Braintree Software is an independent development studio.
Braintree was formed by Judy Abbott, a former technician from Texas Instruments, as Software Solutions. The company primarily made text-based adventure titles, educational games, business simulators and strategy games for the VIC-20, Apple ][, Amiga and Commodore 64. They would rebrand to SoftSoul in 1982 and expand to produce games for the Atari 2600, along with video poker and slot machine games. SoftSoul was among the many companies affected by the Video Game Crash of 1983, but they would manage to sustain themselves by turning their focus toward video gambling titles. They would merge with the Crockett-based Federal Systems in in 1988 and began re-releasing their respective catalogs. Their last title under SoftSoul was I Come in Peace for the Nintendo Entertainment System, before rebranding under Braintree Software in 1991. The company would accumulate a 60 member team, later opening an additional development studio in Austin. They would also open an office in Venice, California, comprised of former Equinoxe Digital Entertainment and Digital Eclipse employees. Braintree would develop three games a year, splitting projects between their Venice, Austin and Dallas units.
Under Braintree, they would launch their own game series, Big Jean, producing three titles between 1993 and 2002. The company attempted to sell the character to Microsoft as a mascot for their XBOX console, but a deal was never reached. In addition to Big Jean, Braintree also produced a modern re-imagining of the arcade game Kangaroo. During this time Braintree primarily focused on porting titles to the Xbox and developing license-based titles.
Braintree had a majority female staff, a rarity for a mainstream gaming studio. Most of their games starred female protagonists, but featured settings outside of those common in more popular female centric games. Abbott had sought to avoid conventions common in girl games, as they would be pigeonholed into a less lucrative niche, dominated by casual titles of varying quality. Promotions for their games would not explicitly focus on the niche, presented as general titles that happened to feature female protagonists.
The company was involved in a deal with SEGA to produce titles. Among the slate include Knuckles Chaotix, a teen-oriented title, along with a potential XBOX port for Altered Beast and Sonic Adventure X, a modification of Sonic Adventures 1 and 2. Each of the projects would fall through however, especially Knuckles Chaotix following the aftermath of a lawsuit between SEGA and Ken Penders. Braintree had struggled to adopt to seventh generation consoles and as a result the company would close down citing dwindling development opportunities and too much competition amongst other developers working on previous generation ports. Their Venice division would be spun off and renamed to Revolt Development, but they would go dormant after releasing two titles.
In 2022, Braintree's former vice president Janet Kelly would re-acquire Revolt and rebrand it under the Braintree name. The company would turn its focus toward remasters and remakes of old games, with a focus on underrepresented titles.
Games[]
| Name | Publisher | Platform | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Come in Peace | Ocean Software | NES | 1990 | Final title developed under the name SoftSoul. |
| Big Jean | Time Warner Interactive | 3DO, SEGA CD, SEGA Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System | 1993 | First title developed under Braintree name. |
| Big Jean 2: Enter the Nega-Jean | Fox Interactive | SEGA Saturn, PlayStation, PC | 1997 | Developed in association with Attention to Detail. |
| Beauty and the Beast: A Board Game Adventure | Eidos Interactive | PlayStation, SEGA Dreamcast, Game Boy Color | 1999 | Dreamcast version only. |
| Pac-Man World | Namco | PlayStation, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance | ||
| The Simpsons Bowling | Fox Interactive/Acclaim Entertainment | Dreamcast | 2000 | Console port for arcade game |
| CatDog: Dog the Mighty Rises | Infogrames | XBOX, GameCube, PlayStation 2 | 2001 | N/A |
| Big Jean (2002) | Crave Entertainment | XBOX | 2002 | |
| Kangaroo: Journey to Monkey Kingdom | Atari | XBOX, GameCube | GameCube port by Point of View, Inc. | |
| The Wild Thornberrys: Grand Safari | THQ | GameCube, PlayStation 2 | N/A | |
| Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage | BAM! Entertainment | XBOX, PlayStation 2, GameCube | 2003 | XBOX version only, port of GameCube version. |
| Invader Zim | THQ | N/A | ||
| Spy Kids: Game Over | GameCube, XBOX, PlayStation 2, PC, Game Boy Advance, Tapwave Zodiac, N-Gage, Java | Console ports only | ||
| Justice League Unlimited | Ubisoft | XBOX, GameCube, PlayStation 2 | 2005 | Developed in association with Ubisoft Montreal. |
| Altered Beast | SEGA | XBOX, PlayStation 2 | XBOX port | |
| American Dad The Video Game | Midway Games | XBOX, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable | 2006 | N/A |
| Sonic 3D Mega Collection | SEGA | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, XBOX One Series | 2023 | |
| SpongeBob SquarePants: Re-revenge of the Flying Dutchman | THQ Nordic | Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, XBOX One Series, PC | 2024 | Developed in association with Purple Lamp. |
| Dragon's Lair 3D: Remastered | 2025 | N/A | ||
| Scooby-Doo: Classic Haunts | Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 | 2026 | ||
| Unreleased | ||||
| Sonic Adventure X | SEGA | XBOX | Cancelled due to outstanding deal with Nintendo. | |
| Knuckles Chaotix | SEGA | Co-developed by Edge of Reality, Nerve Software and Ritual Entertainment. Cancelled due to legal issues. | ||