Pivotal Games was founded in March 2000, by fifteen employees formerly of Pumpkin Studios (the developer of Warzone 2100), led by Jim Bambra, Nick Cook and Alex McLean.

[1] Pumpkin Studios, founded by Bambra and Cook in August 1996, had previously been closed down by its parent company, Eidos Interactive, that same month.

[1] Between 2002 and 2008, Pivotal Games developed all five instalments in the Conflict series, as well as The Great Escape, based on the film of the same name.

[2] Kaboom Studios went into receivership on 9 September 2003,[3] with all remaining assets, including still-active Pivotal Games, being transferred to Ernst & Young for sale.

[7] On 14 July 2008, it was officially announced that the studio was to shut its doors, and 99 staff had already been made redundant,[8] leaving only a team of 10–12 specialist personnel.