011. 1. ["Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified developer Nihilistic reorganizing to focus on online and mobile games"](http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/17/3519466/call-of-duty-black-ops-declassified-developer-nihilistic-reorganizing/). *Polygon*. [Vox Media Inc.](/source/Vox_Media_Inc.). 2012-10-18. Retrieved 15 November 2012. 1. Moriarty, Colin (14 August 2012). ["Call of Duty's Vita Developer Has Been Revealed"](http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/08/14/call-of-dutys-vita-developer-has-been-revealed). IGN. 1. Metacritic. ["Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified"](https://www.metacritic.com/game/call-of-duty-black-ops-declassified/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-vita). *Metacritic*. Retrieved 2020-01-27. 1. ["Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified dev Nihilistic ditches retail boxed games, rebrands"](https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-10-19-call-of-duty-black-ops-declassified-dev-nihilistic-ditches-retail-boxed-games-rebrands). *Eurogamer.net*. 19 October 2012. 1. ["Nihilistic: Why We're Shutting up Shop"](https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/18/nihilistic-why-were-shutting-up-shop). 18 October 2012. ## External links - [Official website](https://web.archive.org/web/20060102044152/http://www.nihilistic.com/) via [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [NStigate Games](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NStigate_Games) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NStigate_Games?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.