Havok Celebrates 15 Years of Game Physics

Did you that Havok is turning 15 years old this year? If you have played game titles like Half-Life 2, BioShock, The Last of Us, Uncharted, Call of Duty series, Battlefield, Dark Souls, Halo, or Far Cry chances are you have benefited from Havok and their 3D interactive game development technology. Havok has been used in over 600 game titles on pretty much every game platform you could imagine. Havoks products have also been used to drive special effects in movies such as X-Men First Class, World War Z, Harry Potter, James Bond, and The Matrix. Intel Corporation saw the promise of what Havok Inc. was creating and acquired the company for an undisclosed amount in 2007. Havok became a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel and their middleware continued to take off.

“From the Gravity Gun in Half-Life 2 and the early ragdoll physics in Max Payne 2, to the destruction in Battlefield 4, Havok has helped make game worlds more interactive, more engrossing, and more dynamic. In the process, Havok also earned itself an Emmy Award (for real) for its work pioneering physics engines for games and media. In 2014 alone, Havok has powered more than 50 titles, including Dark Souls II, Far Cry 4, Watch Dogs, Sunset Overdrive, Dragon Age: Inquisition, InFamous: Second Son, and Destiny. Theres even more exciting news coming in 2015, but this marks a nice time to reflect on how far games have come.” – Havok

To 15 years of business, Havok Technology has created an infographic image that illustrates the history of in-game physics from its early beginnings at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, to the modern Havok Technology that is run by a team of over 100 employees. Take a look at the timeline below to see how Physics has become an essential component of modern gaming.