Firefly Studios

Last updated
Firefly Studios Limited
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Video games
FoundedAugust 1999;24 years ago (1999-08)
Founders
  • Simon Bradbury
  • David Lester
  • Eric Ouellette
Headquarters
London
,
England
Key people
  • Simon Bradbury
  • Eric Ouellette
Products Stronghold series
Number of employees
39 [1]  (2022)
Parent Devolver Digital (2021–present)
Website fireflyworlds.com

Firefly Studios Limited (also stylized as FireFly Studios) is a British video game developer based in London. Formed in August 1999 by Simon Bradbury, David Lester, and Eric Ouellette, the company focuses on historic real-time strategy games for the PC and Macintosh systems. They are best known for their Stronghold series of games. [2] In June 2021, the studio was acquired by Devolver Digital.

Contents

History

Firefly Studios was established in August 1999 by Simon Bradbury, David Lester, and Eric Ouellette, [3] who met while working at Impressions Games. [4] The studio released its first game, Stronghold, in 2001, to critical and commercial success. [5] The following year they released its successor, Stronghold Crusader, also to critical and commercial sucess. [6]

The later Stronghold releases, Stronghold 2 (2005), and Stronghold Legends (2006), both received poor reviews and were given Metacritic scores of 63 percent [7] and 57 percent respectively. [8] The last of the series, Stronghold: Crusader Extreme (2008), received an average score of 40 percent on Metacritic. [9] Around this time, the studio began a collaboration with Firaxis Games that produced CivCity: Rome, a game that received poor reviews and was the last Firefly game published by Take-Two Interactive. [10]

In 2008, Firefly announced that they would be working on Stronghold 3 followed by Crusader II because of demand from fans. The studio later canceled the release of the planned Dungeon Hero game. In 2009, when asked if they had any other unannounced games in development besides Dungeon Hero and Stronghold Kingdoms, the studio responded that they still had one more game in development. [11] [12] A subsequent newsletter stated that the studio had "something very big in the pipeline" which would be revealed in 2010. [13]

Stronghold 3 was officially announced on 14 May 2010 by SouthPeak Games, and was released in October 2011. [14] The game received some criticism on gaming sites for game bugs. Fans pointed to various issues, including the difficulty involved with building walls and the absence of a kingmaker.

More recent games included Stronghold Crusader II, the sequel to their 2002 game Stronghold: Crusader. The lead designer at Firefly Studios, Simon Bradbury, stated that the title was "our favorite game, it’s our fans’ favorite game and it’s the game we have been waiting to put into production for several long years now." [15] The title was initially scheduled for release in early 2013 [16] but due to delays was not released until 23 September 2014. [17]

Despite the uneven success of some of its games, the studio continues to develop new games and has sold over seven million copies to date. The Stronghold Kingdoms series retains a following with over eight million registered players. [18]

The publisher Devolver Digital acquired Firefly Studios on 24 June 2021. While Devolver Digital had not published any Firefly Studios games, the studio had previously worked with Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group, both co-founded by Devolver's founders. [19]

Recent activities

Dungeon Hero had been in development for several years and was scheduled for release in 2009 on both PC and Xbox 360 systems. The game was originally going to be published by Gamecock Media Group, but after that company was bought out by SouthPeak Games in October 2008, a legal dispute on the subject of ownership of the game stopped its release. Dungeon Hero is currently without a publisher, despite SouthPeak publishing every other Gamecock title due for release. Firefly Studios has announced that the title is on hold, and several planned release dates have passed without release. The lack of clarity on the issue has fueled speculation that the game may be published as a vaporware title in the future.[ citation needed ]

Stronghold: Warlords , initially announced by Firefly Studios as Stronghold: Next, was released on 9 March 2021.

Stronghold: Definitive Edition has been announced by Firefly Studios and was released on November 7th 2023.

