Elixir Studios was a British video game developer. The company was founded in 1998 by Demis Hassabis, formerly a prominent figure at Lionhead Studios. At its height, it employed around sixty people, and was based in London. It aimed to be an independent developer, creating its own intellectual properties rather than licencing established ones. The company's first game, Republic: The Revolution, was released in 2003, and a second game, Evil Genius, was released in 2004. In 2005, however, the company announced that it would be closing its doors. This followed the cancellation of development on a major project due to its "perceived high-risk", which had been underway for two years. The company, citing "the current risk averse publishing climate", concluded that its goal of exploring new territory was not possible. In a press release, Hassabis said: "It seems that today's games industry no longer has room for small independent developers wanting to work on innovative and original ideas. ... [T]his was the sole purpose of setting up Elixir and something we could never compromise on." Elixir has stated that it has sufficient resources to pay redundancy packages to its staff and ensure that the company is wound down in an orderly manner. On March 3, 2006 it has been confirmed that Rebellion Developments has bought Elixir's IPs, including Evil Genius.
