Brian Raffel is retiring 36 years after founding Raven Software. While the studio is currently best known as one of the key support pillars for Warzone and the larger Activision machine that pumps out a new Call of Duty sequel every year, it used to be known for lots of other great stuff, including classic fantasy shooters like Hexen and cult-favorite licensed games like X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.
“In 1990, inspired by a shared love of storytelling, Brian and his brother Steve set out to build something of their own,” the studio posted on X on April 2. “What began as a small creative pursuit known as Black Crypt grew into something far, far greater. Over the years, his leadership guided our studio through a wild and shifting industry, shaping it into what it is today. From dark, otherworldly realms to places that reached far across galaxies, Brian has crafted stories that have left a lasting mark on players around the world.”
The announcement points players to a page on the Raven Software website that outlines its history and all the games it’s ever worked on. After Black Crypt were the Quake engine games Heretic, Hexen: Beyond Heretic and Hexen II, the first two of which included Doom designer John Romero as producer. The studio was acquired in 1997 by Activision. Three years later it released Soldier of Fortune, a gory action game eventually ported to PS2 and Dreamcast.
— Raven Software (@RavenSoftware) April 2, 2026
For much of the 2000s, Raven Software pumped out generally beloved licensed games. There was Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy and Jedi Outcast, X-Men Legends I and II, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Some of these were great. Others were perfect weekend rentals from the local Blockbuster. Raven Software’s last crack at an original IP was 2010’s Singularity, a sci-fi horror shooter that used a time-manipulation device for combat and puzzle solving. Its troubled development ultimately resulted in a linear campaign without much to distinguish it at a time when those were already falling out of favor.
Raven has been solely a support studio on Call of Duty ever since it started filling that role with Black Ops. It rose from assisting with DLC and eventually multiplayer to co-developing 2020’s Warzone and Black Ops Cold War. What began as a matter of survival has since subsumed what remains of Raven’s identity in the minds of most players. “I think we’ve got a very diverse and very successful portfolio,” Raffel told US Gamer in 2014. “Also, the ability to adapt ourselves and not get stuck on our own press, and in a certain mode to not sit on our laurels, and I think that’s why we’ve been around for 25 years.”
