The Big Eight

A Megacorporation is defined as a company that officially has an investment in, tie to, or ownership of every aspect of life in 2050. If it's mega, this means that you can acquire anything with their brand somewhere on them, from a toothbrush to a high-end military sattelite. Some megacorps are better at certain things, but all have their tendrils tightly wrapped around the world's markets.

In Shadowrun, the Corporate Council is the corporate answer to the united nations, a governing body operating out of a giant space station called the Zurich Orbital Bank. They don't control, but regulate and penalize member corporations in a system of checks and balances. In order to be recognized as extra-territorial, a company will need the blessing of the Corporate Council. The seated chairmembers of the Corporate Council are:

Ares

Ares is America, plain and simple. Having bought out most of the centrally American brandnames, like Steelco, Ford, Dodge, Colt, Westinghouse, Halliburton, etc., Ares is a large scale industrial machine with close ties to ever layer of manufacturing in North America. Its tie to American ideals makes it a country very eager to wrap their latest promotions in patriotic language. Ares is the sole dominion of Damien Knight, who manufactured the nanosecond buyout, which was a series of moves on the stock market that lasted a second and ultimately made his fortune while ruining many others, one of these fortunes ruined belonged to Lucien Cross, who was forced to take desperate measures to stay afloat and despises Knight for it. It is privately owned.

Aztechnology

Aztechnology, the most evil corporation in the world. Aztechnology is a nationalized company, publically traded and run by the enigmatic "board of directors", who are unknown to all but each other. Aztlan (Mexico) and Aztechnology are largely intertwined, with both sides taking actions that benefit the other. Despite rumors in the shadows of unsavory practices, like ritual sacrifice, demon worship, alien rulers, and vampires on their payroll, Aztechnology is still the primary provider of cheap luxury goods and services in the Americas, and controls a large part of the world's shipping market.

Cross Applied Technology

Cross Applied Technology is run by Lucien Cross, a brilliant genetics and biotech researcher who began the first Docwagon franchise. From their position at the forefront of the medical community, Lucien Cross turned his corporation into North America's largest, until Damien Knight gutted the company's stock price on his quest to the top. In order to keep the company afloat, Cross was forced to assist Quebec in forming a nationalised health care system in exchange for protections, and became a publically traded comapny. This leaves Cross fuming, since he now has to answer to shareholders, and cannot practice much revenge against Knight, as most of his expenditures are monitored very closely. Cross' intelligence operatives, called the Seraphim, are amongst the best trained in the business, and help the smallest of the big eight to maintain their footing.

EVO Inc.

After California's government completely collapsed in the rioting following the vicious earthquake of 2040 and the invasion by Tir Tairngire, various factions in California took power, but all needed the basic neccessities taken care of. EVO is a logistics and civil engineering company. Their forte was in city maintenance and design. With the oppurtunity provided by becoming the sole figure in California to remain neutral to all controlling factions, and turning this to their advantage by comandeering numerous assets left uncontrolled in the chaos of the rioting, EVO became the youngest corporation to take a place on the Corporate Council. Today, they are ubiquitous, providing infrastructure assistance at all levels, from their patented Grid Guide road systems to their high-end Matrix topography design team. Disliked for their youth, EVO has the advantage of no particular agenda besides pleasing a very diverse group of shareholders, which makes it hard to stymie.

Fuchi International

Fuchi International is the child of three major figures: Villiers, Yamana, and Nakatomi. Yamana and Nakatomi were originally part of the Sony corporation, but Fuchi really came to the forefront when Richard Villiers, a small-time lawyer and shark, sold them the patent to the first generation ASIST terminal, which at that time was the size of a chair. In exchange for becoming the major patentholders of the cyberdeck, Yamana and Nakatomi were forced to welcome Villiers into their ranks, something that burned the two xenophobic Japanese CEOs, who had never liked each other much, either. Splitting their territories along strict lines, Germany, New York, and Tokyo, the three quickly turned to infighting as Fuchi grew to the number one market share, bouyed by their competitive leanness.

Mitsuhama

Mitsuhama Computer Technologies is at the leading forefront of magical innovations. MCT-13, the first Magical Initiation Group, remains a powerful factor in their day-to-day operations. Originally another computer company, Mitsuhama saw its marketshare being decimated by Fuchi and Renraku. Its then CEO Shinichiro Mitsuhama, an awakened Hermetic, went on a vision quest into the astral plane, and returned with a vision for the company's future. Investing heavily into the paranormal, it seems that it has paid off, even with the founder's death at the hands of Shadowrunners in 2048. Since then, MCT has had a kill on sight policy towards Shadowrunners, called the zero policy. Between this and their well-trained paranormal animals, Runners tend to charge more for MCT jobs.

Renraku

Renraku was beaten out on the first generation of cyberterminals, but they refused to let that stop them. Penalized heavily for violating patents and stealing from Fuchi, Renraku went on to create a number of powerful industries of their own: physical matrix infrastructure, semi-autonomous knowbots, and a wide variety of IC. Their software is one of the most universally used, and ensures their place on the Matrix and in everyday usage. Today, their main interests lie in adjuncts to the matrix, including infrastructure, fusion technology, and rumors of advanced programming leading towards artificial intelligence.

Saeder-Krupp

The biggest company in the world. Formed when Lofwyr, a very competitive dragon, used a portion of his horde to purchase BMW, Mercedes Benz, and a number of Aeronautics firms, like Saab. Owners, creators, and operators of the Zurich Orbital Bank, and completely controlled by Lofwyr, who vaccilates between micromanagement and complete aloofness. Saeder-Krupp is the largest, and most powerful corporation in all the world, and even then represents only a portion of the dragon's resources.