Games

YearGame
2001 Stronghold
2002 Stronghold: Crusader
2003 Space Colony
2005 Stronghold 2
2006 CivCity: Rome
2006 Stronghold Legends
Cancelled Dungeon Hero
2008 Stronghold: Crusader Extreme
2009 Stronghold Kingdoms
2011 Stronghold 3
2012 Stronghold HD
2012 Stronghold: Crusader HD
2012 Space Colony HD
2014 Stronghold Crusader II
2015 Space Colony: Steam Edition
2016Wonky Tower [20]
2016 Stronghold Legends: Steam Edition
2017 Stronghold 2: Steam Edition
2017 Stronghold Kingdoms: Mobile Edition
2017MetaMorph: Dungeon Creatures [21]
2021 Stronghold: Warlords
2021Romans: Age of Caesar [22]
2023 Stronghold: Definitive Edition

Related Research Articles

<i>Stronghold</i> (2001 video game) 2001 video game

Stronghold is a historical real-time strategy video game developed by Firefly Studios and published in 2001 by Gathering of Developers for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game focuses primarily on conquest and expansion through military pursuits but also has prominent economic and infrastructure development elements. There is both an economic and a military campaign to be played and both are discussed in the game manual. In the English version, the game takes place in Medieval Britain around the year 1066; however, since there is not always a time limit, scenarios can continue hundreds of years beyond that date.

<i>Heroes of Might and Magic V</i> 2006 video game

Heroes of Might and Magic V is the fifth installment of the Heroes of Might and Magic fantasy turn-based strategy video game series. The game was released by Ubisoft in Europe on May 19, and then in the United States and Canada on May 23, 2006, with the publisher guiding Russian studio Nival Interactive in its development. Following the closure of The 3DO Company, Ubisoft bought the rights to the Might and Magic franchise, and used Heroes V as a means to reboot the series with a brand-new setting, called Ashan, and no continuity to previous titles.

<i>Stronghold 2</i> 2005 video game

Stronghold 2 is a real time strategy computer game released in April 2005 in which the player develops a stronghold in the Middle Ages. It is the sequel to Stronghold, released in 2001, also by Firefly Studios.

<i>Stronghold: Crusader</i> 2002 video game

Stronghold: Crusader is the successor to Firefly Studios's 2001 real-time strategy video game Stronghold. Crusader has much in common with the original Stronghold, but differs from its predecessor in the fact that the game is no longer set in England, instead being set in the Middle East during the Crusades. Another prominent addition not found in its predecessor is a skirmish mode in single-player, allowing customized battles with AI opponents instead of the linear campaign. The game was also released as Stronghold Warchest. This version was a compendium of Stronghold and an enhanced version of Stronghold: Crusader, containing additional characters and an additional Crusader Trail.

<i>Stronghold Legends</i> 2006 video game

Stronghold Legends is a real-time strategy game developed by Firefly Studios and published by 2K in 2006. It is the fourth game in the Stronghold series, following Stronghold, Stronghold: Crusader, and Stronghold 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Wilson (executive)</span>

Michael S. Wilson is an American business executive, video game producer, and film-maker. Beginning his career at DWANGO as Vice President of Development before being hired to lead marketing and publishing at id Software in 1995, Wilson has subsequently co-founded multiple independent video game publishers, including Gathering of Developers, Gamecock Media Group, Devolver Digital, Good Shepherd Entertainment, and DeepWell DTx.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamecock Media Group</span> American video game publisher

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Dungeon Hero was a role-playing video game under development by Firefly Studios. It had been in development for several years and had been scheduled to be released in 2009 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. Originally being published by Gamecock Media Group until they were bought out by SouthPeak Games in October 2008. Firefly Studios announced that the title was originally put 'on hold', before being cancelled.

Stronghold 3 is a 2011 real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows developed by Firefly Studios and published by 7Sixty. The game is the seventh in the series after several spin-offs, including a remake, Stronghold: Crusader Extreme, and Stronghold Kingdoms. It is the sequel to Stronghold, released in 2001, and Stronghold 2 released in 2005. Unlike previous games in the series which were published by Take-Two Interactive, the game has been published by SouthPeak Games, the new parent company of Gamecock Media Group, publisher of Stronghold Crusader Extreme.

