Gremlin Interactive
Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited, was a British video game developer from Sheffield. It was founded in 1984 by Ian Stewart and Kevin Norburn, with Geoff Brown of US Gold owning most of the company early on. They created popular 8-bit games for ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64, such as Wanted: Monty Mole and Thing on a Spring.
In 1994 the company changed its name to Gremlin Interactive and moved toward 16-bit computers, PCs and consoles. It had major successes with Zool and Premier Manager, then released Actua Soccer, the first fully 3D football game. Other notable titles included the Lotus racing series, Motorhead, Fatal Racing (1995) and the 1998 flight sim Hardwar. They also expanded a sports game line with Actua Sports, adding Golf, Tennis and Ice Hockey. The company also floated on the stock market to raise funds.
In 1997 Gremlin bought Imagitec Design and DMA Design (creators of Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings). In 1999 Infogrames bought Gremlin for about £24 million and renamed the studio Infogrames Sheffield House. The studio closed in 2003. The building near Devonshire Green was later demolished, and Infogrames Sheffield House was to be renamed Atari Sheffield House.
In October 2003 Zoo Digital, the successor to Gremlin, bought the assets; after Zoo Digital later became Zushi Games, Urbanscan acquired Gremlin’s catalog and name. The Gremlin trademarks, including the logo, are now owned by Warner Bros. The studio employed staff including Paul Porter as studio manager.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:18 (CET).