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{{Short description|Video game developer}}
{{About|the software company|the blood coagulation protein|Factor V
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox company
|name = Factor 5 GmbH<br />Factor 5, Inc (US branch)
|logo = Factor 5 Logo.png
|logo_size = 250px
|type = [[Privately owned company|Private]]
|foundation = 1987
|defunct = 2011
|fate =
|location = Cologne, Germany<br />San Rafael, California, U.S.
|key_people = Achim Moller, CEO<br />[[Julian Eggebrecht]], President (U.S. branch)
|industry = [[Video game industry|Video games]]
|products = ''[[Lair (video game)|Lair]]''<br />[[Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (series)|''Rogue Squadron'' series]]<br />''[[Turrican]]'' series<br />MusyX: Dolby Sound Tools<br />[[DivX|DivX For Games SDK]]
|revenue =
|operating_income =
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'''Factor 5 GmbH''' is an [[Independent business|independent]] [[software]] and [[video game developer]]. The company was co-founded by five former [[Rainbow Arts]] employees in 1987 in [[Cologne]], [[Germany]], which served as the inspiration behind the studio's name.
In order to have a stronger relationship with Factor 5's North American partners like [[LucasArts]], '''Factor 5, Inc.''' was established in the United States in May 1996 with legal support from LucasArts, and in late 1996 the core of the development team in Germany was relocated to the North American company headquarters in [[San Rafael, California|San Rafael]], [[California]].<ref name="FACTOR 5">
The U.S. company closed in May 2009, following the closure of [[Brash Entertainment]], with which the company had multiple contracts.<ref name="Factor 5 Closed">{{cite web |url=https://www.next-gen.biz/news/lair-dev-factor-5-closes |title=Lair Dev Factor 5 Closes |author=Tom Ivan |publisher=Edge |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110323014023/https://www.next-gen.biz/news/lair-dev-factor-5-closes |archive-date=2011-03-23 }}</ref> The original German company, headed by CEO Achim Moller, remained active due to its unrelated business policy and operations with the North American company.<ref name="Factor 5 Shuts Down">{{cite web|url=https://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/982/982870p1.html|title=Factor 5 Shuts Down|author=Matt Casamassina|date=14 May 2009|publisher=IGN}}</ref><ref name="Factor 5 Germany Confirms U.S. Studio Closure">{{cite web|url=https://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23625|title=Factor 5 Germany Confirms U.S. Studio Closure|author=Leigh Alexander|publisher=Gamasutra}}</ref>
However, in January 2011, Moller liquidated Factor 5 GmbH, and all game licenses were transferred to "Eggebrecht, Engel, Schmidt GbR".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=451147|title=Factor 5 now completely dead | NeoGAF|accessdate=30 November 2023}}</ref>
On March 15, 2017, Factor 5 co-founder Julian Eggebrecht had announced that the company has returned and
==History==
The programming group which would eventually become Factor 5 had originally formed in the 1980s, in what cofounder [[Julian Eggebrecht]] described as a culture of [[Hacker (programmer subculture)|hacking]] and multimedia programming on the local [[demoscene|demo scene]]. Eggebrecht attended the Filmhochschule in Munich to become a movie director{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}}, and all the other members studied [[computer science]].<ref name="F5 Interview Pt1"/>
While its founders were still university students, Factor 5 started out in game development as a part-time activity under partnership with [[Rainbow Arts]] for the [[
Their first important success, however, came with ''[[Turrican]]'',<ref name="F5 Interview Pt1"/> a game designed by Rainbow Arts designer [[Manfred Trenz]]. Factor 5 handled the Amiga and [[Atari ST]] versions of the game; and together with the original [[Commodore 64]] version and several others, ''Turrican'' was a major hit across Europe in 1990.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}
In 1991, faced with the prospect of corporate formalities imposed by the video game console industry, the company founders quit school in favor of full-time corporate careers. Eggebrecht explained, "[t]he moment you go into console programming, you won't get a development system from Nintendo unless you have a reputable company."<ref name="F5 Interview Pt1"/> After they finished work on ''[[Turrican II: The Final Fight]]'' for the Amiga and Atari ST in 1991, Factor 5 built their own development kits and software environments for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] and [[
With the development of PlayStation games for LucasArts, the personnel located in Germany experienced communication difficulties in working with their North American partner due to the distance between both countries and the Internet speeds of that time being insufficient for the requirements of console development. This, together with legal assistance offered by LucasArts, resulted in a new Factor 5 branch in California. There, the core of the development team from Germany was established after they finished work on their PlayStation games in late 1996.
