Former type Private company Defunct 2002 Ceased operations 2002 | Industry Video game developer Website (archived homepage) | |
Products Computer and video games Headquarters Encinitas, California, United States Founded 1991, San Diego, California, United States Video games Myst III: Exile, The Journeyman Project, The Journeyman Project 3, The Journeyman Project: P, The Journeyman Project 2 | ||
Presto Studios was a computer game development company of the 1990s, especially famous for its award-winning The Journeyman Project series and the 2001 sequel to Cyan's hit Myst series, Myst III: Exile.
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In August 2002, Presto Studios shut down new development after the release of an Xbox title Whacked!. In a statement, Greg Uhler (executive producer) announced the closing of the company:
"Due to business, financial, and personal reasons, Presto Studios is discontinuing software development. Whacked! for the Xbox will be the last product that we ship. The company will remain as a corporate entity for many years, but will not be developing products. A minimal staff, including Michel and myself, will be here until the end of October."
Closure of the company
Whacked! for Xbox was Presto Studios' final title before closing its doors shortly afterward. Though still in decent financial shape, Presto was facing an uphill challenge in the transition from the PC to console game market. The directors of the company anticipated a rapidly shrinking PC game market and decided to close the company while it was ahead. A significant number of the creative staff moved on to high-profile roles in motion picture and animation production.