Is Chicago Set to Become the Next Growth Area for Game Development?

Posted by: Kurt Uhlir at June 27, 2005 10:32:50 PM

The recent success of EA’s Fight Night (developed by EA Chicago, actually in a suburb) and the upcoming release of Midway’s Blitz are two great examples of the work coming out of the Chicagoland development community.

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Here is one of the first reviews of Blitz:

Blitz: The League, is a new, unlicensed videogame exposing the harsh realism and troubling, behind-the-scenes stories of a fictional professional football league. Blitz: The League has been in development at Midway's Chicago studio for the past year in collaboration with a writer from ESPN's controversial "Playmakers" TV series. Blitz: The League goes behind the glitz and glamour of the game through a revolutionary campaign mode that explores the on-field violence, off-field fallout and front-office politics of professional football.

"Midway's Chicago studio has laid the foundation over the past year for what is the ultimate alternative to watered down NFL sanctioned football games," said Steve Allison, chief noisemaker at Midway. "No longer bound to the NFL license, there will be no league restrictions on content and gamers will finally experience what makes playing a football videogame really fun: off-field controversies, dirty hits, excessive celebrations and much more. Blitz: The League buyers will be assured of one thing - our game will include all the gameplay and fun the NFL won't allow."

Complete review and screenshots
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With releases like these, a large number of smaller and mid-sized development houses and the likes of Bungie founder Alex Seropian returning to Chicago (to start Wideload Games), is Chicago set to become one of the next growth areas in game development?