Universal Interactive

Universal Interactive (formerly Universal Interactive Studios) was an American video game publisher. The company was established by Skip Paul and Robert Biniaz of MCA Inc. in January 1994. Through the merger of Vivendi and Universal Studios in July 2000, Universal Interactive's ownership transitioned to the latter's video games division, Havas Interactive.

Background
Before Universal Interactive was founded, MCA/Universal solely licensed games as merchandise. Among the games published this way was the notorious E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982.

The purchase of Universal to Matsushita Electric (operating as Panasonic) in 1990 was conducted in part by Skip Paul, who was an executive at Atari during the E.T. deal. Matsushita soon became the primary hardware licensee for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, leading a corporate push for MCA to provide entertainment software for the platform.

History
The foundation of Universal Interactive Studios was announced by MCA Inc. on January 4, 1994. Leading key personnel for the foundation were Skip Paul and Robert Biniaz. The company's first product was Jurassic Park Interactive, which was previously announced in 1993 and released on May 10, 1994, to mixed reception.

That same year, Universal Interactive made three-game contracts with upstart developers Insomniac Games and Naughty Dog, who respectively pitched Disruptor and Way of the Warrior. Vice president Mark Cerny oversaw the development of the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon series under these deals. Cerny would quit his position in 1998 to become an independent consultant for the two developers as they eventually moved out of Universal.

A division named Universal Studios Digital Arts was formed exclusively for Xena: Warrior Princess.

When Universal Interactive Studios' parent company, Universal Studios, merged with Vivendi in July 2000, Universal Interactive Studios was re-organized under Vivendi's Havas Interactive (later Vivendi Universal Games) division. Vivendi Universal announced on March 3, 2006, that it would divest itself of the "Universal" name.

List of games
This is a list of video games made and distributed by Universal Interactive.