Hothead Games Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
Founders
  • Steve Bocska
  • Vlad Ceraldi
  • Joel DeYoung
Headquarters
Vancouver
,
Canada
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Ian Wilkinson (President and CEO)
Websitehotheadgames.com

Hothead Games Inc. is an independent Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver.

History

The studio was founded in 2006 by Steve Bocska, Vlad Ceraldi and Joel DeYoung, all three of which were formerly employed by Radical Entertainment. However, Bocska left the company in 2007.[1] On 10 March 2009, Ian Wilkinson, who had been president and chief executive officer of Radical Entertainment since its foundation in 1991 until 2008, became president and chief executive officer of Hothead Games, replacing Ceraldi.[1] In turn, Ceraldi became the studio's director of game development, while DeYoung moved from his chief operating officer position to director of game technology.[1]

Following the conclusion of the DeathSpank series and the departure of its creator Ron Gilbert in 2011, Hothead Games shifted its development focus entirely to mobile games in response to market trends surrounding mobile devices.[2] In 2015, Hothead Games expanded by opening a studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia with an initial development team of 25 people, putting the company's employee count at 130.[3] In 2019, Hothead Games established a publishing arm to promote third-party free-to-play titles.[4]

On 14 October 2021, Embracer Group announced that its subsidiary DECA Games had acquired the Hothead Games titles Hero Hunters and Kill Shot Bravo.[5] In January 2022, Vlad Ceraldi left Hothead Games to fill the CEO position of independent game developer Offworld Industries.[6]

Games developed

Year Title Platform(s) Publisher(s)
2008 Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Hothead Games
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode Two
2010 DeathSpank Electronic Arts
DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue
2011 Swarm PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Ignition Entertainment
The Baconing macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Hothead Games
Kard Combat iOS
Sea Stars Android, iOS
2012 Big Win Soccer
Big Win Hockey
Big Win Baseball
Big Win Basketball
2013 Rivals at War
Rivals at War: 2084
Big Win Racing
2014 Rivals at War: Firefight
Kill Shot
2015 Big Win Football 2016
Boom Boom Football
Kill Shot Bravo
2016 Boom Boom Soccer
2017 Kill Shot Virus
2017 Mighty Battles
2018 Hero Hunters
Forged Fantasy
2019 Idle Golf Tycoon
Idle Property Manager Tycoon
2020 Super Hit Baseball
Box Office Tycoon

References

  1. ^ a b c Kyllo, Blaine (11 March 2009). "Radical founder Ian Wilkinson becomes CEO of Hothead Games". The Georgia Straight. Vancouver Free Press. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  2. ^ Cipriano, Jason (5 October 2012). "Why Hothead Games Made The Jump From Consoles To Mobile Game Development". MTV. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  3. ^ Weber, Rachel (30 September 2015). "Hothead Games opens new Halifax studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  4. ^ Batchelor, James (22 January 2019). "Hothead Games launches mobile publishing arm". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Embracer Group acquires mobile game developer Jufeng Studio and eight mobile titles". Embracer Group. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  6. ^ Orr, Aaron (26 January 2022). "Mobile games industry veteran Vlad Ceraldi moves to Offworld Industries". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media Ltd. Retrieved 28 January 2022.

External links

Companies based in Metro Vancouver
Categories