Alawar

Last updated

Alawar
Company type Private
Industry Video games
Founded1999;25 years ago (1999) in Novosibirsk, Russia
Founders
  • Sergey Zanin
  • Alexander Lyskovsky
Headquarters,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Sergey Zanin (CEO)
Number of employees
50+ (2021)
Website company.alawar.com

Alawar Entertainment is an international developer and publisher of video games. Founded in Novosibirsk, Russia, it is based in Lewes, Delaware, United States. Its main areas of activity are free-to-play games. [1] [2] The company's games have sold more than 200 million copies. [3]

Contents

History

The company was founded in 1999 by Novosibirsk State University students Alexander Lyskovsky and Sergey Zanin. Game development was the first department of the company. Alawar released two games: Puzzle Rally [4] and Bubble Bobble Nostalgie. [5]

In 2001, the company released Magic Ball, a 3D arkanoid-style game developed by Dream Dale in Irkutsk. Magic Ball was ported to PlayStation consoles and iOS. In 2006, Alawar became one of the first companies to support SMS payments in Russia [6] for its products.

In 2008, the first games in the Farm Frenzy and The Treasures of Montezuma franchises were released. In August 2009, Alawar and Oleg Kuvaev signed a cooperation agreement that gave Alawar exclusive rights to use the Masyanya brand [7] in games until 2014. In 2010, Alawar released around 15 projects for the iPhone and iPad. The Treasures of Montezuma was released on iOS.

In 2019, Alawar developed and published the free-to-play battle royale shooter Watchers (servers shut down in August 2021), [8] as well as Space Robinson, an action game with rogue-like elements. In 2021, Alawar published a 2D narrative detective Song of Farca. Later this year, the company released a 2D action platformer They Always Run by its own production.

In 2022, Alawar released the third chapter of the Beholder saga. In April, the company announced the development of Necrosmith, a rogue-like Necromancer simulator that was released on 13 July 2022 and has sold over 200,000 copies on Steam. On 6 March 2023, Alawar announced the development of Necrosmith 2. On 5 April 2023, Wall World, a mining and tower defense game by Alawar, was released on Steam and sold 200,000 copies in 2 months.

Alawar has a distribution network through its website and affiliate program. On June 1, 2023, Alawar closed its game storefronts.[ citation needed ]

Awards

Games developed

YearTitlePlatform(s)
2016 Beholder Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
2017 Distrust Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Beholder – Blissful Sleep Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
2018I am not a Monster: First Contact Microsoft Windows
Beholder 2 Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
2021 They Always Run Microsoft Windows
2022Necrosmith Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
2023Wall World Microsoft Windows
2024Necrosmith 2 Microsoft Windows
TBAWall World: Deep Threat Microsoft Windows

Games published

YearTitleDeveloper(s)Platform(s)
2004Roads of FantasyGamemaster's Group Microsoft Windows
2017DisplacedGamexy Microsoft Windows, macOS
2018 Do Not Feed the Monkeys Fictiorama Studios, BadLand Games Publishing Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
2019Space RobinsonLuxorix Games Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS
2021Song of FarcaWooden Monkeys Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS
A Tale for AnnaFar Mills Microsoft Windows, macOS
Looking for AliensYustas Games Studio Microsoft Windows
2022Beholder 3Paintbucket Games Microsoft Windows

Related Research Articles

<i>NetHack</i> 1987 text-based roguelike video game

NetHack is an open source single-player roguelike video game, first released in 1987 and maintained by the NetHack DevTeam. The game is a fork of the 1982 game Hack, itself inspired by the 1980 game Rogue. The player takes the role of one of several pre-defined character classes to descend through multiple dungeon floors, fighting monsters and collecting treasure, to recover the "Amulet of Yendor" at the lowest floor and then escape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dungeon crawl</span> Type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games

A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment, battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video games and board games which predominantly feature dungeon crawl elements are considered to be a genre.

<i>Puzzle Bobble 2</i> 1995 video game

Puzzle Bobble 2 is a tile-matching video game by Taito. The first sequel to Puzzle Bobble, it is also known in Europe and North America as Bust-A-Move Again for arcades and Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition for home consoles. Released into the arcades in 1995, home conversions followed for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, and Windows platforms. The game was included in Taito Legends 2, but the US arcade version was included in the US PS2 version instead. Further ports for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One were released by City Connection alongside Puzzle Bobble 3 in February 2023.

<i>Adventure Gamers</i> Adventure games website

Adventure Gamers is a computer game website created by Marek Bronstring in March 1999 dedicated to the genre of adventure games. It publishes reviews and previews of adventure games, as well as opinion articles and interviews with game designers.

