Quantic Dream

Quantic Dream SA is a French video game developer and publisher based in Paris. Founded in May 1997, Quantic Dream has developed five video games: The Nomad Soul (1999), Fahrenheit (2005), Heavy Rain (2010), Beyond: Two Souls (2013), and Detroit: Become Human (2018). The company is known for promoting interactive storytelling, with founder David Cage as the primary creative force. The studio was acquired by NetEase in August 2022 to act as its first European studio. History David Cage, originally a composer, started writing the concept and story of The Nomad Soul in 1994. He sent the script to contacts he had acquired during his time making music, who noted that it was not technically feasible. To prove them wrong, Cage hired a team of friends and made an office out of a sound booth, with a financial deadline of six months to come up with a game engine and prototype. In the final week, Cage travelled to London and met with publisher Eidos Interactive. With the project funded and a publisher secured, The Nomad Soul was in full development; musician David Bowie played two characters and created ten original songs. Cage subsequently founded Quantic Dream on 2 May 1997 and incorporated it as a société anonyme on 3 June; the company's name draws influence from the term "quantum physics". The game was released in November 1999, selling more than 600,000 copies. Quantic Dream later provided motion capture for the 2004 film Immortal. They followed The Nomad Soul with Fahrenheit, published by Atari in September 2005, introducing elements that would endure in their later games—ethical ambiguity, romance, the inability to perish, and interactive storytelling. It received multiple awards and sold over one million copies. The same year, Quantic Dream revealed The Casting, a technology demonstration of what could be accomplished on PlayStation 3. This preceded the partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment to bring Heavy Rain into existence, marking "something more personal" for Cage. Heavy Rain launched in 2010 to critical acclaim, winning three awards at the 7th British Academy Games Awards and selling a total of 5.3 million copies. By late 2011, another deal had been established with Sony. The following year, Quantic Dream showed another PlayStation 3 tech demo, Kara, taking advantage of new investments in motion capture facilities.