Gremlin Interactive (originally Gremlin Graphics) was a British software house based in Sheffield and working mostly in the home computer market.
Like many software houses established in the eighties their primary market was the 8-bit range of computers such as the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64.


History

The company, originally a computer store called Just Micro, was established as a software house in 1984 with the name Gremlin Graphics Software Ltd by Ian Stewart & Kevin Norburn.
Gremlin's early success was based on games such as Wanted: Monty Mole for the ZX Spectrum and Thing on a Spring for the Commodore 64.


In 1994, it was renamed as Gremlin Interactive, now concentrating on the 16-bit, PC and console market.
Also the HQ moved, from Carver Street to localities near Devonshire Green. Gremlin scored big with the Zool and Premier Manager series in the early 1990s, and then with Actua Soccer, the first football game in full 3D, while having success with other games such as the Lotus racing series, a futuristic racing game Motorhead, a stunt car racing game Fatal Racing (1995) or a 1998 flight simulator Hardwar. Following EA's success with the EA Sports brand, Gremlin also released their own sports videogame series, adding Golf, Tennis and Ice Hockey to their Actua Sports series. During this time, they used a motif from the Siegfried Funeral March from Götterdämmerung as introductory music.

In 1996, Gremlin acquired DMA Design (creators of Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings).
After 1999, they themselves were bought by Infogrames and renamed "Infogrames Sheffield House", for a reported fee of around £24 million, but the studio closed in 2003.
The building they occupied has since been demolished when Infogrames Sheffield House was supposed to be renamed "Atari Sheffield House".
Most of the former employees went to create Sumo Digital, while Ian Stewart started Zoo Digital.

Gremlin Interactive's catalogue and name have since been bought up by Ian Stewart's new company Urbanscan.

Key staff

In its heyday the Gremlin staff included:

Kevin Bulmer - Designer/graphics artist
Jon Harrison - Designer/graphics artist
Gary Priest - Programmer
Bill Allen - Programmer
David Martin - Marketing Director
Ben Daglish - Outsourced Musician
Ade Carless - Designer/graphics artist
Antony 'Ratt' Crowther / Designer, programmer
Paul Whitehead - Tester / Designer
Ian Stewart - Managing director
Kevin Norburn - Operations director
Patrick Phelan - Software manager/sound engineer
Chris Harvey - Lead console programmer

Known games:


Actua Pool
Actua Sports
Alternative World Games
Auf Wiedersehen Monty
Axel's Magic Hammer
Body Harvest
Bounder (video game)
Brutal Sports Football
Cosmic Causeway: Trailblazer II
Dark Fusion
Deflektor
Fatal Racing
Fragile Allegiance
Full Throttle: All-American Racing
Gary Lineker's Superstar Soccer
H.A.T.E.: Hostile All-Terrain Encounter
Hardcore 4X4
Hardwar (video game)
Harlequin (video game)
HeroQuest (video game)
HeroQuest II: Legacy of Sorasil
Impossamole
Jack the Nipper
Jeep Jamboree: Off Road Adventure
Jungle Strike
K240
Litil Divil
Loaded (video game)
Lotus (series)
Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge
Lotus Turbo Challenge 2
Moley Christmas
Monopoly video games
Monty Is Innocent
Monty on the Run
Motorhead (video game)
N2O: Nitrous Oxide
Newman/Haas IndyCar featuring Nigel Mansell
Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing
Normality (video game)
Plan 9 from Outer Space (video game)
Premier Manager
Premier Manager 2
Premier Manager 3
Premier Manager: Ninety Nine
Race Days
Realms of the Haunting
Shadow Fighter (video game)
Skidz
Slipstream 5000
Space Crusade (video game)
Super Cars
Super Cars II
Switchblade (video game)
Switchblade II
Thing on a Spring
Top Gear (video game)
Top Gear 2
Top Gear 3000
Toyota Celica GT
Trailblazer (video game)
UEFA European Championship video games
Utopia: The Creation of a Nation
Venus The Flytrap
Wanted: Monty Mole
Wild Metal Country
Zool
Zool 2