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Supergiant Games

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Not to be confused with Supermassive Games.

Supergiant Games, LLC
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded2009; 15 years ago (2009)
Founders
  • Amir Rao
  • Gavin Simon
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
U.S.
Key people
Amir Rao (studio operations)
Products
Number of employees
25[1] (2024)
Websitesupergiantgames.com

Supergiant Games, LLC is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in San Francisco. It was founded in 2009 by Amir Rao and Gavin Simon, and is known for the games Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades.

History

Amir Rao, co-founder of Supergiant Games, in 2012

Supergiant Games was formed by Amir Rao and Gavin Simon in 2009. Both had been working at the Los Angeles studio of Electronic Arts, involved with the Command & Conquer series.[2] In 2009 they agreed to quit their job, move into the same house, and begin to work on a new game together. Artist Jen Zee became the studio's third member, and, later, its art director.[3] Musician Darren Korb was hired for audio and music work.[4][5] They employed a number of freelance programmers and developers at various times during the development of their first game.[6][7]

Their first game, Bastion, received high critical praise, including being listed among several "Game of the Year" lists from game journalists.[8] It was first shown in mid-development at the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo as one of many highlighted indie games.[9] This attracted several publishers who wanted to help distribute the game; Supergiant Games chose Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, leading to the game's distribution on Xbox Live Arcade and also as a premiere title during the 2011 "Summer of Arcade" promotion.[10]

In March 2013, Supergiant Games announced their next title, Transistor, released on May 20, 2014. A promotion video was released on March 19.[11] The game features a female protagonist, Red, in a cyberpunk-like city, who has acquired a powerful weapon that she is nearly killed for possessing.[12] The game features a similar isometric viewpoint to Bastion[13] and was also met with critical acclaim.[14]

In April 2016, Supergiant Games announced their third game, Pyre, released on July 25, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, Linux and PlayStation 4. It was described as a party-based role-playing game.[15] In a break from their previous games, Pyre does not use an isometric viewpoint; the player's party travels across a 2D overworld, and combat takes place in a separate arena. The combat system is also very different, being described as "fantasy basketball".[16] Pyre was again regarded fondly by critics and was named Game Informer's best indie RPG for that year.[17]

Supergiant's next game, Hades, was revealed at The Game Awards 2018 and released on September 17, 2020, following an early access release from December 2018. Hades is an action roguelite game based on Greek mythology, where the player character Zagreus uses a combination of weapons, magic, and abilities to defeat enemies in procedurally-generated dungeons and escape from his father, Hades.[18] Hades was met with critical acclaim, selling over 1 million copies and reaching "universal acclaim" status on Metacritic,[19][20] with several awards won. It was nominated for nine awards at The Game Awards 2020, including for Game of the Year; Hades would end up winning two awards for Best Independent Game and Best Action. Hades eventually ended up winning the best game of the year awards at the 17th British Academy Games Awards, the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, and the 21st Game Developers Choice Awards.[21]

At The Game Awards 2022, Supergiant announced Hades II. Like the original Hades, it will be a roguelite game based on Greek mythology and it will be developed in early access.[22][23]

Games developed

Year Title Platform(s) Genre(s)
2011 Bastion Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, iOS Action role-playing
2014 Transistor Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Switch, iOS, Apple TV Action role-playing, turn-based strategy
2017 Pyre Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 Action role-playing, sports
2020 Hades Windows, macOS, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, iOS Action role-playing, roguelite
2024 Hades II Windows Action role-playing, roguelite

References

  1. ^ Stewart, Marcus (May 2024). "One More Run: The Making and Mythology of Hades II". Game Informer. Vol. 34 5, no. 366. pp. 38–49.
  2. ^ Wallace, Kimberley. "The Story Behind Supergiant Games' Bastion". Game Informer. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  3. ^ Wallace, Kimberley (April 16, 2021). "The Story Behind Supergiant Games' Bastion". Game Informer. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  4. ^ Jungreis, Max. "The cofounder of Supergiant, which created hit video game Hades, quit his job and moved in with his dad to make games. Here's how his team manages the workload in an industry struggling with burnout". Business Insider. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  5. ^ "The Holistic Master of Video Game Music: An Interview with Darren Korb". The Indie Game Website. March 9, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  6. ^ Caoili, Eric (March 12, 2010). "GDC: EA LA Vets Form Digital Download Dev Supergiant". Gamasutra. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  7. ^ Marie, Meagan (September 4, 2010). "SuperGiant's Bastion Is Beautiful". Game Informer. Archived from the original on November 14, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  8. ^ Anwer, Rizwan (January 3, 2012). "Bastion Sells 500,000 Copies And Wins Over 60 Awards". Wccftech. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Gallaway, Brad. "PAX 2010 – The Scoop". GameCritics.com. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  10. ^ Cullen, Johnny (July 19, 2011). "Supergiant: Warner "bought into" our "vision" of Bastion". VG247. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  11. ^ Transistor – Reveal Trailer. YouTube. March 19, 2013.
  12. ^ "Transistor: The Giant Sword-Wielding Female Protagonist Game". The Mary Sue. May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  13. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (March 19, 2013). "Transistor from Supergiant Games gets a reveal trailer". VG247. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  14. ^ "Transistor Is Free on Epic Games Store Starting Today". Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  15. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (April 19, 2016). "Bastion and Transistor dev announces RPG Pyre". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  16. ^ "Pyre is a mystical take on basketball from the team behind Transistor". TheVerge. July 24, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  17. ^ Kimberley Wallace (January 7, 2018). "The 2017 RPG Of The Year Awards". Game Informer. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  18. ^ Hasan, Maruf (September 22, 2020). "Hades has sold 1 million copies and that is no surprise". EIP Gaming. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  19. ^ Byford, Sam (December 6, 2018). "Hades is a new game from the makers of Pyre and Transistor, and it's out now in early access". The Verge. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  20. ^ Kerr, Chris (September 21, 2020). "Hades has sold over 1 million copies in under two years". www.gamasutra.com. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  21. ^ "Bafta Games Awards 2021: Hades takes Best Game". BBC News. March 25, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  22. ^ Middler, Jordan (December 8, 2022). "Hades 2 announced at The Game Awards". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  23. ^ Friscia, John (December 8, 2022). "Hades II Announced by Supergiant Games, Enters Early Access in 2023". The Escapist. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
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