Owlchemy Labs
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Founder | Alex Schwartz |
| Headquarters | , US |
Key people |
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| Products | |
| Parent | |
| Website | owlchemylabs |
Owlchemy Labs is a video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in 2010 by Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduate Alex Schwartz.[1] Owlchemy is best known for its virtual reality video games Job Simulator and Rick and Morty Simulator: Virtual Rick-ality. In May 2017, the studio was acquired by Google.[2][3]
Owlchemy Labs also founded VR Austin, one of the largest VR-focused meetups in the US with over 2000 members, which holds Austin based VR Meetings and hosts a yearly game jam. Before that, the founders started the Boston Unity Group and the Winnipeg Unity User Group.[4]
Alex Schwartz departed the company on July 18th, 2018 - former CTO Devin Reimer became CEO, and Andrew Eiche became CTO.[5][6]
Awards and Accolades
- Job Simulator went platinum in January of 2020 [7]
- Job Simulator won the Game Developer's Choice Award for best VR/AR Game in 2017. [8]
Games developed
- Super Ramen BROTHers – iOS (2010)
- AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!: For the Awesome (with Dejobaan Games) – Windows (2011)
- Smuggle Truck – Windows, Mac OS X (2011)
- Snuggle Truck – iOS (2011), Nokia N9, BlackBerry PlayBook, Windows (2012)
- Jack Lumber – Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (2013)
- Dyscourse – Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (2015)
- Job Simulator – Windows, PlayStation 4 (2016), Oculus Quest (May 21, 2019)
- Rick and Morty Simulator: Virtual Rick-ality – Windows (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift), PlayStation VR (2017)
- Vacation Simulator – Windows (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift) (released April 9, 2019), PlayStation VR (released June 18, 2019), Oculus Quest (December 12, 2019)
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Snuggle Truck controversy
Owlchemy originally developed a game called Smuggle Truck with a premise of smuggling immigrants into the US. The game was inspired by Owlchemy developer Yilmaz Kiymaz's experience as a Turkish citizen attempting to stay in the US after graduating. Apple rejected the game for its App Store due to the controversial subject matter. Owlchemy retitled the project Snuggle Truck and changed the premise to taking fuzzy animals to the zoo. The rebranded game was accepted into the app store.[9]
References
- ^ Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Interactive Media & Game Development - People
- ^ Grubb, Jeff (May 10, 2017). "Google bags Job Simulator studio Owlchemy Labs in VR's latest exit". Venture Beat. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ^ Roberston, Adi (May 10, 2017). "Google just acquired one of the most successful VR game studios". The Verge. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
- ^ "About Owlchemy Labs". Owlchemy Labs. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- ^ "Announcing new leadership at Owlchemy Labs". Owlchemy Labs. June 18, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- ^ "Both Owlchemy Labs' CEO and studio director are leaving to start something new". Gamasutra. June 19, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- ^ Hayden, Scott (January 9, 2020). "'Job Simulator' Goes Platinum, Selling Over 1 Million Copies to Date". Road to VR. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- ^ "17th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards Finalists & Winners". Game Developers Choice Awards. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- ^ "Smuggle Truck rejection" on Joystiq
External links
- Official website
Media related to Owlchemy Labs at Wikimedia Commons