Germany has the second-largest video games player base in Europe, with 44.3 million gamers in 2018, after Russia. Consumers in Germany spent €5.87 billion on video games over the course of 2021, a 3 percent year-on-year increase from 2020. The video game market in Germany grew by 6 percent to €6.2 billion in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aliasworlds Entertainment</span> Belarusian video game developer

Aliasworlds Entertainment is a casual game developer based in Minsk, Belarus. The company was founded in 2001 and released its first game, Gold Sprinter, in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MumboJumbo</span> Video game developer and publisher

MumboJumbo, LLC was an independent developer of games for personal computers, game consoles and mobile devices. MumboJumbo Mobile, LLC publishes entertainment software for Android and iOS devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Relentless Software</span> Defunct British video game company

Relentless Software was a British video game company formed in 2003 that was based in Brighton. The company was best known for developing 12 games in the BAFTA award-winning and multi-million selling Buzz! franchise from 2005 to 2010. Relentless released its first self-published title, Blue Toad Murder Files on PC and PSN in 2009 and Quiz Climber Rivals, for iPhone in 2011. Relentless has also developed Air Band and Mutation Station, for the Kinect Fun Labs series. In 2012 it released Kinect Nat Geo TV, after which co-founder David Amor left the studio. In 2014 the studio released Murder Files: The Enigma Express on iOS, Google Play, Google Chrome and Kindle Fire. In 2016, the studio was shut down. The studio was working on an unannounced title for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One prior to its closure.

Farm Frenzy is a series of downloadable casual games developed by Melesta Games and published by Alawar Entertainment. Android version of the game was developed by HeroCraft. The series utilizes a point-and-click arcade gameplay model that enables the player to manage the production processes on a farm using a mouse. Most of its success came on mobile platforms, It debuted in December 2007 on Windows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CI Games</span> Polish video game developer and publisher

CI Games S.A. is a Polish video game developer and publisher based in Warsaw. Founded in 2002, originally as a budget-range game company, CI Games is best known for the Sniper: Ghost Warrior and Lords of the Fallen series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Forest Games</span> German video game developer

Black Forest Games GmbH is a German video game developer based in Offenburg. The company was founded in July 2012 by a team of 40 staff members, including chief executive officer Andreas Speer, previously employed by Spellbound Entertainment, which filed for insolvency earlier that year. As of August 2017, it is a subsidiary of THQ Nordic. As of August 2024, the company employs 50 people.

Imperia Online JSC is a Bulgarian game production and publishing company founded by Moni Dochev and Dobroslav Dimitrov. Based in Sofia, Bulgaria, the company originally concentrated primarily on browser-based games with their main title being Imperia Online, but later started developing mobile games as well.

Brainy Studio LLC is a Russian entertainment and independent video game development company, best known for developing the game TurnOn, with which has been won Imagine Cup 2014 in "Games" category held by Microsoft and other partners. The company's headquarters is located in Perm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CM Games</span> Independent video game developer and publisher

CM Games is an Estonian independent video game developer and publisher based in Tallinn, Estonia.

<i>Beholder</i> (video game) 2016 video game

Beholder is an adventure video game about life in a totalitarian police state. The game was developed by Warm Lamp Games and published by Alawar Entertainment on November 9, 2016. The game is supported on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.

Mushroom Wars 2 is a real-time strategy video game, developed and published by Zillion Whales. It is the sequel to Mushroom Wars, and was released on iOS, tvOS, Android and Microsoft Windows via Steam on October 13, 2016 and on Nintendo Switch on July 5, 2018. The game is also available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

<i>9 Monkeys of Shaolin</i> 2020 video game

9 Monkeys of Shaolin is a beat 'em up video game developed by Russian developer Sobaka Studio and published by Buka Entertainment and Ravenscourt. The game was released on 16 October 2020 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One; and Linux, macOS, and Microsoft Windows via Steam.

<i>Weaving Tides</i> 2021 video game

Weaving Tides is a puzzle adventure video game developed by the Austrian developer Follow the Feathers. It was released on Windows, MacOS and Nintendo Switch on May 27, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buka Entertainment</span> Russian video game developer and publisher

Buka Entertainment JSC — is one of the oldest Russian video game developers and publishers. Headquartered in Moscow, the company was officially established in 1994. Since 2008, it is a part of the 1C Company.

Poland is a major video game market and home to one of the largest video game industries in the world. In 2022, Poland became the world’s fourth largest exporter of video games, and Polish publicly-traded gaming companies were worth over €12 billion. The game studios in the country employ around 10,000 people and release almost 500 new games annually.

References

  1. "Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine". archive.org. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  2. "Alawar Entertainment Inc - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  3. "About company | Alawar Midcore Games" . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  4. "Puzzle Rally".
  5. "Bubble Bobble Nostalgie. Get the software safely and easily". Software Informer. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  6. "История компании Alawar - от офисных казуалок до душевных игр 🎮".
  7. "Alawar Entertainment получил эксклюзивные права на использование бренда 'Масяня' в играх".
  8. "Watchers' End of Service". 6 June 2021.
  9. "КРИ 2008 - во что же мы будем играть в ближайшее время". StopGame.ru — всё про видеоигры. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  10. "Номинанты и Лауреаты".
  11. "Объявлены победители церемонии КРИ Awards 2012". www.igromania.ru. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  12. "Победители DevGAMM Минск 2016".
  13. "Победители DevGAMM Awards Minsk 2017".
  14. Deutschen computerspielpreises 2023