Rainbow Studios

Rainbow Studios is an independent, employee-owned video game developer specializing in off-road racing and action-driving experiences for PC and consoles. Its work spans motocross, ATV, UTV and monster truck games, combining vehicle simulation with terrain and surface interaction systems. Based in Phoenix with an internal development team in Montreal, the studio brings together game design, engineering, art and audio production.

Its development capabilities cover pre-production through post-launch support, including vehicle physics modeling, multiplayer networking, dedicated server architecture and cross-platform production. Environment, track and vehicle asset creation sit alongside technical art, sound design, mixing and engineering. These disciplines support games built around the behavior of vehicles across varied off-road environments.

Development history

The business began in 1986 as Rainbow Multimedia Group and entered video game development in 1994. Its early releases included The Hive, followed by games such as Motocross Madness, Motocross Madness 2 and ATV Offroad Fury. These projects established the vehicle-focused direction that continued through much of its subsequent work.

THQ acquired the studio in January 2002. During that period, Rainbow developed titles including MX Unleashed, Star Wars Racer Revenge, Cars and entries in the MX vs. ATV franchise. THQ renamed the team THQ Digital Studios Phoenix in 2010 before closing the studio during its restructuring in August 2011.

Nordic Games acquired the MX vs. ATV intellectual property and associated assets in 2013, then revived Rainbow Studios that December with returning development veterans. The revived team resumed the series with MX vs. ATV Supercross, followed by releases including MX vs. ATV All Out and MX vs. ATV Legends. Its later portfolio also includes Monster Jam Steel Titans and Monster Jam Steel Titans 2.

Rainbow expanded its development operation into Montreal in 2020. Following the 2023–2024 restructuring of its former corporate group, the studio separated from THQ Nordic and Embracer and transitioned to independent employee ownership in 2024.