Company:Snapshot Games

From HandWiki
Snapshot Games
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo game developer
Founded2013; 13 years ago (2013)
Founders
  • Julian Gollop
  • David Kaye
Headquarters
Sofia
,
Bulgaria
Number of employees
64[1] (2021)
Parent
Websitesnapshotgames.com

Snapshot Games is a Bulgarian video game developer headquartered in Sofia.[2][3] Snapshot Games was founded in 2013 by Julian Gollop and David Kaye.[2][4] Gollop is recognized for creating the X-COM video game franchise in the 1990s with Software:X-COM: UFO Defense and Software:X-COM: Apocalypse.[5][2][6][7][8][9] Gollop also is the CEO of Snapshot Games.[9] In addition to Gollop, the company includes about eight developers who are industry veterans with years of previous experience working for Ubisoft Sofia, Crytek Black Sea, and other Bulgaria studios.[2]

History

On November 12, 2013, Snapshot Games was founded as a privately held corporation in the state of California of the United States.[4] However, it is based in Bulgaria where its CEO, Julian Gollop, lives and where video game development costs are about one-third of what they would be for a similar studio in the United States.[2][3][9]

In April 2014, Snapshot Games launched a Kickstarter to crowdfund the development of its first video game, Chaos Reborn.[10] The effort was successful, generating over $210,000.[10] The game was made available through the Early Access program of Steam on December 9, 2014 before it was released officially on October 26, 2015.[11] The game received a score of 86/100 on review aggregation website Metacritic.[12] PC Gamer awarded it a score of 87%, saying "A true wizard’s wheeze, and a fine return for one of gaming’s oldest tactical classics."[13] The game also was nominated for a Golden Joystick Award in the 2015 Best Indie Game category but lost to Kerbal Space Program.[14][15]

Julian Gollop teased the development of a new video game, Phoenix Point, on Twitter on March 18, 2016.[16][17] For the next year, Snapshot Games worked on designing and producing the game.[18] After investing $450,000 into this first year of development, the company launched a Fig crowdfunding campaign in April 2017 to obtain the $500,000 they budgeted to complete the game.[3][19] The future of Snapshot relied on the success of the campaign.[18] "There is no Plan B," Gollop said to the press at the time.[18] The campaign was successful, raising more than $765,000 from over 10,300 different contributors.[19] Snapshot Games released Phoenix Point in 2019.[20][21]

In November 2020, Embracer Group announced that it acquired the company through Saber Interactive.[22] In March 2024, Embracer sold Saber and many of its studios to Beacon Interactive. However, Snapshot was not included in the deal and remains under Embracer.[23]

In February 2025, the studio announced its next project, Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids. Published by Arc Games, also a subsidiary of Embracer, it was the first to not be self-published by Snapshot Games.[24] The game was released to positive reviews in August 2025. [25][26]

In March of the same year, publisher Arc Games announced a video game adaptation of the board game Frosthaven, developed by Snapshot.[27] The game entered early access four months later, in July.[28]

Video games

Year Title Platform(s)
2015 Chaos Reborn Linux, Macintosh, Windows
2019 Phoenix Point Macintosh, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia
2025 Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
TBD Frosthaven Windows

