Age of Booty dev helped make Halo DLC

It is a little-known US developer, but it is behind the downloadable content of some of the biggest videogames of this generation.

The unsung Certain Affinity, founded in 2006 and based in Austin, Texas, helped create the recently announced Defiant Map Pack for Bungie's science fiction Xbox 360 exclusive FPS Halo: Reach, due out this March on Xbox Live for 800 Microsoft Points.

But its most high-profile gig was for Call of Duty Black Ops, the fastest-selling game of all time. Certain Affinity collaborated on maps and game modes with developer Treyarch and publisher Activision, and designed and built two of the four maps included in the First Strike DLC: Discovery and Stadium.

Founder Max Hoberman is a 10-year veteran of Bungie, according to his profile on the Certain Affinity website. He was the multiplayer, interface and online lead for Halo 2 and Halo 3, which goes some way to explaining why Certain Affinity's first project was the development of the Halo Blastacular Map Pack, an Xbox Live downloadable map pack for Halo 2.

Extending the relationship, Halo Waypoint, the Halo portal found within Xbox Live, was co-developed by Certain Affinity and Microsoft Game Studios' 343 industries.

It's also performed work for hire on Valve's Left 4 Dead, and partnered with Activision for Treyarch's Call of Duty: World at War.

It took a punt on its own IP with the Capcom published downloadable pirate RTS Age of Booty, which Dan Whitehead awarded 7/10 to for Eurogamer in 2008.