Havok (software)
3D physics middleware created by Havok
Havok is a middleware software suite developed by the Irish company Havok (originally Telekynesis Research Limited). Havok provides physics engine, navigation, and cloth simulation components that can be integrated into video game engines.
In 2007, Intel acquired Havok Inc. In 2008, Havok was honored at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for advancing the development of physics engines in electronic entertainment. In 2015, Microsoft acquired Havok.
History
Telekynesis Research Limited was founded in 1998 by two university students Hugh Reynolds and Steven Collins of the computer science department in Trinity College, Dublin who would form the studio based in Dublin, Ireland. The software was originally named Omniate initially, but was then renamed to Havok (Named after the Marvel X-Men character).
Version 1.0 of the Havok SDK was unveiled at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March 2000.
Ipion Virtual Physics
In 1999, a German-software company based in Munich had developed their own physics engine called Ipion Virtual Physics, it was a real-time middleware physics engine developed in the late 1990s by the German software company Ipion Software. Designed for the simulation of rigid body dynamics in video games and interactive media, it was a significant early competitor in the physics middleware market along with MathEngine.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q616957. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2007, 2008, 2015 and 1998.
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This entry incorporates text from “Havok (software)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.