References

  1. ↑ "Embracer Group Annual Report & Sustainability Report 2020 / 2021". Embracer Group. 25 August 2021. https://embracer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Embracer-Annual-Report-and-Sustainability-Report-2021.pdf. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Inspired by X-COM, Snapshot Games is creating Phoenix Point for fall 2018". 2017-04-25. https://venturebeat.com/2017/04/25/inspired-by-x-com-snapshot-games-creates-phoenix-point-for-the-fall-2018/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Phoenix Point's Fig campaign promises new take on classic X-COM formula". Polygon. 2017-04-25. https://www.polygon.com/2017/4/25/15407662/phoenix-point-julian-gollop-fig. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Business Search - Business Entities - Business Programs | California Secretary of State" (in en). https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/CBS/SearchResults?SearchType=CORP&SearchCriteria=snapshot+games&SearchSubType=Keyword. 
  5. ↑ Hall, Charlie (2017-05-02). "X-COM spiritual successor Phoenix Point hits $500K crowdfunding goal". https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/2/15516198/phoenix-point-fully-funded-stretch-goals-xcom-spiritual-successor-julian-gollop. 
  6. ↑ "Gamereactor UK". https://www.gamereactor.eu/news/532373/Phoenix+Point+has+hit+its+funding+target/. 
  7. ↑ "Phoenix Point, the Spiritual Successor to X-Com, Can Be Backed on Fig" (in en-US). 29 April 2017. https://geekreply.com/geek-culture/2017/04/29/phoenix-point-spiritual-successor-x-com-can-backed-fig. 
  8. ↑ Williams, Mike (26 April 2017). "X-COM Designer Returns To the Genre With Phoenix Point" (in en-US). http://www.usgamer.net/articles/x-com-creator-returns-to-the-genre-with-phoenix-point. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Osborn, Alex (2017-06-05). "Phoenix Point Boss Battle Gameplay Revealed" (in en-US). http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/05/phoenix-point-boss-battle-gameplay-revealed. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Chaos Reborn - From the Creator of the Original X-COM" (in en-US). https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1206403106/chaos-reborn-from-the-creator-of-the-original-x-co/. 
  11. ↑ Meer, Alec (2015-10-09). "X-COM Creator's Chaos Reborn Is Born This Month" (in en-US). https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/10/09/chaos-reborn-release-date-2/. 
  12. ↑ "Chaos Reborn". https://www.metacritic.com/game/chaos-reborn/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  13. ↑ "Chaos Reborn review" (in en). http://www.pcgamer.com/chaos-reborn-review/. 
  14. ↑ "The Golden Joystick Awards 2015 - Voting Now Open - Geek Syndicate" (in en-GB). 2015-09-04. http://geeksyndicate.co.uk/news/the-golden-joystick-awards-2015-voting-now-open/. 
  15. ↑ "Golden Joysticks 2015: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt wins five gaming awards - BBC Newsbeat" (in en-GB). 2015-10-30. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-34679591. 
  16. ↑ "X-COM creator Julian Gollop teases new game Phoenix Point". VG 247. 2016-03-18. https://www.vg247.com/2016/03/18/x-com-creator-julian-gollop-teases-new-game-phoenix-point/. 
  17. ↑ Morrison, Angus (2016-03-18). "Julian Gollop announces new game, Phoenix Point". http://www.pcgamer.com/julian-gollop-announces-new-game-phoenix-point/. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "There is no Plan B". Gameindustry.biz. 2017-04-26. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-04-26-there-is-no-plan-b. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Phoenix Point Crowdfunding Campaign" (in en). https://www.fig.co/campaigns/phoenix-point. 
  20. ↑ "X-COM spiritual successor Phoenix Point hits $500K crowdfunding goal". Polygon. 2017-05-02. https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/2/15516198/phoenix-point-fully-funded-stretch-goals-xcom-spiritual-successor-julian-gollop. 
  21. ↑ "Phoenix Point by X-COM Creator Seeks Funding on Fig". wcctech.com. 2017-04-26. http://wccftech.com/phoenix-point-x-com-creator-funding-fig/. 
  22. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (November 17, 2020). "Embracer Group acquires 10 game studios and a PR firm". https://venturebeat.com/2020/11/17/embracer-group-acquires-10-game-studios-and-a-pr-firm/. 
  23. ↑ McEvoy, Sophie (2024-03-14). "Embracer sells Saber Interactive for $247m" (in en). https://www.gamesindustry.biz/embracer-sells-saber-interactive-for-247m. 
  24. ↑ "Arc & Snapshot Games Unveil Chip 'n' Clawz vs. The Brainioids, Masterminded by X-COM Creator". 2025-02-21. https://www.techpowerup.com/332907/arc-snapshot-games-unveil-chip-n-clawz-vs-the-brainioids-masterminded-by-x-com-creator. 
  25. ↑ Dailey, Jason (2025-08-26). "Chip 'n Clawz vs. The Brainioids". https://www.gamingnexus.com/Article/16256/Chip-n-Clawz-vs-The-Brainioids/. 
  26. ↑ "Chip 'N Clawz vs. The Brainioids". https://www.metacritic.com/game/chip-n-clawz-vs-the-brainioids/. 
  27. ↑ Bonthuys, Darryn (2025-03-20). "X-COM Creator Is Adapting Board Game Frosthaven As Tactical RPG, Beta Begins Soon". https://www.gamespot.com/articles/x-com-creator-is-adapting-board-game-frosthaven-as-tactical-rpg-beta-begins-soon/1100-6530236/. 
  28. ↑ Brosofsky, Ben (2025-07-31). "Frosthaven's Compelling Strategy Is Saddled With Unintentional Challenges". https://screenrant.com/frosthaven-pc-game-preview/. 



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