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In late December 2008, several online media outlets reported that [[Brash Entertainment]] (Factor 5's publisher of their current project) would close at the end of the month after encountering financial problems. This sudden interruption in funding left Factor 5 with their own funding difficulties, eventually causing its closure in May 2009.<ref name="Factor 5 Closed" />
Factor 5 had been involved in litigation with its former employees in the defunct North American Factor 5 company. The suit alleges that Factor 5 did not pay its employees for work during November and December, that employees were laid off without the required notice by law, that employees did not receive their vacation pay, and that the company misled the employees.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ex-Factor 5 Employees Cry Fraud | date=June 17, 2009 | first=Mike | last=Fahey | url=https://kotaku.com/ex-factor-5-employees-cry-fraud-5293867 | access-date=June 15, 2009}}</ref> The suit was filed in Marin Superior Court.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}
==Games==
===Factor 5 GmbH===
▲====[[Amiga]]====
*1988: ''[[Katakis]]''
*1989: ''[[R-Type]]''
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*1992: ''[[BC Kid]]''
*1993: ''[[Mega Turrican|Turrican 3]]'' (conversion program by Neon Studios)
*1994: ''
====
*1990: ''[[Turrican]]''
*1991: ''[[Turrican II: The Final Fight]]''
*1991: ''[[The Adventures of Quik & Silva]]'' (under the pseudonym ''New Bits on the RAM''; port of Amiga version)
====
*1993: ''[[Super Turrican (
*1994: ''[[Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures]]''
*1995: ''[[Super Turrican 2]]''
====
*1993: ''[[Mega Turrican]]'' (released in 1994)
*1994: ''[[Bomberman '94#Factor 5 tech demo|Mega Bomberman 8-players]]'' (unpublished demo)
*1996: ''[[International Superstar Soccer Deluxe]]''
====
*1994: ''[[Contra III: The Alien Wars|Contra: The Alien Wars]]''
*1995: ''[[Animaniacs (video game)|Animaniacs]]''
====
*1994: ''
====
*1996: ''[[Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire]]''
*1997: ''[[Ballblazer Champions]]''
===
*''[[Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures]]'' (completed but unreleased) ([[Sega Genesis|Sega Mega Drive/Genesis]])
===
====Nintendo 64====
*1998: ''[[Star Wars: Rogue Squadron]]''
*1999: ''[[Pokémon Stadium]]'' (Sound Compression Technology)
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*2000: ''[[Star Wars: Episode I: Battle for Naboo]]''
*2000: ''[[Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine]]''
*2000: ''[[Pokémon Stadium 2]]'' (Sound Compression Technology)
====
*1999: ''[[Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D]]''
*2001: ''[[Star Wars
====
*2001: ''[[Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader]]''
*2003: ''[[Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike]]''
====
*2007: ''[[Lair (video game)|Lair]]''
====Cancelled
*''Animal Wars'' ([[PS3]])<ref name="unseen64.net">{{Cite web|url=https://www.unseen64.net/2011/11/10/animal-wars-ps3-cancelled/|title = Animal Wars [PS3 - Cancelled] - Unseen64|date = 10 November 2011}}</ref>
*''Icarus'' reboot of ''[[Kid Icarus]]'' ([[Wii]]) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF3cqKxfxaw|title = The Lost Kid Icarus Wii Game - Unseen64|website = [[YouTube]]}}</ref>
*''Untitled Pilotwings project'' ([[GameCube]]) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMB-4WjrZyo|title = Pilotwings for Nintendo GameCube - Unseen64|website = [[YouTube]]}}</ref>
*''Star Wars Rogue Squadron: Rogue Leaders Wii'' (completed but unreleased) ([[Wii]])<ref>[https://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/0/5/30564a64ae29bcd8/Nintendo_Voice_Chat__Factor_5s_Odyssey_to_Make_Star_Wars_Games.mp3?c_id=7727366&expiration=1412976079&hwt=59ce7c57f38ee6152d163b0662cbd34c Nintendo Voice Chat Factor 5's Odyssey to Make Star Wars Games] hwcdn.libsyn.com {{dead link|date=November 2023}}</ref>
*''[[List of Superman video games#Unreleased Superman games|Superman]]'' ([[PS3]], [[Xbox 360]], [[Wii]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unseen64.net/2009/03/09/superman-factor-5-x360ps3-cancelled/|title = Superman (Factor 5) [X360/PS3 - Cancelled] - Unseen64|date = 9 March 2009}}</ref>
*''[[Turrican#Never released|Thornado]]'' ([[
*''[[Turrican#Never released|Thornado]]'' ([[GameCube]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=
*''[[Turrican#Never released|Turrican: Cyclone]]'' ([[PS3]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unseen64.net/2009/05/27/project-c-factor-5-ps3-cancelled/|title = Turrican: Cyclone (Factor 5) [PS3 - Cancelled] - Unseen64|date = 27 May 2009}}</ref>
*''Virus'' ([[PS3]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unseen64.net/2011/04/04/virus-ps3-cancelled|title=Virus [PS3 - Cancelled] - Unseen64|date=4 April 2011}}</ref>
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==References==
{{Reflist
==External links==
*{{Official website | https://www.factor5.com/}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070207024012/https://games.ign.com/objects/025/025137.html Factor 5] profile at [[IGN]]
*[https://www.gamespot.com/pages/company/index.php?company=10614&om_act=convert&om_clk=stats Factor 5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930041542/https://www.gamespot.com/pages/company/index.php?company=10614&om_act=convert&om_clk=stats |date=2007-09-30 }} profile at [[GameSpot]]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Factor 5}}
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:German companies established in 1987]]
[[Category:Video game companies established in 1987]]
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[[Category:Video game development companies]]
[[Category:Companies based in San Rafael, California]]
[[Category:Companies based in Cologne]]
[[Category:Re-established companies]]
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