Scratch dev revealed as Commotion Interactive

After months of legal conflicts, and even a public war of words with Activision, Numark and Genius Products are ready to announce which developer has been enlisted to finish out Scratch: The Ultimate DJ.



Commotion Interactive, the music arm of Toronto-based Bedlam Games, is expected to finish developing Scratch by the end of 2009.

Quality Assurance and other necessities will, however, push the game’s release date into early 2010.



That delay to the game’s release is precisely the outcome many accused Activision of puppeteering, due to the circumstances surrounding the mega-publisher’s acquisition of Scratch’s initial developer, 7 Studios.

Activision’s DJ Hero was set to compete with Scratch during the Christmas period, until the acquisition, though there has never been significant evidence proving that Activision outright tried to delay its competitor’s title.

As 7 Studios became the property of Activision, so apparently did the source code for Scratch. A court ruling reversed this process, and now Genius Products and Numark are both putting the past behind them.

Speaking to Kotaku on Scratch slipping out of the Christmas relae list, Numark’s Fred Galpern said the delay “actually works out well” for the company. 

“I would rather not be part of the glut. It’s not the ideal, but we’re gonna make the best of the situation.

"Are we concerned about the competition of another DJ game? No," he added. 

“If DJ Hero doesn’t do well, if it’s not a success, that will be more of a concern for us."