Bossa Studios

Last updated

Bossa Studios Limited
Company type Private
Industry Video games
FoundedOctober 2010;13 years ago (2010-10)
Founders
Headquarters,
England
Key people
Daniel Clough (studio general manager) [1]
Products Surgeon Simulator , I Am Bread
Number of employees
40 [2]  (2024)
Parent
Website bossastudios.com

Bossa Studios Limited is a British video game developer based in London. It is known for its comedic, physics-based games Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread .

Contents

History

Co-founder Henrique Olifiers in 2018 Henrique Olifiers, Gamelab 2018 (29269860488).jpg
Co-founder Henrique Olifiers in 2018

Bossa was founded in October 2010 by Henrique Olifiers (gamer-in-chief), Roberta Lucca (marketer-in-chief), Ric Moore (technologist-in-chief), and Imre Jele (creator-in-chief). [3] [4] [5] The establishment was formally announced in June 2011, when it had opened its office at the Silicon Roundabout in London, England. [5] Bossa was acquired by the television production company Shine Group in 2011, with the deal announced on 16 September, without disclosing terms. [3] [6] At the time, Bossa had 20 employees, and its first game, Monstermind, launched that same month for the Facebook Platform. [3] [6] Monstermind won the BAFTA award in the "Online – Browser" category in February 2012. [7]

Subsequent games by Bossa were Toy Run and Merlin: The Game, the latter based on the Shine-produced TV series Merlin . [8] [9] Following the commercial success of Surgeon Simulator , Bossa underwent a management buyout process in July 2015 that returned Shine's stake (transferred to Endemol Shine UK after Shine merged with Endemol in December 2014) to the studio's founders. [10] [11]

The company received a US$10 million investment in a series A round in September 2017. [12] Shortly thereafter, they hired former Valve writer Chet Faliszek to lead a new Seattle-based studio for them, working on an unannounced cooperative title. [13] [14]

According to CNBC, Bossa acquired between US$10 and 30 million in another investment round in 2019, with NetEase as one of the largest investors in this series, gaining a minority stake in Bossa. [15]

In August 2022 some of Bossa Studios IPs including Surgeon Simulator , I Am Bread , and I Am Fish was sold to TinyBuild for a reported $3 million. [16]

Amid complaints against management, Bossa announced it would lay off 10 employees in November 2020. [17] [18] and in January 2024, Bossa laid off 19 employees, or a third of its total staff. [2]

Games

Games developed

YearTitlePlatform(s)Publisher(s)Notes
2011Monstermind Facebook Platform Bossa Studios
2012Toy RunFacebook Platform
Merlin: The GameFacebook Platform
2013 Surgeon Simulator Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 Originally titled Surgeon Simulator 2013
2014 Surgeon Simulator Touch Android, iOS Port of Surgeon Simulator
Twelve a DozeniOS
Deep Dungeons of DoomAndroid, iOS, macOS, Microsoft Windows
2015 I Am Bread Android, iOS, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Spy_WatchiOS
Outlaw PokerAndroid
2016 Surgeon Simulator VR: Meet The Medic Microsoft Windows Virtual reality spin-off of Surgeon Simulator
Emily: DisplacedmacOS, Microsoft Windows Sega Part of Help: The Game
Surgeon Simulator: Experience Reality Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4Bossa StudiosVirtual reality version of Surgeon Simulator
Worlds Adrift Island Creator [19] Microsoft WindowsFree creation and playtest tool released alongside Worlds Adrift
2018 Surgeon Simulator CPR Nintendo Switch Port of Surgeon Simulator
2019HogwashiOS, macOS, tvOS Apple Arcade exclusive
2020Surgeon Simulator 2Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
2021I Am Fish [20] Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S Curve Digital

Games published

YearTitlePlatform(s)Developer(s)
2014 Thomas Was Alone Android, iOS Mike Bithell
2017Purrfect DateiOS, Microsoft WindowsTeam Bae
2019The Bradwell ConspiracyiOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox OneA Brave Plan

Cancelled

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