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Bigpoint

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Bigpoint GmbH
Company typeGmbH
IndustryBrowser games
Founded2002
FounderHeiko Hubertz
Headquarters
Hamburg
,
Germany
Key people
Khaled Helioui (CEO)
Number of employees
800 (2011)
WebsiteOfficial 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] Bigpoint.com states that 332,915,414 players are registered in the top right corner, as of 18/08/13. 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.

History

In 2008, the company was founded by Heiko Hubertz in Hamburg, Germany's second largest city. 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. At the same time Heiko Hubertz stepped down as CEO.[6]

Used technology

Games are developed using PHP, Adobe Flash, Java and the Unity engine.

List of games developed by Bigpoint

List of games published by Bigpoint

References

  1. ^ Bigpoint Surpasses 200 Million Gamers Worldwide, Bigpoint, June 20, 2011
  2. ^ Bigpoint, Europe's Leading Multiplayer Game Publisher, Expands Into US Market With Rapid-Fire Launch Schedule, Marketwire, December 3, 2008
  3. ^ Szalai, Georg (June 12, 2008), Peacock Fund Takes Bigpoint Stake, The Hollywood Reporter, retrieved February 3, 2009
  4. ^ Online Games Leader Bigpoint Announces Summit Partners and TA Associates to Make $350 Million Investment, Bigpoint, April 26, 2011
  5. ^ Game of Thrones MMO First Look, IGN, May 8, 2012
  6. ^ Bigpoint cuts 120 jobs, CEO leaves role, gamesindustry.biz, Aug 27, 2013
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