505 Games S.p.A.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
Headquarters
Milan
,
Italy
ParentDigital Bros
Subsidiaries
Website505games.com

505 Games S.p.A. is an Italian video game publisher based in Milan.[1] It was founded in 2006 as a subsidiary of Milan-based Digital Bros.

History

505 Games was founded in 2006 in Milan as a subsidiary of Digital Bros.[2] The company found its early success through its video games such as Cooking Mama and Zumba Fitness.[3]

In April 2012, 505 Games took over publishing duties from THQ for the fitness game Adidas MiCoach, following a lawsuit between THQ and Adidas.[4] In April 2013, they acquired the license of Drawn To Life series. The purchase included rights to the franchise as a whole.[5] In November 2013, it canceled Ashes Cricket 2013 and issued refunds.[6] In April 2014, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with Adam Orth's Three One Zero of the game Adrift. The game is described as a first-person experience, where the player controls an astronaut exploring debris of a wrecked station in outer space.[7] In January 2015, 505 Games confirmed the acquisition of the intellectual property (IP) rights to the multi-award-winning Game of the Year 2013,[8] Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons from Starbreeze Studios.[9] In April 2015, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with Swedish game developer Starbreeze for the game Overkill's The Walking Dead, which released in late 2018.[10] A month later, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with game developer Overkill Software for the game Payday 2 Crimewave Edition.[11] In August 2016, 505 Games announced it would be publishing Virginia from Variable State.[12]

In March 2015, 505 Games purchased 2.67% stock of Swedish game developer Starbreeze Studios.[13] In January 2016, 505 Games announced that they will shift their focus from publishing games for other developers to developing their own intellectual properties.[14] In October 2016, 505 Games has announced through Koji Igarashi, their collaboration in publishing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night from Igarashi's own ArtPlay, DICO and Inti Creates, though Inti's involvement has been reduced.[15] At the Sony E3 press conference on 11 June 2018, 505 Games announced a partnership with Remedy Entertainment to publish Control.[16]

505 Games acquired Australia-based Infinity Plus Two, the developers of the Puzzle Quest games in January 2021.[17]

505 Games is working with Rabbit and Bear Studios to publish Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series. The partnership was announced February 2021.[18]

On 27 June 2022 D3 Go! was acquired by 505 Games. The acquisition also included the intellectual property of the Puzzle Quest games.[19][20]

In November 2023, 505 Games parent company Digital Bros announced plans to lay off about 30% of its global workforce—around 130 employees.[21] Job cuts continued into 2024, when 505 Games closed offices in Germany, Spain, and France.[22][23]

In February 2024, 505 Games sold the IP rights to Control back to developer Remedy Entertainment for €17 million. 505 Games will remain as publisher through the end of 2024.[24]

Games published

Main article: List of 505 video games

Games published by 505 Games include Sniper Elite III, Payday 2, Assetto Corsa, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Terraria, Redout, How to Survive, Defense Grid 2, Deep Black, Abzû, Adrift, Virginia, Dead by Daylight, Control, Unturned, Indivisible, and the PC release of Death Stranding.[25][26][12][27][28]

Accolades

In April 2015, 505 Games was awarded the title of Best Indie Games Label at the MCV Awards.[29]

References

  1. ^ "Privacy Policy". 505 Games. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  2. ^ Doolan, Lian (13 September 2018). "Terraria Publisher 505 Games Expands Coverage To Japan And South Korea". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  3. ^ "505 Games' Ian Howe Interview". Digital Trends. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Adidas MiCoach Now Published by 505 Games". Engadget. 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  5. ^ "505 Games Acquires Draw To Life License". Warp Zoned. 23 April 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  6. ^ Cowan, D. (2 December 2013). "Ashes Cricket 2013 pulled from Steam, publisher issuing refunds". Engadget.
  7. ^ "505 Games Publishing Adr1ft". IGN. 4 April 2014. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Game of the Year Award". PlayStation Blog. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Brothers IP Sold to 505 Games". Eurogamer. 16 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  10. ^ "505 Games To Publish Overkills The Walking Dead". The Koalition. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  11. ^ "PayDay 2: Crimewave Edition Release". Christian Today. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  12. ^ a b Robinson, Martin (25 August 2016). "Virginia, one of 2016's most promising games, is coming to Xbox One, PS4 and PC next month". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  13. ^ "505 Games Acquires Stake in Starbreeze". Develop. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  14. ^ Dring, Christopher (21 January 2016). "505 Games switches focus to developing its own IP". MCV. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  15. ^ Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (5 October 2016), Bloodstained and 505 Games Partnership, archived from the original on 19 December 2021, retrieved 5 October 2016
  16. ^ Kuchera, Ben (11 June 2018). "Sony debuts Remedy's new game, Control, at E3 2018". Polygon. Archived from the original on 10 February 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  17. ^ Minotti, Mike (14 January 2021). "505 Games acquires Puzzle Quest studio Infinity Plus Two". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  18. ^ Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Partnership Announcement with 505 Games, retrieved 3 July 2023
  19. ^ "505 Games acquires D3 Go, publisher of Marvel Puzzle Quest". 27 June 2022.
  20. ^ Blake, Vikki (3 July 2022). "505 Games acquires D3 Go! and the Puzzle Quest franchise". Eurogamer. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Digital Bros, parent company of 505 Games, is laying off 30% of its staff". www.gameshub.com. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  22. ^ Kennedy, Victoria (29 February 2024). "Ghostrunner 2 publisher 505 Games closes offices in Germany, Spain and France". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  23. ^ Caballero, David (29 February 2024). "Más recortes en Digital Bros: ¿afectarán a Assetto Corsa 2 o Project Iron?". Gamereactor España (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  24. ^ Dring, Christopher (28 February 2024). "Remedy acquires full Control rights from 505 Games for €17m". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  25. ^ "505 Games Announces Abzu". IGN. 10 June 2014. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  26. ^ "505 Games Publishing Adrift". Engadget. 5 April 2014. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  27. ^ "Death Stranding on PC will be published by 505 Games". IGN. 28 October 2019. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  28. ^ "Lab Zero partnering with 505 Games for Indivisible". 28 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  29. ^ "MCV Awards 2015". MCV. 21 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.

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