Loose Cannon Studios

"All we need is a tall ship and a star to sail her by."
― Company Slogan

Loose Cannon Studios L.L.C. was an independent American video game developer based in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded in 2005 by Dev Madan and Matthew Scott, formerly of Sucker Punch Productions, and Ricci Rukavina, who held creative and production positions at Universal Interactive Studios and Vivendi Games, who also served as the company's president. The studio opening was announced in May 2009. Their first title, Zephyr: Rise of the Elements, was announced by Konami Digital Entertainment at E3 2009 in June 2009. Renamed Tornado Outbreak in July 2009, the game was released for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 in September that year, The company would later be acquired by PopCap Games in May of 2010.

History[]

Following the completion of Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, Dev Madan and Matthew Scott left Sucker Punch Productions in fall of 2005. Together, the two paired up with Ricci Rukavina and formed the independent company known as Loose Cannon Studios.

In April and July 2006, the company pitched two video game concepts to Warner Brothers Interactive. Dirty Harry: Excessive Forces, a multiplatform-video game with a planned release date of Fall 2007, along with Tornado Alley, an original-IP focused on the premise of wreaking havoc on the environment. While Dirty Harry's development was handed to The Collective before its abrupt cancellation in 2007, the company enjoyed the premise of Tornado Alley to the point where they picked up the game as publishers.

The negotiations, however, didn’t last long due to creative differences between the two companies. Frustrated with being unable to create Tornado Alley the way Loose Cannon envisioned it, the company sought after Konami Digital Entertainment, who remained the game’s publishers.

In June of 2009, the game was announced to the public for the first time under the title Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals and featured a variety of changes that weren’t present in the initial pitch from 2006. The game was more focused on characters - such as Zephyr, Nimbus, and the Wind Warriors - as opposed to just controlling a tornado. A month later, the game was renamed to Tornado Outbreak.

Dissolution and Merging with PopCap Games[]

In 2007, Matthew Scott, co-founder of Loose Cannon Studios, entered into negotiations to sell the company to PopCap Games. After the acquisition, the two companies co-produced PopCap Games Volume One and Two. Later, in 2009, Loose Cannon Studios released its own intellectual property called Tornado Outbreak.

Loose Cannon Studios would go defunct by 2010 with the majority of its developers moving onto PopCap Games as part of the company's acquisition.

Canceled Games[]

Dirty Harry: Excessive Force[]

Dirty Harry: Excessive Force was a cancelled video game based on Warner Brother's Dirty Harry film franchise. It was planned to be released fall 2007 for the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 2.

Smoke and Mirrors[]

Smoke and Mirrors was a cancelled action-adventure video game that featured an anthropomorphic bat who used magic tricks and illusions. While not much is known about this cancelled game, concept art showcasing the characters along with the in-game mechanics were uploaded by Jordan Kotzebue.