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Ankama

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Ankama
Company typeSAS
IndustryVideo game design (Ankama Games), Interactive communication (Ankama Web), Comic book publishing (Ankama Éditions) and Animation (Ankama Animation)
FoundedMay 15, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-05-15)
Headquarters75 boulevard d'Armentières, 59100 Roubaix Cedex 1 – France
Key people
Number of employees
500 (2012)
Websiteankama.com/en

Ankama is a French entertainment company headquartered in Roubaix, France,[1] focused on the design of massive multiplayer online role playing games (Dofus, Dofus Arena and Wakfu). The company is also active in publishing, animation and Web development. It was founded by Anthony Roux [fr], Camille Chafer [fr] and Emmanuel Darras. The company name comes from their own names : ANthony, KAmille, MAnu.

History

  • 2001, foundation of Ankama as a web agency.
  • 2003, Ankama Games, subsidiary of the company, began developing their first game, Dofus. Dofus was fully developed in Flash. A beta version was released in October 2003.
  • 2004, after nearly a year of beta testing, the game was distributed via Internet. Updates were regularly released.
  • 2005, Dofus was officially released in September. Ankama Editions was created, extending Ankama's activities to publish comic book publishing. Ankama began development on Dofus Arena, the second game by the studio. Ankama was also hired by The Lego Group to develop a Flash RPG based on their franchise Bionicle known as the Voya Nui Online Game (VNOG). It was to be released in late winter of that year.
  • 2006, After multiple setbacks, VNOG was released on September 20th. [2] Also in that year, Wakfu began development.
  • 2007, Dofus Arena version 2 was released. The alpha version of Wakfu was presented at the Japan Expo. Ankama Animation was created to produce the Wakfu animated series.
  • 2011, Wakfu was launched into open beta after more than 4 years of development. The full release was announced for February 2012.
  • 2014, Wakfu had moved to a free to play model in various areas around the globe. They now opened beta again.

Video games

Ankama Games [fr] create, produce and distribute their own video games:

  • Dofus, the first game by the studio, is an MMORPG developed entirely in Flash. Players control an Avatar in the medieval fantasy "World of Twelve". aiming to acquire experience by completing quests and defeating monsters. The game uses a unique, turn based tactical combat system, which sets Dofus apart from many other MMORPGs. The basic version of the game is free-to-play, but more features are available to player purchasing a subscription.
  • Dofus Arena, which public beta-testing began in early 2006, is the PvP (Player versus player) version of Dofus. The players take on the role of a coach setting up a team to compete with the teams of other players. Dofus Arena takes its combat system from Dofus. The goal of the game is to go up a relative ranking of players, which is based on the Elo rating system.
  • Voya Nui Online Game, the only known game developed by Ankama to be used by another company (the aforementioned Lego Group), is a one-player RPG that could be played from Lego's website in 2006.
  • Islands of Wakfu, an action-adventure role-playing game for the Xbox 360 Xbox Live Arcade published by Microsoft Games Studios, set in the universe of Wakfu. Released in 2011.
  • Wakfu, an MMORPG developed in 2011. It allows players to interact without any NPC interference. The game takes place in the same world as Dofus, but is set 1000 years later.
  • Fly'N, is a puzzle platformer released on 9 November 2012.
  • Tactile Wars is a multi-player video game released in 2015.
  • King Tongue is a single player phone app released in 2015.
  • Drag'n'boom
  • Nindash
  • Krosmaster
  • Krosmaga
  • Waven (project)

Comic book publishing

Ankama Éditions [fr] was set up in 2006 to publish comic books. The published works include titles related to Ankama Games' Dofus universe, but also unrelated titles such as Mutafukaz, which is very successful in France. Published works include:

Web

Ankama Web is an interactive communication agency specialized in digital media, Web development and marketing buzz strategies. Ankama Web thus develops websites and Internet applications for professionals. Created in 2001, the agency was historically the first pole of activity of Ankama.

Press

Ankama Presse, dedicated to the publication of magazines, was created in June 15, 2007 as a part of Ankama's cross-media strategy. It published mainly magazines about Ankama's video games. Its main product was Dofus Mag, focused on Ankama's flagship game Dofus. The magazine's format was inspired by the Japanese concept of mook, indicating a hybrid product between magazine and book: while being distributed in newsstands, it was meant to be read and preserved as a book. Dofus Mag and other Ankama Presse titles were subsequently canceled.[3]

Animation

Ankama Animations [fr] was created in March 2007. MadLab Animations was created in 2017.

In 2008, Wakfu: The Animated Series (based on the video game, Wakfu) began airing. A second season aired in 2010. Both seasons consisted of 26 20-minute episodes. The plot focuses on Yugo and his companions as he is looking for his biological family. The series was animated in Adobe Flash.

In 2013, Dofus: The Treasures of Kerubim, based upon the Dofus game, aired. The series is set 200 years before the beginning of the MMORPG. It follows the main character Kerubim throughout various episodes of his life. The premise has Kerubim narrating several of his adventures to his adopted son Joris and their housekeeper Simone. The series consists of 52 10-minute episodes. A movie adaptation of the TV series is slated to release in late 2015.

In 2016, the film Dofus, livre 1 : Julith [fr] (Anthony Roux [fr], Jean-Jacques Denis) was released in French theaters. In 2018, the film Mutafukaz (Guillaume Renard [fr], Shōjirō Nishimi) was released in French theaters.

References

  1. ^ "Ankama legal notice: "75 boulevard d'Armentières BP 60403 59057 ROUBAIX Cedex 1 – France". Retrieved on 31 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Voya Nui Online Game - The Cutting Room Floor". The Cutting Room Floor.
  3. ^ "Dofus Mag : c'est fini..." [Dofus Mag: it's over...] (in French). 27 November 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
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