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<i>Stronghold Kingdoms</i> 2012 video game

Stronghold Kingdoms is a Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game video game with a Medieval castle building theme. It was developed by Firefly Studios and based upon their commercially successful and popular Stronghold series of games. Firefly Studios started development of Stronghold Kingdoms in 2007 as their first entry into the MMO genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devolver Digital</span> American video game publisher and film distributor

Devolver Digital, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Austin, Texas, specializing in the publishing of indie games. The company was founded in June 2009 by Nigel Lowrie, Harry Miller, Graeme Struthers, Rick Stults, and Mike Wilson, five executives who had been involved with Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group, which published games on developer-friendly terms, but due to the high cost associated with releasing retail games saw themselves acquired and dissolved by larger companies. To avoid this, Devolver Digital instead turned to digital distribution channels.

<i>Stronghold Crusader II</i> 2014 video game

Stronghold Crusader II is a real-time strategy video game, developed by Firefly Studios, part of the Stronghold series. It was released on September 23, 2014. It is the sequel to their 2002 title Stronghold: Crusader.

<i>Might & Magic Heroes VII</i> 2015 video game

Might & Magic Heroes VII is a turn-based strategy game in the Heroes of Might and Magic series. Like the other games in the series, players control leaders with magical abilities termed as "heroes", who recruit a variety of forces from strongholds. The heroes and their armies battle the opponents, who also use heroes to lead their forces. It features a campaign series of levels, standalone and multiplayer scenarios.

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<i>Stronghold: Warlords</i> 2021 Real-time strategy game

Stronghold: Warlords is a real-time strategy game released in March 9, 2021, developed and published by Firefly Studios. Unlike the previous entries of the Stronghold series, which were focused on Europe during the Middle Ages, Stronghold: Warlords is set in East Asia, with campaigns based on historical events of China, Vietnam, and Japan.

Stronghold is a series of real-time strategy video games developed by Firefly Studios known for its detailed graphics and its deep and complex gameplay. Set in medieval times, players take on the role of a lord or lady who must build and defend their castle, as well as conquer their enemies.

References

  1. ↑ "Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022" (PDF). Devolver Digital. 3 May 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  2. ↑ Guglielmo, Samuel (19 November 2019). "Sam Speaks With Firefly Studios About Stronghold: Warlords". TechRaptor. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  3. ↑ Walker, Trey (March 23, 2001). "Q&A: Stronghold". GameSpot . Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "About us: Strategy gaming since 1999". Firefly Studios. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  5. ↑ "Stronghold PC". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "Stronghold: Crusader". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  7. ↑ "Stronghold 2 PC". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "Stronghold Legends PC". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "Stronghold Crusader Extreme PC". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "CivCity: Rome PC". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "stronghold kingdoms interview". Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
  12. ↑ Wesley Yin-Poole (12 May 2008). "Stronghold 3 and Crusader 2 coming at some point". VideoGamer. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  13. ↑ "Firefly Newsletter - Issue #2". Firefly Studios. 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-05-04. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  14. ↑ SouthPeak Games Staff (May 13, 2010). "SouthPeak Games Acquires Rights to Publish Firefly Studios' Stronghold 3". SouthPeak Games. Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  15. ↑ Rainier (30 August 2012). "'Stronghold Crusader 2' Announced". Worth Playing. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  16. ↑ "News: Firefly Studios announces Stronghold: Crusader II for PC in late 2013 - Strategy Informer". Archived from the original on 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  17. ↑ "Stronghold Crusader Factsheet". Firefly Studios. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  18. ↑ "Stronghold: Warlords Adds Map Pack and DLC Campaign". Game Press. 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  19. ↑ "Devolver Digital, Inc. | AIM Admission Document | November 2021" (PDF). Devolver Digital. November 4, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Wonky Tower | Firefly Studios". www.fireflyworlds.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-14. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  21. ↑ "MetaMorph : Dungeon Creatures". Steam. Archived from the original on 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  22. ↑ "Romans - Open Beta Now Live - Firefly Studios". 7 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
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