Iconic publisher Acclaim is being revived by a group of industry veterans hoping to support to indies and resurrect classic franchises.
Originally launched in 1987, Acclaim was known for working on popular series like NBA Jam, Turok, and Mortal Kombat. After a period of sustained success in the ’90s, the company began to decline and eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2004—selling off key assets as a result.
Now, the brand is being relaunched under the supervision of an advisory team that includes Russell Binder at Striker Entertainment, Mark Caplan at Ridge Partners, and Jeff Jarrett at Global Force Entertainment.
Marketing and publishing veteran Alex Josef has been named CEO of the revitalised publisher.
Josef previously served as the CEO of full service publisher Graffiti Games—known for working on titles like Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion and Restless Soul—and revealed Acclaim has already signed multiple projects.
“It’s an absolute honor and pleasure to be leading the charge in bringing Acclaim back to the forefront of the games industry,” said Josef. “We’re fortunate that we have an extremely talented team and that we’ve already signed some incredible indie titles, which we’ll be revealing soon.”
Acclaim will offer funding, marketing, and PR support to help independent studios “bring their creative visions to a broad audience.”
“One of the key goals for the relaunched Acclaim is to resurrect and revitalize its beloved portfolio of classic IP enjoyed for years by millions of players,” adds a press release, suggesting remakes and remasters could be on the cards.
Speaking to Game Developer, Josef said the group had considered acquiring two classic publishing brands, but emphasised that Acclaim was always the “main target.”
“In 2024, we came to terms with the last group of stakeholders that owned the logo and name mark and, then it was off to the races,” he explained. “Acclaim has had such a massive impact on gaming history with so many notable titles spanning multiple genres and nearly every major license over the gaming landscape. We are having a number of conversations to assess opportunities with classic Acclaim IP that fans want to experience most.”
Now that Acclaim is back in action, the team hopes to deliver a product slate that includes independent titles from developers keen to build their own franchises and games that refresh existing IPs in a way that serves fans.
“Our vision for evolving Acclaim includes a product mix that brings the best of independent titles from developers who are building their own emerging brands alongside matchmaking where Acclaim can connect the dots with global brands that are culturally relevant,” he continued.
“Any IP refresh absolutely must elevate the game, and the game must elevate the brand. We take this very seriously, and fan service is the cornerstone for us across our team, our greenlight process, and how we’re approaching our release strategy.”