Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 16, 2026

Tantalus Media

Tantalus Media is an Australian video game developer based in Melbourne. Since its inception, Tantalus has developed almost 100 games and has won multiple game awards. Keywords Studios acquired 85% of Tantalus Media in March 2021.

Last revised
Jun 16, 2026
Read time
≈ 11 min
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Source
Wikipedia ↗
Tantalus Media Pty Ltd
Company type
Subsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded1994 (1994)
Founders
  • Andrew Bailey
  • Trevor Nuridin
Headquarters
Fitzroy, Melbourne
,
Australia
Number of locations
3 (2022)
Key people
Tom Crago (CEO)
ParentPerfect Entertainment (1995–1998)
Keywords Studios (85%; 2021–present)
Divisions
  • Tantalus North
  • Tantalus South
Websitewww.tantalus.com.au

Tantalus Media (formerly Tantalus Entertainment and Tantalus Interactive) is an Australian video game developer based in Melbourne. Since its inception, Tantalus has developed almost 100 games and has won multiple game awards.1 Keywords Studios acquired 85% of Tantalus Media in March 2021.

History

Tantalus Entertainment was founded in 1994 by programmers Andrew Bailey and Trevor Nuridin from Beam Software.23 It was briefly acquired by Perfect Entertainment in 1995, where the company was tasked with porting Stargate to SNES and Wipeout to Sega Saturn.45 It was sold back to the directors in 1999 and renamed Tantalus Interactive. Its first original game was South Park Rally, released for the PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 64, and Sega Dreamcast by Acclaim Entertainment in 2000.67

By 2001, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy when Tom Crago joined as CEO.3 Tantalus developed a game engine that allowed 3D graphics on the Game Boy Advance. It released conversions of ATV Quad Power Racing in 20028 and Monster Truck Madness in 2003.9 Top Gear Rally was released 2003, which proved to be a success.10 It won 'Best Game' at the 2003 Australian Game Developer Conference Awards in Melbourne.11 Between 2003 and 2009, the company released several games under its Black Market Games banner.12 Tantalus further made a name for itself by porting Unreal II to Xbox in 2004.4 Bailey also won a 2004 AGDC award for his contributions to the CRIS GBA game engine.13 That year, the company also announced it had established Tantalus Asia, a joint venture based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that would focus on developing games for mobile devices.1415

Tantalus began developing Anaka as a jump n' run title for the Game Boy Advance in 2003.16 However, unable to find interest from a publisher, Tantalus and Act3animation made a 300,000 AU$ animated help entice investors.17 It ultimately aired on Nickelodeon in 2005.18 In 2006, a touch-only Nintendo DS demo was created. Players could control the character indirectly by touching the screen where they wanted them to go. It was a mix between a jump n' run and a traditional adventure game.

Tantalus then began developing for the Nintendo DS, releasing the successful Pony Friends game in 2007. It sold one million units in a year, making it the largest-selling single-format game developed in Australia.19 The studio was the only independent developer that year to have three games among the 100 top-selling titles worldwide.20 Crago bought out the company's shareholders and renamed it Tantalus Media. He then immediately sold a share to private equity company Netus.3419 A second studio in Brisbane was opened in 2008.2122

However, the 2007-2009 financial crisis proved to be disastrous for Tantalus and the Australian video games industry. In 2009, Tantalus closed its Brisbane office,2324 while also making much of the staff in the Melbourne office redundant.25 In 2010, CEO Tom Crago re-acquired the studio from Netus.4

In 2010, the company launched Straight Right, a new label that would target the core gaming market. It released Need For Speed: Shift 2 - Unleashed for iOS in 2011.262728 The label also released Wii U ports of Mass Effect 3 in 2012 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution in 2013.26 That year, Tantalus was approached by Nintendo to develop the HD remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The game released in 2016.429 The studio ported Cities: Skylines to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in 20173031 and Nintendo Switch in 2018.32 In 2018, it was announced that Tantalus would bring Stellaris, a grand strategy game, to Xbox and PlayStation.33

In March 2021, Keywords Studios acquired 85% of Tantalus Media for US$46.8 million.34 The two companies then formed Keywords Australia as a joint venture overseen by Crago.35 In 2022, the company established Tantalus South in Adelaide and Tantalus North in Brisbane, joining Tantalus Melbourne.3637 In 2024, Tantalus was among the studios that partnered with Google to develop games for the Fitbit Ace LTE activity tracker.38 The company also developed new DLC for Cities: Skylines.39 At the end of the year, Crago stepped down as CEO of Tantalus and Keywords Australia.40

Games

Title Year Platform Ref.
Stargate 1995 SNES 4
Area 51 PC, PlayStation, Saturn 41
Wipeout 1996 Saturn 42
Krazy Ivan PC 43
Manx TT Super Bike 1997 PC, Saturn 4244
Maximum Force PC, PlayStation, Saturn 42
Wipeout 2097 Saturn 45
The House of the Dead 1998 42
Mary King's Riding Star 1999 PlayStation
South Park Rally 1999 Dreamcast, N64, PC, PlayStation 42
Equestriad 2001 2001 PC, PlayStation 46
Mary-Kate and Ashley: Winners Circle PlayStation 42
ATV: Quad Power Racing 2002 Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 8
Men in Black II: Alien Escape GameCube 47
Woody Woodpecker in Crazy Castle 5 Game Boy Advance 48
Monster Truck Madness 2003
Unreal II: The Awakening Xbox 26
Top Gear Rally Game Boy Advance 10
AMF Bowling 2004 (as Black Market Games) Xbox 12
The Polar Express 2004 Game Boy Advance 49
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: Attack of the Twonkies 4
Black Market Bowling (as Black Market Games) 2005 PlayStation 2
Payload N-Gage 5051
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger 2005, 2006 DS, PSP 4
Trick Star 2006 Game Boy Advance 52
MX vs. ATV: On the Edge PSP 53
Cars Mater-National Championship 2007 DS 3
MX vs. ATV: Untamed DS, PSP 5455
Pony Friends DS 20
The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon 2008 3
Heat Shield (as Black Market Games) 2009 iOS
Pony Friends 2 DS, PC, Wii 56
MX vs. ATV Reflex DS, PSP 57
Cars Race-O-Rama 26
Drift Street International 2010 DS 58
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole 59
Megamind DS, PSP 60
Super Speed Machines DS
Ben 10: Galactic Racing 2011 61
Shift 2: Unleashed iOS 62
Funky Barn 2012 3DS, Wii U 2627
Pony Trails iOS 63
Mass Effect 3: Special Edition Wii U 64
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut 2013
Zombi 2015 PC, PS4, Xbox One 65
Pony Trails Android 66
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD 2016 Wii U 67
Sonic Mania 2017 Switch 64
Rime
Cities: Skylines 2017, 2018, 2022 PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Stadia
Age of Empires: Definitive Edition 2018 PC
Stellaris: Console Edition 2019 PS4, Xbox One 68
Jupiter & Mars PS4 69
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition PC 70
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition 2020 71
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD 2021 Switch 72
Cities: Skylines - Remastered 2023 PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S 73
Lego 2K Drive PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One 74
Age of Mythology: Retold 2024 PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One 75
Luigi's Mansion 2 HD Switch 76
Guilty Gear Strive 2025 77
References

References

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External links