Ubisoft Blue Byte
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Formerly called
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Video game industry |
| Founded | February 1988 |
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| Headquarters | Düsseldorf, Germany |
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Key people
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Benedikt Grindel (managing director) |
| Products | |
| Parent | Ubisoft |
| Divisions | Blue Byte Mainz |
| Website | bluebyte |
Blue Byte GmbH (formerly Blue Byte Software GmbH and later Blue Byte Software GmbH & Co. KG) is a video game developer and publisher based in Düsseldorf, Germany, founded in 1988. The company has produced popular titles like Battle Isle and The Settlers. In 2001, the company was purchased by Ubisoft.
Blue Byte was founded by Thomas Hertzler and Lothar Schmitt in Mülheim in February 1988 after leaving Rainbow Arts. The first published game was the tennis simulation Great Courts, released in 1989 by Ubi Soft. Blue Byte's first big success in Germany and Europe was the turn-based strategy game Battle Isle, completed in 1991. Inspired by the Japanese game Nectaris for the PC Engine, Battle Isle spawned numerous add-ons and sequels. The company's next big success followed in 1993 with the release of the managerial game Die Siedler, marketed internationally as The Settlers. The Settlers also had numerous sequels and became the most well-known of Blue Byte's products.
Over the years, Blue Byte developed and/or published numerous innovative titles including Chewy: Escape from F5 and Albion, but most of them were not successful internationally. Efforts to break into the American market, usually aided with publishing by Accolade, failed and success was limited to Germany and parts of Europe. In 1995 a Chicago-based entrepreneur named Julian Pretto traveled to Germany and convinced the founders to open a North American office. Following the successful release of Battle Isle 2020 in the United States, Pretto left the firm to pursue other interests. Three years later, Blue Byte moved from Chicago, Illinois, to its new facilities in Austin, Texas.
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