All games in the "Wipeout" franchise were developed by Studio Liverpool. The conceptualisation of "Wipeout" revolved around Psygnosis designer Nick Burcombe's idea of creating a racing game using the same types of anti-gravity vehicles from his experience with "Powerdrome", a title first released on the Atari ST in 1988. The game's futuristic vehicle designs were based on "Matrix Marauders", a 1994 Amiga 3D grid-based strategy game whose concept was developed by fellow Psygnosis employee Jim Bowers. The name "Wipeout" was decided upon during a pub conversation, and was inspired by the instrumental song Wipe Out by The Surfaris.