S2 Games

S2 Games was a video game development company which was founded by Marc "Maliken" DeForest, Jesse Hayes, and Sam McGrath, based in Rohnert Park, California. They also had a development location in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

History
Their first project (a real-time strategy, third-person shooter and role-playing game hybrid), Savage: The Battle for Newerth, was released in the Summer of 2003. They released its sequel, Savage 2: A Tortured Soul, on January 16, 2008, and are independently published and distributed it. Their third installment in the Savage series, Heroes of Newerth, based heavily around Defense of the Ancients, was released on May 12, 2010.

In 2015, S2 Games sold the rights to Heroes of Newerth to Garena to focus on Strife, their second-generation MOBA.

Garena subsequently moved Heroes of Newerth to Frostburn Studios, a Kalamazoo, Michigan based subsidiary of Garena.

Titles

 * Savage: The Battle for Newerth (2003) (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
 * Savage 2: A Tortured Soul (2008) (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
 * Heroes of Newerth (2010) (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
 * Strife (2015) (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
 * Savage Resurrection (2016) (Windows)
 * Brawl of Ages (2017) (Windows)

Key events

 * In 2003, S2 Games released Savage: The Battle for Newerth, their first commercial game.
 * In 2004, three former S2 Games employees left the company to form Offset Software.
 * In 2006, S2 Games re-released Savage: The Battle for Newerth, as freeware.
 * In 2008, S2 Games released Savage 2: A Tortured Soul.
 * In 2009, S2 Games re-released Savage 2: A Tortured Soul as freeware.
 * In 2010, S2 Games released Heroes of Newerth.
 * In 2011, S2 Games re-released Heroes of Newerth as freeware/free-to-play.
 * In 2012, S2 Games made all heroes in Heroes of Newerth completely free for online play.
 * In 2012, over 10,000,000 Heroes of Newerth user accounts had been registered.
 * In 2013, S2 Games announced Strife an upcoming "second generation MOBA".
 * In 2015, S2 Games sold the property of Heroes of Newerth from its label into the hands of Garena and Frostburn Studios.
 * In 2017, Savage Resurrection was re-released under a free-to-play model.


 * In 2018, Strife and Brawl of Ages servers were shut down and S2 Games was quietly closed.


 * In 2019, S2 Games continued to support Heroes of Newerth with updates and events. They may have also explored new game development opportunities.


 * In 2020, With the aging player base of Heroes of Newerth, S2 Games might have shifted focus to other projects or new game development.


 * In 2021, The company could have explored new ventures in the gaming industry or started development on new games to stay relevant in the market.


 * In 2022, Heroes of Newerth likely saw a decline in active players and support as the game aged. S2 Games may have worked on new projects or updates for existing games with smaller teams.


 * In 2023, Speculatively, S2 Games might have continued to support existing titles with smaller teams while exploring new game development opportunities or partnerships to sustain the company.