Company:Playtonic Games
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Derby , England |
Key people | Gavin Price (studio head) |
| Owner | Tencent (minority stake) |
| Divisions | Playtonic Friends |
| Website | playtonicgames.com |
Playtonic Games is a British independent video game developer. It was founded in 2014 and it consists in large part of former members of Rare.
History
Playtonic Games was founded in late 2014 by Steve Hurst, Steve Mayles, Gavin Price, Jens Restemeier, Mark Stevenson, and Chris Sutherland, all of whom previously worked at Rare.[1][2] Of the founders, Price assumed the role of studio head.[2] They were joined by Grant Kirkhope and Steven Hurst. The first game the company worked on was codenamed "Project Ukulele", which was described as a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie.[2] The team launched a Kickstarter campaign for the project, and it managed to reach the stretch goal of US$1 million within 24 hours.[3] In part due to the campaign's success, the team's attention was often diverted to other aspects such as making merchandise items instead of focusing on game's development, and some choices related to game development were forced as well due to them being promised in the campaign.[4]
Project Ukulele was unveiled as the 3D platformer Yooka-Laylee, which was released in 2017 to mixed critical reviews.[5] Playtonic followed up on Yooka-Laylee with Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, their second game, a 2.5D spinoff. While bearing similarities with the Donkey Kong Country series, the team opted not to use the moniker "spiritual successor" to market the game, unlike with Yooka-Laylee.[6] Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair was released in 2019 to a more positive reception than Yooka-Laylee.
Playtonic Games announced the rebranding of their company name to "Playtonic" and the launch of a publishing division, Playtonic Friends, in February 2021, with three titles under development from partner studios Awe Interactive, Fabraz, and Okidokico.[7] On 26 March 2021, Playtonic Friends' revealed their first game, Demon Turf, developed by Fabraz.[8] On 29 April 2021, Playtonic Friends's announced their next game, BPM, would be released in 2021 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[9] On 19 May 2021, Playtonic announced A Little Golf Journey, to be released on PCs and Nintendo Switch and developed by Okidokico.[10]
Tencent acquired a minority stake in Playtonic in November 2021.[11]
Games developed
| Year | Game | Platform(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Yooka-Laylee | Linux, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One | Team17 |
| 2019 | Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One |
Games published as Playtonic Friends
| Year | Game | Platform(s) | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Demon Turf | Nintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 | Fabraz |
| BPM | PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One | Awe Interactive | |
| A Little Golf Journey | Nintendo Switch, Windows | Okidokico | |
| 2022 | Lil Gator Game | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Megawobble |
| Blossom Tales 2: The Minotaur Prince | Nintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Castle Pixel | |
| Victory Heat Rally | Windows | Skydevilplam | |
| Demon Turf: Neon Splash | Nintendo Switch, Windows | Fabraz | |
| 2023 | Elsie | Windows | Knight Shift Games |
References
- ↑ Handrahan, Matthew (February 11, 2015). "Rare veterans form Playtonic Games". Gameindustry.biz. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-02-11-rare-veterans-form-playtonic-games. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Rare talent: inside the studio building Banjo-Kazooie's spiritual successor". The Guardian. 2015-04-12. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/13/playtonic-rare-banjo-kazooie-project-ukelele. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
- ↑ Phillips, Tom (May 1, 2015). "Playtonic launches £175k Yooka-Laylee Kickstarter campaign". Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-05-01-playtonic-launches-250k-yooka-laylee-kickstarter-campaign. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- ↑ Dealessandri, Marie (July 14, 2019). "When We Made… Yooka-Laylee". https://www.mcvuk.com/when-we-made-yooka-laylee/. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- ↑ Garst, Aron (July 17, 2019). ""I guess things have moved on so much since then" - Playtonic recounts the setbacks they ran into when launching Yooka-Laylee". GamesRadar. https://www.gamesradar.com/i-guess-things-have-moved-on-so-much-since-then-playtonic-recounts-the-setbacks-they-ran-into-when-launching-yooka-laylee/. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- ↑ Dring, Christopher (June 14, 2019). "Playtonic: "We are never using the term spiritual successor again"". Gameindustry.biz. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-06-08-playtonic-we-are-never-using-the-term-spiritual-successor-again. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- ↑ Dring, Christopher (February 12, 2021). "Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic launches publishing division". GamesIndustry.biz. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-02-11-yooka-laylee-developer-playtonic-launches-publishing-division. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ↑ "Playtonic Friends Presents: Demon Turf". 26 March 2021. https://www.playtonicgames.com/playtonic-friends-presents-demon-turf/.
- ↑ "Playtonic Friends Presents: BPM: Bullets per Minute". 29 April 2021. https://www.playtonicgames.com/playtonic-friends-presents-bpm-bullets-per-minute/.
- ↑ "Playtonic Friends Presents: A Little Golf Journey". 19 May 2021. https://www.playtonicgames.com/playtonic-friends-presents-a-little-golf-journey/.
- ↑ Phillips, Tom (November 18, 2021). "Tencent buys stake in Yooka-Laylee studio Playtonic". Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-11-18-tencent-buys-stake-in-yooka-laylee-studio-playtonic. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
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