David Adams
From TradeWars Museum
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David Adams is an American video game designer and entrepreneur known for founding multiple game development studios and creating action-adventure titles. His career spans over two decades and includes work on several notable franchises including Darksiders and Remnant.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Realm Interactive
Adams began his career as a studio head when he co-founded Realm Interactive in 2000. The studio licensed the Trade Wars intellectual property from EIS (Pritchett's company) and brought John Pritchett on board as a co-designer and co-developer for their first and only project, Trade Wars: Dark Millennium. This ambitious MMORTS based on the classic BBS game Trade Wars 2002 represented Adams' first foray into leading game development and marked Pritchett's first professional work in the video game industry.
During the project's development, Adams brought on comic artist Joe Madureira in 2002, marking Madureira's first entry into the video game industry as well. TW:DM had already begun evolving away from its Trade Wars roots toward a space fantasy RPG, and Joe Mad's introduction to the project accelerated that shift.
In early 2003, the project was acquired by NCsoft through its North American division, led by Richard and Robert Garriott. Following the acquisition, Adams and his team relocated to Austin, Texas, while Pritchett departed the project, recovering the Trade Wars IP. By April 2003, the game had been officially renamed Exarch with Adams stating in an interview that "there is absolutely no tie-in between Trade Wars and Exarch." Shortly after, the Realm Interactive team was dissolved, with members reassigned to other NCsoft projects, including City of Heroes and Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, a space fantasy RPG. Elements of Exarch were later repurposed into NCsoft's Dungeon Runners and released in 2007.
Adams worked at NCsoft Austin for approximately two years before departing. He and several key Realm Interactive team members, including Madureira, grew frustrated with NCsoft's lack of interest in console development and left to pursue their own vision.
[edit] Vigil Games
Following his departure from NCsoft, Adams co-founded Vigil Games in 2005 alongside Madureira. The studio was acquired by THQ in 2006 and went on to develop the critically acclaimed Darksiders franchise. The original Darksiders (2010) and Darksiders II (2012) established the studio's reputation for creating action-adventure games with distinctive art direction and deep mythology.
During this period, Adams also led development on Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online, an ambitious MMORPG that was later redesigned as a single-player experience before being cancelled due to THQ's financial difficulties.
[edit] Crytek USA
When THQ filed for bankruptcy in 2013, Vigil Games was closed. Shortly thereafter, Adams became CEO of Crytek USA, a new studio formed by Crytek that employed many former Vigil staff members. The studio worked on Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age (later renamed Hunt: Showdown after Adams' departure) before organizational changes at Crytek led to a restructuring.
[edit] Gunfire Games
In July 2014, Adams founded Gunfire Games with other former Vigil and Crytek USA team members. Under his leadership, the studio continued the Darksiders franchise with Darksiders III (2018) and developed new intellectual properties including:
- Chronos (2016) - A VR action RPG
- From Other Suns (2017) - A VR space adventure game
- Remnant: From the Ashes (2019) - A third-person survival action game
- Remnant II (2023) - The sequel to the successful Remnant franchise
Gunfire Games was acquired by THQ Nordic (formerly Nordic Games) in 2019, bringing Adams' career full circle after the original THQ's bankruptcy.
[edit] Design Philosophy
Throughout his career, Adams has consistently pursued games that blend action-adventure mechanics with rich world-building. His work typically features distinctive art styles, apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic themes, and gameplay that combines combat with exploration and puzzle-solving. From his early work attempting to reimagine the Trade Wars universe to his later successes with the Darksiders and Remnant franchises, Adams has demonstrated a consistent vision while adapting to changing industry conditions.
[edit] Legacy
David Adams has established himself as a resilient figure in the gaming industry, successfully founding multiple studios and navigating significant industry upheavals. His ability to maintain creative teams through studio transitions has enabled the continued development of franchises like Darksiders despite corporate restructurings. Today, he continues to lead Gunfire Games while contributing to the evolution of the action-adventure genre.
