Climax Studios

Background

Climax Studios (formerly Images Software and The Climax Group) was founded by Karl Jeffery in February 1988. Headquartered in Fareham, England, the studio began with additional development and porting of games. In the late 1990s, Climax established four development studios across the UK (Fareham (later moved to Portsmouth and renamed to Solent), Brighton, Nottingham, Kingston), with an additional fifth studio in Venice, California opened in October 2003. In November 2004, the company organized its studios into three brands: the Solent and Kingston studios were merged into "Climax Action", while the Brighton and Nottingham studios were renamed to "Climax Racing" and "Climax Online", respectively. Climax Racing was sold to Disney in September 2006 and rebranded as Black Rock Studio, while Climax Online was closed, leaving the Solent studio in Portsmouth as the only one remaining. The studio was acquired by Keywords Studios in April 2021 for £47 million.

Contents

1st Logo (15 August 1996)	2nd Logo (28 February 1998-30 March 2000)	3rd Logo (29 August 2000-22 November 2002)	4th Logo (13 January 2003-31 October 2012)	5th Logo (27 August 2013)	6th Logo (4 March 2014-15 February 2019)	7th Logo (19 February 2020-)

1st Logo (15 August 1996)

Visuals: The word "CLIMAX" is written in a rough font with all letters separated.

Technique: A still, digital image.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on Bugs Bunny in Double Trouble.

2nd Logo (28 February 1998-30 March 2000)

Visuals: The word "Climax" made in a script font with all letters connected.

Variants:

On Battlezone: Rise of the Black Dogs, the logo is brown with a hazel outline.
On San Francisco Rush for PlayStation, the logo is red with "ENTERTAINMENT" below.

Technique: A still, digital image.

Audio: None.

Availability: Used in the two games listed above, maybe in other games too.

3rd Logo (29 August 2000-22 November 2002)

Visuals: The word "CLImax" is being projected by moving lines, templates, etc. Then it takes away the colors, making the background white, and the shadow appears.

Variants:

There is a special version with the Climax logo still on a black background and a vivid "motorsports" below.
Some games feature the still version on a black background.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: Various chirping noises with heart sounds after them.

Availability: Seen on Power Rangers: Time Force, SpongeBob SquarePants: SuperSponge, Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic, and other games. The motorsports version was used on racing games like MotoGP.

4th Logo (13 January 2003-31 October 2012)

Visuals: On a cloud-like background, the word "CLImax" with a yellow outline is being sprayed by the flow of particles. The camera moves and shakes when the flow comes too close. As word is completed and begins to zoom out, the background clears to white, and the logo fades.

Variant: On handheld consoles like GBA and NDS, a still version is used on a black or white background (with or without the outline).

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Whooshing and chirping sounds.

Availability: Seen on Sudeki, SX Superstar, Hot Wheels: World Race, Hot Wheels: Beat That! and Ghost Rider, among other games. The still version can be found on Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS games.

5th Logo (27 August 2013)

Visuals: The "CLIMAX" name, now in a more diagonal angular font, pushes out of a red spotlighted background. The spot then fills the whole screen as the name turns white. A white light then slowly fills the whole screen.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A long held-out whoosh.

Availability: Seen on the PC port of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

6th Logo (4 March 2014-15 February 2019)

Visuals: The white Climax logo is seen slowly zooming in on a red background with bubbly waves behind. "STUDIOS" in white is aligned underneath it to the right.

Variants:

On Assassin's Creed Chronicles, the logo is further away and appears repeatedly on the background. "STUDIOS" is also in black.
A still version exists.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A high synth hum.

Availability: It was first seen still on the PS4 release of Dead Nation and the PS3 version of Resogun. The animated version debuted on Assassin's Creed Chronicles, and is also seen on Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion, Crayola Scoot and Dragons: Dawn of New Riders.

7th Logo (19 February 2020-)

Visuals: The all-red Climax logo fades in zooming out on a white background, shining from the bottom and casting a shadow on the floor.

Variant: On the studio's 2023 showreel, the logo is zoomed in and the byline "A KEYWORDS STUDIO" is seen below.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A low synth hum.

Availability: It has so far only been seen on the studio's 2019 and 2023 showreels.