Big Fish Games
| Big Fish Games | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video game Computer software |
| Founded | Seattle (2002) |
| Founder | Paul Thelen  |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, United States |
Key people | Paul Thelen, Chairman/CEO |
| Products | Video games (Casual games) |
Number of employees | 700 (2013) |
| Parent | Churchill Downs Incorporated (2014–present) |
| Website | www |
Big Fish Games is a casual gaming company based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is both a developer and distributor of casual games for computers and mobile devices.
History
The company was founded by Paul Thelen in 2002 with $10,000.[1] In 2009, it announced the opening of their new European headquarters in Cork, Ireland. The BBB rates it "no rating" due to being "in the process of responding to previously closed complaints."[2]
In August 2013, the company announced the closing of its cloud-based games service, Vancouver studio and Cork offices.[3]
On November 12, 2014, the company was acquired by Churchill Downs Incorporated for $885 million. It is primarily involved in the gambling business, and is the owner of several major horse racing tracks, including its namesake Churchill Downs.[4]
Big Fish Studios
Big Fish Studios is the internal development studio that publishes original titles every year through Big Fish Games. Many of these games are developed using its own proprietary game engine that supports both DirectX and OpenGL.[5][6]
Games developed by Big Fish Studios include:
- Drawn: Dark Flight
- Drawn: The Painted Tower
- Drawn: Trail of Shadows
- Fairway Solitaire HD
- Hidden Expedition - The Uncharted Islands
- Hidden Expedition: Amazon
- Hidden Expedition: Everest
- Hidden Expedition: Titanic
- Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull
- Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove
- Mystery Case Files: Escape from Ravenhearst
- Mystery Case Files: Fate's Carnival
- Mystery Case Files: Huntsville
- Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate
- Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects
- Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst
- Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst
- Mystery Case Files: Shadow Lake
- Mystery Case Files: The Malgrave Incident
- Mystery in London
- Mystic Inn
Online games
The company entered the browser gaming with its acquisition of the game website Ion Thunder in 2007; the service was re-branded as Atlantis following the acquisition.[7] The service, which was later revamped as Big Sea Games in 2009, was shut down in 2010 as part of the company's shift from traditional online games to social games on Facebook and mobile apps.[8]
References
- ^ "Paul Thelen". Big Fish Games. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ "Big Fish Games Inc". BBB. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ Cook, John (August 21, 2013). "Full memo: Big Fish CEO announces job cuts, cancellation of cloud games business and closure of Ireland and BC facilities". GeekWire. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
- ^ "Seattle casual game-maker Big Fish Games acquired in $885 million deal". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ "Chris Campbell, Brian Thompson, Peter Yiap". Adventure Classic Gaming. January 23, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ "Big Fish Games presents the Big Fish Games collection". Big Fish Games. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
- ^ "Big Fish Games Acquires Leading Multi-player Casual Game Site, Ion Thunder". Press release. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ "Big Sea Games fans swim to other ponds". Gamezebo. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
External links
- 2002 establishments in Washington (state)
- Big Fish Games games
- Browser-based game websites
- Casual games
- Companies based in Seattle
- Mac software companies
- Privately held companies based in Washington (state)
- Social networking services
- Technology companies established in 2002
- Video game companies of the United States
- Video game development companies