CipSoft
CipSoft GmbH, or CIP, is a video game developer based in Regensburg, Germany most notable for the online roleplaying game Tibia. They also market Tibia: Land of Heroes, a cell-phone-based version of the game.
In early 2006, CipSoft Staff reported 22 people working actively; CipSoft also recently moved its offices early this year because of the company wishing to expand and are currently hiring new employees.
Company beginnings
CipSoft GmbH is an independent developer and publisher of online games for various platforms. The company, which is based in Regensburg, was founded by Stephan Vogler, Stephan Börzsönyi, Guido Lübke and Ulrich Schlott in June 2001. To this day, the four founders of the company direct CipSoft GmbH together in the position of chief executive officers. The portfolio of the software developer includes the MMORPG Tibia, one of the most successful online games in Europe. [citation needed] Around the world, more than 250.000 active players on 72 game servers currently inhabit the medieval world of Tibia. Furthermore, CipSoft GmbH develops and runs Tibia Micro Edition, the first online role playing game for mobile phones. More than 20 employees work on the continuous advancement of the existing products as well as on planned new releases. CipSoft GmbH is a member of G.A.M.E®, the federal German association of German developers of computer games.
Tibia
Tibia was created in 1997 as a result of a student project that eventually became a large MMORPG. The base itself is similar to others of its genre but has very basic graphics. It started with only one server but currently holds 72 where up to 900 players play at most peak hours.
The game is based in a medieval environment where mythical creatures such as dragons roam through the land. Players are allowed to choose between four different vocations so they can carry on their adventures in different ways.
The game itself is updated twice a year in the summer and winter updates, where major changes are introduced; generally summer updates create new hunting areas and cities to explore while the winter update is more about gameplay changes. Both of these updates usually affect the quality of the graphics as well.
The maximum players online at one time is 53,152. [citation needed]
Tibia: Land of Heroes
In January 2002, CipSoft began to venture into mobile gaming. They adapted the successful idea of online role-playing games to Java and Symbian OS-enabled mobile devices. Tibia: Land of Heroes is the first mobile massive multiplayer online role-playing game for mobile phones. After the presentation at the 2003 CeBIT fair in Hanover, the game was launched May 2003 in cooperation with T-Mobile, Germany's largest mobile carrier.
Future projects
It is unknown if CipSoft plans on creating additional products for any platform or computers, but it is certain they will continue to update and improve their current ones.