Acclaim Entertainment was a household name in the 90s, and everyone in the generation has heard, played, or contemplated playing at least one of their titles while growing up.
They published over 200+ games from 1987 to 2004, making them one of the most active and successful publishers in the 1990s. However, in light of Acclaim’s announced revival as reported by Destructoid, it would be fun to look back at some of their most influential games, which helped shape the industry into what it is today.
Acclaim’s Most Influential Games
Acclaim Entertainment’s best games were by far NBA Jam, the Turok series, and the first few titles of the Burnout series. But before they reached the level of success those games had, they had mostly published games based on popular comics, TV series, sports, and movies.
The company acquired licenses to these IPs to persuade retailers to stock certain game titles, which worked wonders during the 1990s. Consumers were less informed about how good games were back then, and the pull of popular licenses put them on the map.
It wasn’t until 1994 that Acclaim Entertainment had a massive foothold in the industry, reporting a profit of $481 million with games like Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam selling well for the company.
As Acclaim continued to grow, it got a deal with Marvel Entertainment Group, getting the rights for games like Spider-Man, Punisher, and Wolverine. You’ll see a certain trend in their released games, as they always alternate between publishing popular IPs and the latest sports games like NFL, NBA, and WWF.
Acclaim Entertainment’s Rapid Expansion in the Mid 90s and its Decline
As Acclaim Entertainment grew, it started acquiring minority interests in studios like Digital Pictures and even acquired studios like Iguana Entertainment, Probe Entertainment, and Sculptured Software, merging them into Acclaim Studios, which is known for continuing iconic titles like Turok, WWF, and NBA Jam.
Apart from regularly releasing new games from their cash cows, Acclaim Studios had a few more successful hits, like F355 Challenge, Crazy Taxi, and the start of the Burnout series.
However, they were also slowly releasing more duds than hits, as they couldn’t keep up with all the licenses because of poor sales. As the industry got more competitive, especially as their rivals, Activision, started rising again, Acclaim Entertainment began to lose licenses, starting with losing the rights to WWF to THQ in 1998.
After WWF, it was Major League Baseball and then Turok, one of their most successful series as of 2004. In the same year, they filed for bankruptcy.
Acclaim’s Return and Speculation on Their Future Plans
With Acclaim’s announcement of a return, it is easy to say that they are planning to revive some of their most successful titles and franchises. The board is comprised of Russel Binder, Mark Caplan, and Jeff Jarrett, with Alex Josef spearheading the company.
Since Jeff Jarrett is involved, it is fair to say that we will get another wrestling title soon, and since Mark Caplan is involved, it will most likely be an AEW game.
Russel Binder, one of Striker Entertainment’s founding partners and known for being an executive producer for the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, and Alex Josef, the founder and CEO of Graffiti Games, might plan to take a shot at creating indie games using Acclaim’s most popular titles.
With Alex Josef responsible for releasing extraordinary indie hits like Blue Fire and Cyber Hook, we might see some classics return. However, Acclaim Entertainment has lost the rights to its iconic titles, including Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, Turok, and more.
They are going to need a lot of money to get their hands on some of their old properties. Still, you can expect them to create some new games as well, with Alex Josef having some experience with Graffiti Games. They have already hinted at releasing a new game this year, as Alex was already working on a new Acclaim Entertainment project in 2024.
Published: Mar 4, 2025 01:12 pm