Private company

Budcat Creations

Logo: The logo is from the following website: http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=2304, Non-free logo, via Wikipedia3

American video game developer (2000–2010)

Budcat Creations, LLC was an American video game developer based in Iowa City, Iowa, and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision, though they formerly had partnerships with Electronic Arts and Majesco. They were largely responsible for porting titles to non-target consoles. They had worked on a number of blockbuster gaming franchises, among them Guitar Hero, Madden NFL, and Medal of Honor.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

2000Founded1
  • Industryvideo game industry1
  • HeadquartersIowa City1
  • Websitewww.budcat.com
  • Legal formprivate limited company1

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Budcat Creations, LLC was an American video game developer based in Iowa City, Iowa, and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision, though they formerly had partnerships with Electronic Arts and Majesco. They were largely responsible for porting titles to non-target consoles. They had worked on a number of blockbuster gaming franchises, among them Guitar Hero, Madden NFL, and Medal of Honor. They also produced a few original titles, including Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy (2008) and The New York Times Crosswords (2007).2

Corporate structure

Budcat Creations is part of a group headed by Xbox Game Studios. 71 entities, 11 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Budcat was founded by Jason Andersen and Jonah Stich, who met on the precursor to AOL, via a shared interest in the Apple IIGS. A few months into the company's initial year, Isaac Burns joined as a partner. Isaac and Jason met in high school, in their hometown of Iowa City, Iowa.

The company went on to produce a string of sports titles for EA over the next five years, including entries in the NASCAR Thunder, NHL Hockey, and FIFA Manager series, as well as the PlayStation 2 version of Psychonauts for Majesco.

In 2005, Budcat moved to its ultimate location in Iowa City in order to facilitate expanding their offices. Budcat worked in partnership with Majesco, Electronic Arts, and Activision on multiple titles before being purchased by Activision Blizzard on November 10, 2008, where they mostly worked on the Guitar Hero brand.

Budcat Creations was shuttered by Activision Blizzard on November 16, 2010.

From Wikipedia’s article on Budcat Creations, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 2010Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 2000Founded Founded1

Sources

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