Yes, you read that right, the legendary publisher behind games like Turok 2, South Park, Shadow Man, Burnout, and WWF Attitude is back and ready to bring classic titles back to the fold once more. Acclaim has officially returned, and I'm sensing a barrage of remasters on the horizon which I'm incredibly happy about.
Can you believe it's been more than 2 decades since Acclaim was dissolved? A group of industry veterans led by Alex Josef have teamed together to bring back the studio which was first founded in 1987, and they're hitting the ground running when it comes to launching new games.
'It’s an absolute honor and pleasure to be leading the charge in bringing Acclaim back to the forefront of the games industry,” says Alex Josef, CEO, “we’re fortunate that we have an extremely talented team and that we’ve already signed some incredible indie titles, which we’ll be revealing soon.'
I had so many games with the Acclaim logon on them growing up through the 90s, and it looks like I'm about to get a lot more! Their mission, which has always been the main aim of Acclaim as a company, is to support independent publishers by providing key publishing services like marketing, PR support, and all-important funding to bring titles to life, as well as to bring back its classic games,
Acclaim is relaunching with a new advisory board made up of Striker Entertainment's Russel Binder, Mark Caplan from Ridge Partners, and Two-time Hall of Fame wrestler Jeff Jarrett from Global Force Entertainment. Speaking about the return of Acclaim, Jeff writes 'For more than three decades, I've had the privilege to have been a part of both the wrestling and gaming universes, and I'm thrilled to now be a partner in the revival of Acclaim, an iconic publisher known for releasing some of the most legendary games of the ‘80s and ‘90s. From my early involvement with the publisher’s hit 16-bit WWF titles to my experience helping shape the TNA Wrestling series, which spawned the first video game wrestler to become a full-time roster member in the Squared Circle, I've seen firsthand the type of impact great games can have on players and fans. Resurrecting Acclaim is an opportunity to impart the same degree of passion and love to a new generation, and I'm excited to be involved.'
With Phil Toronto of VaynerFund, and Eric Vogel of JET Management supporting the growth of the company, it looks like Acclaim has been given the best possible platform to thrive throughout 2025 and beyond. It's truly the return of an icon, and I'm looking forward to seeing which new games they will be announcing over the coming months and, more importantly, which classics are getting the remake or remaster treatment!
