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According to Chris Roberts, Digital Anvil was created to bring back the "small-team" element that characterized the computer gaming industry throughout the 1980s. Four titles were initially announced: '''', a '' Command & Conquer ''-style game set in space; '' Loose Cannon '', a racing game similar to the later '' Driver '' and '' Grand Theft Auto '' games; '' Starlancer '', a space combat game in the ''Wing Commander'' tradition, and the company's flagship, '' Freelancer '', an ambitious unofficial follow up to ''Wing Commander: Privateer''. The first game to be released by Digital Anvil was '' Starlancer '', developed externally by Warthog . It was, unfortunately, released during an era of declining interest in space-combat, and the game was a financial failure. Two planned sequels were scrapped. Digital Anvil was purchased by . ''Conquest'' was eventually released in 2001 , but ''Loose Cannon'' has not yet been released and it remains doubtful it ever will be. Many of the Digital Anvil staff working on ''Loose Cannon'' were reassigned to the company's flagship ''Freelancer''. '' Brute Force '' (still unannounced at the time) was switched from a computer game to an Xbox exclusive. Of all the projects being produced, only ''Freelancer'' escaped major change. Co-founder Chris Roberts left the company after the Microsoft takeover, but he still worked as a consultant on ''Freelancer''. For the next year, Digital Anvil was mostly silent, and many wondered whether any games from the company would see the light of day. Then, in 2001, Digital Anvil revealed a leaner, meaner ''Freelancer'' to the gaming press. Although some of the more ambitious elements were dropped, this act proved ''Freelancer'' was not vaporware. In March 2003, ''Freelancer'' was released and immediately became one of the month's top-selling games. Reviews were mixed, but the game did well commercially. In May of the same year, Digital Anvil released ''Brute Force'' for the Xbox. The game also did quite well, setting first-month sales records for Xbox games. In November 2005, Microsoft has closed the doors on the company and will be "redeploying" the employees to its Microsoft Game Studios headquarters. The finalization will end by January 31, 2006. SEE ALSO
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