Black Isle Studios

Background
Black Isle Studios was an RPG division of Interplay, formed in 1996 in Irvine, California. They adopted their name in 1998, naming it after the titular Black Isle in founder Feargus Urquhart's ancestral country, Ireland. They are best-known for their many acclaimed titles, including Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, Baldur's Gate, and Icewind Dale.

Despite the success of their titles, they were not able to stay active due to their parent company's then-increasing financial troubles; as a result, all of Black Isle's staff were laid off on December 8, 2003, effectively putting an end to the company. Much of the company's remaining staff members later went on to form Obsidian Entertainment, while key staff who worked on the first two Fallout games left to form Troika Games.

Interplay revived Black Isle Studios in August 2012 as an in-name only unit, with the intention of producing new role-playing games under the label. This unit's first new release, a 4K port of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance was released to modern consoles and PC in May 2021.

(October 29, 1998-February 6, 2004)
Logo: Under a stormy sky, there is an ocean with a black pyramid-shaped rock far away. We start zooming to the rock, while lightning crosses the sky. When we zoom close, the lightning comes together and blasts the black isle, making it into an outline with a black background. As the isle sketch zooms out, the words "BLACK ISLE" in a rough font are revealed below on separate lines, divided by a strip. Under "ISLE" is the word "studios" in a white box; all of this is seen inside a white border. The byline "A DIVISION OF INTERPLAY" is seen below the box.

Technique: The lightning, the sea animation.

Music/Sounds: Harsh thunder and the electric-styled sound of the lightning.

Availability: Common, as the games produced by BIS are fairly well-known. It appears on Fallout 2, the Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate series, and on Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader.