Raven Software

Raven Software is an American video game development studio headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1990 by brothers Brian Raffel and Steve Raffel, the studio became part of the Wisconsin game-development community and initially built its reputation through technically ambitious first-person shooters. Its early work included Heretic and Hexen, dark fantasy shooters developed in collaboration with id Software and published by Raven's publishing partners. Those games helped establish Raven as a specialist in fast-paced, engine-driven PC action titles. During the 1990s and 2000s, Raven broadened its portfolio beyond the Heretic and Hexen lineage. It developed or co-developed licensed and original games connected with properties including Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel, Soldier of Fortune, Wolfenstein and X-Men. The studio's projects often combined established entertainment brands with first-person or action gameplay, while its technical experience made it a useful development partner for larger publishers. Activision acquired Raven in the late 1990s, after which the studio increasingly worked within Activision's portfolio of major franchises while retaining its own development identity. Raven's later history has been closely tied to Call of Duty. The studio contributed to multiple entries and became particularly associated with support, co-development, seasonal content and live-service operations for the series. Its work has included contributions to the Modern Warfare branch and to Call of Duty: Warzone, the free-to-play battle-royale and live-service component of the broader franchise. This role placed Raven within a large distributed development network alongside Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games and other Activision studios. The studio's business is therefore best understood as AAA game development rather than a consumer-facing standalone publisher. Its products are primarily premium and free-to-play video games released through Activision and the wider Call of Duty publishing organization. Raven's earlier original and licensed games remain important to its historical identity, but its present public profile is dominated by Call of Duty development and live-service support. Raven became part of Microsoft following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023. It continues to operate as an Activision studio under Microsoft's gaming organization. The official studio site describes Raven as a Wisconsin-based developer with more than three decades of experience and identifies its current work with the Call of Duty franchise.

Raven Software was established in 1990 in Wisconsin by brothers Brian Raffel and Steve Raffel. The studio's formative identity came from PC first-person shooters and its relationship with id Software. Raven used id technology and collaborated with the company on dark fantasy action games, producing Heretic and Hexen: Beyond Heretic. These releases distinguished Raven from smaller conventional developers and gave it a durable reputation for atmospheric, technically capable shooters. In the following decade Raven expanded into original and licensed properties. Its work included Soldier of Fortune, a military shooter published by Activision, as well as games based on Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel and X-Men. The studio also contributed to the Jedi Knight series, including Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. This period showed Raven's ability to develop action games within established intellectual properties while continuing to work in first-person and third-person formats. Activision acquired Raven Software in the late 1990s. Under Activision ownership, Raven continued to release games under its own name but increasingly became part of a broader internal development structure. The studio worked on projects such as Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Wolfenstein and Singularity. Its output included both franchise adaptations and original concepts, although the commercial performance and reception of individual titles varied. From the 2010s onward, Raven's role became increasingly connected to Call of Duty. It contributed to the development of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and worked on later Call of Duty projects in collaboration with other Activision studios. Raven was also central to the development and operation of Call of Duty: Warzone, a free-to-play battle-royale and live-service title launched in 2020. The move toward continuous content updates, seasonal systems and interconnected releases made Raven an important part of Activision's ongoing Call of Duty production model. Raven's labor profile attracted significant attention in 2021 and 2022. Quality-assurance workers at the studio staged a strike after layoffs and changes affecting temporary employees. Workers subsequently formed the Game Workers Alliance and sought union recognition. The campaign received national coverage because it occurred during wider scrutiny of labor practices at Activision Blizzard and amid growing interest in unionization in the games industry. Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October 2023. Raven consequently became part of Microsoft's gaming organization through Activision. The studio's official website continues to present it as a Middleton, Wisconsin-based developer with more than three decades of experience and current work on the Call of Duty franchise. Its historical importance rests on two connected identities: an early specialist in PC first-person shooters and a modern large-scale co-developer of one of the industry's biggest live-service franchises.

• 2023

  Raven enters Microsoft's gaming organization

  [3]Microsoft completes acquisition of Activision Blizzardblogs.microsoft.com

  Microsoft completes its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, making Raven part of Microsoft's gaming business through Activision.

• 2022

  Game Workers Alliance is formed

  [2]Raven Softwareen.wikipedia.org

  Raven quality-assurance workers organize the Game Workers Alliance and seek recognition from Activision.

• 2021

  Quality-assurance strike begins

  [2]Raven Softwareen.wikipedia.org

  Raven quality-assurance workers begin a strike following layoffs and employment-status changes.

• 2020

  Call of Duty: Warzone launches

  [4]Call of Duty: Warzoneen.wikipedia.org

  Raven becomes closely associated with development and ongoing support for Call of Duty: Warzone.

• 2010

  Singularity is released

  [8]Singularity is releaseden.wikipedia.org

  Raven launches Singularity, an original science-fiction first-person shooter.

• 2002

  Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is released

  [7]Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is releaseden.wikipedia.org

  Raven releases a major Star Wars action title and strengthens its position as a developer of licensed games.

• 2000

  Soldier of Fortune expands Raven's shooter portfolio

  [6]Soldier of Fortune expands Raven's shooter portfolioen.wikipedia.org

  Raven releases Soldier of Fortune, a military-themed first-person shooter published by Activision.

• 1997

  Activision acquires Raven Software

  [2]Raven Softwareen.wikipedia.org

  Raven becomes part of Activision's development network while continuing to operate under its own studio name.

• 1994

  Heretic is released

  [5]Heretic is releaseden.wikipedia.org

  Raven releases Heretic, a dark fantasy first-person shooter built with technology associated with id Software.

• 1990

  Raven Software is founded

  [2]Raven Softwareen.wikipedia.org

  Brian Raffel and Steve Raffel establish Raven Software in Wisconsin.

A Wisconsin-based AAA development studio specializing in first-person shooters, licensed action games and large-scale co-development for Activision's Call of Duty franchise.

• First-person shooter · 1994

  Heretic

  A dark fantasy first-person shooter that established Raven's early reputation. It used a fast-paced action model associated with the early id Software school of PC shooters while adding medieval fantasy weapons, magic and an occult setting.

• First-person shooter · 1995

  Hexen: Beyond Heretic

  A dark fantasy successor to Heretic with multiple character classes, broader level design and stronger role-playing elements. The game helped make Raven a recognized developer of atmospheric fantasy shooters.

• Military first-person shooter · 2000

  Soldier of Fortune

  A military-themed first-person shooter published by Activision. It represented Raven's move from fantasy settings toward modern combat and became one of the studio's best-known original shooter properties.

• Licensed action game · 2002

  Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast

  A Star Wars action game combining lightsaber combat, Force abilities and first-person and third-person gameplay. It is one of Raven's most prominent licensed titles and a major part of its early-2000s catalog.

• Action role-playing game · 2006

  Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

  A team-based Marvel action role-playing game developed by Raven. Players assemble superhero teams and fight through a campaign built around Marvel characters, making it a notable departure from the studio's traditional shooter focus.

• First-person shooter · 2009

  Wolfenstein

  Raven's 2009 Wolfenstein game revisited the classic supernatural military-shooter property with occult powers, modernized combat and a narrative campaign. It connected the studio with one of the foundational franchises of the first-person-shooter genre.

• Science-fiction first-person shooter · 2010

  Singularity

  An original science-fiction shooter centered on an experimental device that manipulates the age and state of objects. The project demonstrated Raven's continued interest in original mechanics outside licensed franchises.

• Free-to-play battle royale and live-service game · 2020

  Call of Duty: Warzone

  A free-to-play Call of Duty battle-royale and live-service title developed and supported through collaboration among Activision studios, with Raven playing a central development and operational role. Its ongoing seasonal model made Raven a key part of Activision's post-launch Call of Duty infrastructure.

• 2022

  Game Workers Alliance unionization effort

  Raven quality-assurance workers formed the Game Workers Alliance and sought recognition from Activision. The effort occurred during broader scrutiny of Activision Blizzard's workplace practices and became a prominent unionization case in the games sector.

  Source

• 2021

  Raven Software quality-assurance strike

  Raven quality-assurance workers began an open-ended strike after layoffs and changes affecting temporary employees. The dispute drew attention to job security, contractor treatment and labor conditions in the video-game industry.

  Source

Read more

• 2023

  Transfer into Microsoft's gaming businessM&A

  Background

  Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard after regulatory review and related commitments.

  Action taken

  Raven became part of Microsoft's gaming organization through Activision while continuing as a Raven-branded development studio.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition changed Raven's ultimate corporate ownership but did not publicly indicate an end to its Activision studio identity or Call of Duty work.

  Source

• 2020

  Launch of Call of Duty: WarzoneProduct launch

  Background

  Activision expanded Call of Duty into a free-to-play battle-royale and continuing live-service format.

  Action taken

  Raven participated in the development and became closely involved in the continuing operation and support of Warzone.

  Aftermath

  The project made Raven a central studio in Activision's seasonal and cross-title Call of Duty development structure.

  Source

• 1997

  Join ActivisionM&A

  Background

  Raven had established a reputation through PC shooters and was brought into Activision's broader publishing and development organization.

  Action taken

  Activision acquired Raven Software, allowing the studio to continue development while operating as an Activision subsidiary.

  Aftermath

  Raven subsequently worked on a wider range of licensed and internally commissioned projects and later became a major Call of Duty co-development studio.

  Source

• 2023

  Microsoft completes acquisition of Activision Blizzard[3]Microsoft completes acquisition of Activision Blizzardblogs.microsoft.com

  M&A

  Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, bringing Raven Software into Microsoft's gaming business while Raven remained an Activision development studio.

1. 1Raven Software official websiteravensoftware.com
2. 2Raven Softwareen.wikipedia.org
3. 3Microsoft completes acquisition of Activision Blizzardblogs.microsoft.com
4. 4Call of Duty: Warzoneen.wikipedia.org
5. 5Heretic is releaseden.wikipedia.org
6. 6Soldier of Fortune expands Raven's shooter portfolioen.wikipedia.org
7. 7Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is releaseden.wikipedia.org
8. 8Singularity is releaseden.wikipedia.org