Founded in 1990, Eidos started off in the field of video compression technology. In 1995, the company moved into the entertainment software market with the acquisition of Domark (owners of the rights to Championship Manager) as well as obtaining a full listing on the London Stock Exchange. In April 1996, Eidos strengthened its position in the industry with acquisition of the Centregold Group, which included Core Design and US Gold. The distribution element, Centresoft, was sold to a management buyout as part of the decision to focus solely on developing and publishing. Eidos acquired developers Crystal Dynamics and Pyro Studios in 1998 an 1999, respectively. Eidos currently has more than 500 employees world-wide (including more than 250 developers) together with access to a further 650 developers at associated companies. Oh, and it's pronounced "Eye-dos," in case you're wondering.