Failbetter Games
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | October 2009 |
| Founders | Alexis Kennedy Paul Arendt |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Chris Gardiner Emily Short Adam Myers Hannah Flynn |
| Products | Fallen London Sunless Sea Sunless Skies |
Number of employees | 12 |
| Website | www.failbettergames.com |
Failbetter Gamesis a Britishvideo game developerandinteractive fictionstudio based inLondon.
History
[edit]Founded in 2009 byAlexis Kennedyand Paul Arendt, Failbetter is chiefly known for itsFallen LondonVictorian Gothic franchise (comprising, to date, theFallen LondonandSilver Treebrowser games and theSunless Sea,Sunless SkiesandMask of the Rosevideo games), which has garnered acult following.[1]Failbetter was also commissioned byBioWareto build a browser-game prologue forDragon Age: Inquisition,[2]and by UK publisherHarvill Seckerto create a puzzle game to accompanyThe Night Circus.[3][4]The studio has consistently won acclaim for the quality of its writing, world-building and storytelling.[5][6]
In 2016,Alexis Kennedyleft Failbetter, citing a desire to work with a variety of other studios and work on his own smaller, more experimental projects.[7]
In February 2017, Failbetter ran a successful Kickstarter for a sequel toSunless Sea,Sunless Skies,raising almost half a million dollars. However, December that same year Failbetter unexpectedly laid off four members of staff, citing the under-performance of theSunless SeaiPadport, and poor sales of theirSunless Skiesinearly access.[8][9]
Failbetter was subsequently the target of an extensive but inconclusive investigative report byEurogamer,which cited Kennedy and other unnamed staff in claiming poor management and a 'toxic' culture had developed since Kennedy's departure.[10]
GamesIndustry.biz awarded Failbetter Games for being one of the best places to work in the games industry in the UK in 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021.[11][12][13][14]
On 8 June 2023 Failbetter released a romantic visual novel set in theFallen Londonuniverse calledMask of the Rose,which is a prequel to the other games in the franchise.[15]
Games developed
[edit]| Year | Title | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Fallen London | Android,Browser,iOS |
| 2012 | Tales of Fallen London: The Silver Tree | Browser |
| 2014 | Dragon Age: The Last Court | |
| 2015 | Sunless Sea | iOS,Linux,Microsoft Windows,Nintendo Switch,OS X,PlayStation 4 |
| 2019 | Sunless Skies | Linux,macOS,Microsoft Windows,Xbox One,PlayStation 4,Nintendo Switch |
| 2023 | Mask of the Rose | Linux,macOS,Microsoft Windows |
References
[edit]- ^"How a cult-hit browser game spawned the dark world of 'Sunless Sea'".www.theverge.com.14 July 2014.
- ^"The Last Court".PC Games N.2 November 2014.
- ^O'Hara, Jan (September 9, 2011)."Author Interview at Writer Unboxed (Part II)".Writer Unboxed.RetrievedJanuary 4,2012.
- ^Khan, Yasmeen (September 1, 2011)."The Night Circus".Failbetter Games. Archived fromthe originalon December 22, 2011.RetrievedJanuary 4,2012.
- ^Hivemind, R. P. S. (15 December 2014)."Best Words of 2014".Rock Paper Shotgun.
- ^"The City and the Sea".Eurogamer.net.6 April 2014.
- ^Brendan Sinclair (25 May 2016)."Alexis Kennedy leaving Failbetter Games".
- ^Alice O'Connor (7 February 2018)."Failbetter lay off a few staff and delay Sunless Skies".Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
- ^Tom Phillips (2018-02-14)."Behind the sunless scenes".Eurogamer.Retrieved2018-04-06.
- ^Tom Phillips (2018-02-14)."Behind the sunless scenes".Eurogamer.Retrieved2023-08-24.
- ^"Page 2 | Revealed: The Best Places to Work in the UK games industry".22 September 2017.
- ^"Page 2 | Meet the best places to work in the UK video games industry 2019".20 September 2019.
- ^"Here are the winners of the GamesIndustry.biz 2020 UK Best Places to Work Awards".18 September 2020.
- ^"Who are the 2021 best places to work in the UK games industry?".16 September 2021.
- ^Frech, Ricky (December 2, 2020)."Failbetter Games Announce Next Game in the Fallen London Universe".Dualshockers.RetrievedDecember 3,2020.