High Voltage Software was founded by Kerry J. Ganofsky on April 23, 1993, following his graduation from college. Out of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, the company started out with four employees and used old doors set on top of sawhorses as desks. In June 2006, the company had 160 employees. In 2008 interviews, High Voltage leadership expressed interest in improving the quality of contemporary third-party Wii games. The company developed Quantum3, a game engine that specifically targets Wii deployment. The engine itself had been used in several previous titles made by the developer, but was heavily upgraded for higher performance on Wii. Since that time, High Voltage Software has been active in eighth generation software, developing ports for ', Mortal Kombat X and Saints Row: Re-Elected, as well as leading development on '. High Voltage Software remains focused on emerging technology and new markets. At E3 2015, High Voltage and Oculus VR announced the development of Damaged Core. A playable demo was available at the Oculus booth, featuring hands-on gameplay which showcased the first-person shooter genre on the Oculus hardware. The title released as an Oculus Rift exclusive in August 2016 to critical acclaim. The company's second VR title, Dragon Front, released less than three months later as a cross-platform title on Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR.
HVS NOLA
On December 17, 2014, Ganofsky announced that High Voltage would be opening a satellite studio for the company in Place St. Charles in New Orleans. The opening, scheduled for early 2015, would provide 80 new job opportunities in the area, with initial staff transferred from the company's Hoffman Estates headquarters. Through the opening, High Voltage was able to take advantage of local financial incentives, including a performance-based grant to cover relocation costs, workforce training programs and a digital media incentive. Prior to the announcement, Ganofsky also considered opening the studio in Georgia or Florida, but found New Orleans to be a better cultural fit for High Voltage. As a result, talks between economic development leaders in the area and Ganofsky began in October 2013.
