 Digital Eclipse was founded in 1992 by Andrew Ayre, a St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, native and Harvard University graduate.The company's first offices were opened on a "nondescript, factory-filled" street in Emeryville, California, where Ayre had moved following his graduation to live with his girlfriend.Initially a technology startup company, Digital Eclipse soon found that their software would be useful in the video game industry, and turned to game development instead.