Akella
 | |
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 |
| Defunct | 2012 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy, Liquidated |
| Headquarters | Moscow, Russia |
Number of employees | 250 (2012) |
| Divisions | Akella Online |
| Website | akella |
Akella (Russian: Акелла) was a Russian software company specialising in the development, publishing and distribution of video games and multimedia products. The founders met in 1993 and decided to start a company together and in 1995 formed Akella. The company comprised five in-house development teams, a publishing house, a distribution center, a localisation team and a quality assurance department; in total, 250 people were employed by Akella. There were several sub-brands owned by Akella, such as Macho Studios, that developed erotic games and published Japanese hentai dating sims.[1][2]
The company is named after a Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book character, Akela the wolf, and its logo is a wolf.
Defunct status
[edit]During 2012, the company was amid multiple lawsuits totalling ₽200,000,000[3] (roughly $6,000,000) which, combined with the significant developmental difficulties and commercial failings of Postal III, pushed Akella to the verge of bankruptcy. As a result, the company, while technically still existing, has effectively ceased operations since 2012.[4]
Games developed and published
[edit]| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Postal | Windows | Running with Scissors | Ripcord Games, Loki Entertainment, Running with Scissors, Akella (in Russia) |
| 1998 | Liquidator | MS-DOS | Partizan Software | Akella[5] |
| 2000 | Sea Dogs | Windows | Akella | Bethesda Softworks |
| 2001 | Age of Sail II | Windows | Akella | Bethesda Softworks |
| 2002 | Privateers Bounty: Age of Sail II | Windows | Akella | 1C Company |
| 2003 | Bomber Fun | Windows | LightBrain | Akella (in Russia) |
| Postal 2 | Running with Scissors | Whiptail Interactive, Running with Scissors, Akella (in Russia) | ||
| Postal 2: Share the Pain | ||||
| Pirates of the Caribbean | Akella | Bethesda Softworks and 1C Conmpany | ||
| Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend | Running with Scissors | Whiptail Interactive, Running with Scissors, Akella (in Russia) | ||
| 2004 | Sabotain: Break the Rules | Windows | Avalon Style Entertainment | Akella |
| Red Skies Over Europe | Interactive Vision | Akella | ||
| 2005 | Metalheart: Replicants Rampage | Windows | Numlock Software | DreamCatcher and Akella |
| Postal 2: Corkscrew Rules! | Avalon Style Entertainment | Akella | ||
| 2006 | Evil Days of Luckless John | Windows | Centauri Production | CINEMAX, Akella |
| Tanita: Plasticine Dream | Trickster Games | Akella | ||
| Mad Tracks | Load inc. | Akella (in Russia)[6] | ||
| Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales | Akella | 1C Company | ||
| Sakura Wars | Sega, Red Entertainment | Akella (in Russia) | ||
| 2007 | Tarr Chronicles: Sign of Ghosts | Windows | Quazar Studio | Akella |
| Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power | Wargaming | Akella | ||
| Inhabited Island: Prisoner of Power | Orion | Akella | ||
| Hard to Be a God | Burut CT | Nobilis, Akella | ||
| Swashbucklers: Blue vs. Grey | Akella | 1C Company | ||
| Empire Above All | Icehill | Akella | ||
| Inhabited Island: The Earthling | Step Creative Group | Akella | ||
| Dead Mountaineer's Hotel | Electronic Paradise | Akella | ||
| 2008 | Sakura Wars 2 | Windows | Sega, Red Entertainment | Akella |
| 2009 | A Stroke of Fate: Operation Valkyrie | SPLine | Akella | |
| A Stroke of Fate: Operation Bunker | SPLine | Akella | ||
| Age of Pirates 2: City of Abandoned Ships | Akella | Playlogic | ||
| PT Boats: Knights of the Sea | Akella | Battlefront.com and Akella | ||
| 2010 | Disciples III: Renaissance | Windows | .dat [ru] | Akella (CIS), Kalypso Media (EU, NA) |
| PT Boats: South Gambit | Akella | Battlefront.com, Akella | ||
| 2011 | Disciples III: Resurrection | Windows | .dat [ru] | Akella (CIS), Kalypso Media (EU, NA) |
| Postal III | Trashmasters, Running with Scissors | Akella | ||
| 2012 | Disciples III: Reincarnation | Windows | hex Studio [ru] | Akella (CIS), Kalypso Media (EU, NA) |
| Sea Dogs: To Each His Own | BlackMark Studio | Akella |
References
[edit]- ^ Костин, Семён (3 April 2018). "Война Сакуры: как «Акелла» опередила весь мир — Аниме на DTF". DTF. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ "PLAYER ONE". PLAYER ONE (in Russian). Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ Roman Dorokhov (9 August 2012). "'Akella' finished: 200 million ruble lawsuits filed" (in Russian). Ведомости. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ^ Anastasia Alekseevskikh (14 June 2012). "Video game developer 'Akella' on the verge of bankruptcy" (in Russian). Маркер. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ^ "Ликвидатор". Igromania. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ "Компания Акелла - игра Mad Tracks: Заводные Гонки" [Akella Company - Mad Tracks: Groovy Races game]. Akella (in Russian). 24 March 2006. Archived from the original on 10 December 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
