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Certain Affinity
American video game developer

Certain Affinity is an American video game development studio based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2006 by Max Hoberman and a small number of other ex-Bungie employees and other industry veterans. On October 18, 2024, Certain Affinity was acquired by Keywords Studios.

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History

Certain Affinity's creation was announced in December 2006. The studio was founded by ex-Bungie employee Max Hoberman. In addition to staff from Bungie, it also includes ex-members of companies such as Microsoft, Red Storm, Origin, Electronic Arts, Digital Anvil, NCSoft, and the now-defunct Midway Austin and Ion Storm Austin.1

The studio's first work was in creating two additional multiplayer levels for the popular Xbox game Halo 2. These maps, called "Tombstone" and "Desolation" (which comprised the "Blastacular Map Pack") were the last Halo 2 maps to be released; they are remakes of levels from the original Halo, called "Hang 'Em High" and "Derelict" respectively.2 They were released for Halo 2 on the Xbox Live on April 17, 2007. These maps were not released for Halo 2 Vista, but were replaced with two new maps exclusive to Halo 2 Vista: "District" and "Uplift". Certain Affinity worked closely with members of Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios during the development of these two maps.

Certain Affinity started working on another project in November 2006, which was revealed to be an unannounced original IP game in the action role-playing game genre.3

Certain Affinity's first original game was Age of Booty, a downloadable real-time strategy game released on Steam, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. The title was published by Capcom on October 15, 2008.45

The company helped Valve port Left 4 Dead to the Xbox 360.6

In 2009, the company announced the completion of Halo Waypoint, developed in conjunction with 343 Industries.7

The company worked on the "Defiant Map Pack" for Halo: Reach, released on March 15, 2011.8

The company announced its new game, due to release in summer 2011, called Crimson Alliance, at RTX 2011.910

Certain Affinity also partnered with 343 Industries again for the development of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, which was released exclusively for Xbox 360 on November 15, 2011.11

At RTX 2012, Certain Affinity announced that the studio was working with 343 Industries again on developing the Forge map-making tools for Halo 4.12

At RTX 2014, Certain Affinity showed off their involvement in Halo: The Master Chief Collection with the reveal of one of the six remade Halo 2 maps, Coagulation, along with a new vehicle, the Gungoose.13

In 2017, Leyou Tech invested $10 million in Certain Affinity to develop an original game.14

In March 2024, it was announced that Certain Affinity would be laying off 25 employees, or 10% of the company's workforce.15

On October 18, 2024, Certain Affinity was acquired by Keywords Studios. The acquisition include a team of 180 employees based in the U.S. and Canada. Certain Affinity will continue to operate under its current leadership, including CEO Max Hoberman and President and COO Paul Sams.16

Games

YearTitleAdditional informationPlatform
2007Halo 2Multiplayer DLC (Blastacular Map Pack)Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360
2008Age of BootyMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade
2008Call of Duty: World at WarMultiplayer and Multiplayer DLCMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
2008Left 4 DeadAssisting developmentXbox 360
2009Halo WaypointCo-developed with 343iXbox 360
2010Call of Duty: Black OpsMultiplayer DLCMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2011Halo: ReachMultiplayer DLC (Defiant Map Pack)Xbox 360
2011Crimson AllianceXbox Live Arcade
2011Halo: Combat Evolved AnniversaryCo-developed with 343iXbox 360
2012Halo 4Co-developed with 343iXbox 360
2013Call of Duty: GhostsMultiplayer and Multiplayer DLCMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
2014Halo: The Master Chief CollectionMultiplayerXbox One
2014Age of Booty TacticsMultiplayeriOS
2016DoomMultiplayer Co-developed with id SoftwareMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2016Call of Duty: Modern Warfare RemasteredCo-developed with Raven Software, High Moon Studios and BeenoxMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2021Halo InfiniteCo-developed with 343iMicrosoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
TBALast ExpeditionTBA
Transformers Reactivate' Passed off to Splash DamageMicrosoft Windows
Project: LoroA new original FPS gameTBA
ExodusCo-developed with Archetype EntertainmentTBA

References

  1. "Certain Affinity about page". Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20120420031714/http://www.certainaffinity.com/about.htm ↩

  2. "Certain affinity Maps revealed". Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20110522103801/http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=certainaffinitymaps ↩

  3. "Mapmakers to the Stars". Archived from the original on April 6, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070406202649/http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=certainaffinityinterview ↩

  4. Faylor, Chris (March 4, 2008). "Certain Affinity Making Pimps at Sea, Sorta". Shacknews. Retrieved March 5, 2008. http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/51613 ↩

  5. "Age of Booty Release Date". Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20120207015139/http://www.certainaffinity.com/news.htm ↩

  6. "Cat Outta The Bag". Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110708132808/http://www.certainaffinity.com/2008/02/04/cat-outta-the-bag/ ↩

  7. Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 11, 2012). "Meet Certain Affinity, the Halo 4 Developer You've Never Heard Of". Eurogamer. Retrieved November 30, 2014. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-09-meet-certain-affinity-the-halo-4-developer-youve-never-heard-of ↩

  8. "Halo: Reach Defiant Map Pack Announced!". Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110708132825/http://www.certainaffinity.com/2011/02/14/halo-reach-defiant-map-pack-announced/ ↩

  9. "Crimson Alliance Announced". Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110920223153/http://www.certainaffinity.com/2011/05/27/crimson-alliance-announced/ ↩

  10. "Current website for Crimson Alliance". Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110525014306/http://crimsonalliance.com/ ↩

  11. Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 11, 2012). "Meet Certain Affinity, the Halo 4 Developer You've Never Heard Of". Eurogamer. Retrieved November 30, 2014. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-09-meet-certain-affinity-the-halo-4-developer-youve-never-heard-of ↩

  12. Hilliard, Kyle (July 8, 2012). "Halo 4's Forge Mode Developed By Certain Affinity". Game Informer. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120711023202/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/07/08/halo-4-39-s-forge-mode-being-developed-by-certain-affinity.aspx ↩

  13. Xbox Wire Staff. "343 Shows Off Returning Favorites and New Additions for Halo: The Master Chief Collection". news.xbox.com. Xbox. Retrieved August 4, 2015. http://news.xbox.com/2014/07/games-rtx-halo-recap ↩

  14. "Austin Game Maker Certain Affinity Lands $10 Million Investment from Hong Kong Firm - SiliconHills". SiliconHills. October 17, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2018. http://www.siliconhillsnews.com/2017/10/17/austin-game-maker-certain-affinity-lands-10-million-investment-hong-kong-firm/ ↩

  15. Chalk, Andy (April 1, 2024). "Halo Infinite support studio Certain Affinity lays off employees for the first time in 17 years, blames industry slowdown and 'reluctance of third party investors to fund games or game companies'". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 2, 2024. https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/halo-infinite-support-studio-certain-affinity-lays-off-employees-for-the-first-time-in-17-years-blames-industry-slowdown-and-reluctance-of-third-party-investors-to-fund-games-or-game-companies/ ↩

  16. Valentine, Rebekah (October 18, 2024). "Halo, Hogwarts Legacy Co-developer Certain Affinity Becomes the Latest Keywords Studios Acquisition". IGN. Retrieved October 18, 2024. https://www.ign.com/articles/halo-hogwarts-legacy-co-developer-certain-affinity-becomes-the-latest-keywords-studios-acquisition ↩