Bigpoint Games
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| Type | GmbH |
|---|---|
| Industry | Browser games |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder(s) | Heiko Hubertz |
| Headquarters | Hamburg, Germany |
| Employees | 800 (2011) |
| Website | Official page |
Bigpoint GmbH is a German video game developer. The company develops stand-alone browser-based games as well as social network games. Bigpoint also runs a gaming portal website with a number of browser-based massively multiplayer online role playing games it has produced and has over 200 million registered users (announced in June 2011).[1] NBCU has featured some of Bigpoint's games on the websites of some of its cable channels.
In addition to its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, Bigpoint maintains offices in Berlin, San Francisco, Malta and Sao Paulo.[2] Some of the company's games include Battlestar Galactica Online, Farmerama, Drakensang Online, DarkOrbit and Seafight.
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History [edit]
In 2002, the company was founded by Heiko Hubertz in Hamburg, Germany's second largest city, . Hubertz remains CEO until today. Bigpoint's first game was Icefighter, an ice hockey management simulation. The company quickly expanded, having one million registered users in 2006. By 2007, Bigpoint was running 22 browser games.
In June 2008, General Electric and NBC Universal, along with European private-equity group GMT Communications Partners, bought out a 70 percent share of Bigpoint.[3] The remaining 30 percent share is still held by Heiko Hubertz.
By 2009, Bigpoint reached more than 100 million users and had a revenue of more than 50 million Euros.
On April 26, 2011, TA Associates and Summit Partners invested $350 million into Bigpoint to become the majority shareholders. On May 16, 2011, Bigpointdotcom posted a video on YouTube.com announcing their new office building. Previous shareholders Comcast Interactive Capital’s Peacock Equity Fund sold their holdings in this transaction. GMT Communications Partners and GE sold a majority of their stakes. Hubertz retained his existing ownership stake in the company.[4]
In May 2011, Bigpoint had more than 800 employees world-wide.
Bigpoint and Artplant are currently working on a browser-based, free-to-play MMO set in George R.R. Martin's fantasy world, A Song of Ice and Fire, to be based on the HBO series Game of Thrones.[5]
On the 23rd of October 2012, Bigpoint laid off 120 staff members.
Used technology [edit]
Games are developed using PHP, Adobe Flash, Java and the Unity engine.
List of games developed by Bigpoint [edit]
List of games published by Bigpoint [edit]
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References [edit]
- ^ Bigpoint Surpasses 200 Million Gamers Worldwide, Bigpoint, June 20, 2011
- ^ Bigpoint, Europe's Leading Multiplayer Game Publisher, Expands Into US Market With Rapid-Fire Launch Schedule, Marketwire, December 3, 2008
- ^ Szalai, Georg (June 12, 2008), Peacock Fund Takes Bigpoint Stake, The Hollywood Reporter, retrieved February 3, 2009
- ^ Online Games Leader Bigpoint Announces Summit Partners and TA Associates to Make $350 Million Investment, Bigpoint, April 26, 2011
- ^ Game of Thrones MMO First Look, IGN, May 8, 2012
External links [edit]
- Online Gaming Outfit Bigpoint Points To Some Big Numbers TechCrunch June 20, 2011
- The Next Wave of Free-to-Play: Licensing Gamasutra June 16, 2011
- Battlestar Galactica Online Surpasses 2 Million Players Jostiq May 26, 2011
- Investors buy majority stake in online game maker Bigpoint for $350M VentureBeat April 25, 2011
- Bigpoint Talks Drakensang Online Massivley March 21, 2011
- Bigpoint expands to US with Electronic Arts digital distribution deal VentureBeat February 28, 2011
- Bigpoint saves Planet Moon game studio with hiring binge VentureBeat January 1, 2011
- Bigpoint in €70 million buy-out, at www.growthbusiness.co.uk, June 9, 2008.
- Bigpoint’s Sale to NBC-GMT a Big Deal: Online gaming company fetches $110 million, signifying continued interest in the space from major media companies and ongoing consumer interest., By JONATHAN MARINO, Mergers & Acquisitions Report via mergersunleashed.com, June 9, 2008.
- Peacock, GMT agree to majority buyout of Bigpoint, siliconindia news bureau, June 12, 2008.
- GMT and NBC Universal take over Bigpoint, Galaxynews.com June 9, 2008.
