9 Once-Beloved Video Game Developers That Fell From Grace

7. Raven Software

Truly a sad state of affairs, Raven Software were one of the finest and most reputable studios in gaming across the mid-to-late 2000s, only to be hoovered up by Activision and put to work developing - wait for it - years worth of Call of Duty DLC.

Let's just run down some of their finest works, though. Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Academy, X-Men Legends, Singularity, X-Men Origins: Wolverine - just really solid, meaty games made with both confidence, passion for the subject matter and an execution that ensured tons of replayability.

If you want to nail down the quintessential ingredient Raven could bring to a project, compare Ultimate Alliance 1 to its sequel - it was that.

Sadly, now all Raven seem to be 'good for' is working on Call of Duty multiplayer maps, zombie modes and collaborating on single-player coding. Gone are the halcyon days of these guys getting free reign over an entire project, as the only thing they've worked on that wasn't DLC in seven years was... Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.

It kinda hurts, doesn't it?