House House

Last updated

House House Pty Ltd
FormerlyHouse House Games Pty Ltd [1]
Industry Video games
Founded5 August 2014;10 years ago (2014-08-05) [1]
Founders
  • Nico Disseldorp
  • Jake Strasser
  • Stuart Gillespie-Cook
  • Michael McMaster [2]
Headquarters
Melbourne, Australia
Website househouse.com

House House Pty Ltd [3] [1] is an independent video game developer based in Melbourne, Australia. [4] [5] They are known for their video games Push Me Pull You (2016) and Untitled Goose Game (2019). Untitled Goose Game cleared one million copies in its first three months on sale, according to publisher Panic. [6] The game went on to win Game of the Year at both the 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards [7] in February 2020 and the 20th Game Developers Choice Awards [8] in March 2020. House House’s next project, the open-world co-operative adventure Big Walk, [9] was re-introduced during Day of the Devs: Summer Game Fest Edition on 6 June 2025 and is scheduled for release in 2026. [10] The indie studio comprises four people: Nico Disseldorp, Jake Strasser, Stuart Gillespie-Cook, and Michael McMaster. [11] The studio was incorporated as House House Pty Ltd on 5 August 2014 following early collaborations in Melbourne’s experimental game-jam scene. [12]

Contents

History

Their first video game, Push Me Pull You, released for PlayStation 4 on 3 May 2016 and for computer systems on 12 July 2016. [13] In 2017, a gameplay trailer for Untitled Goose Game went viral, which led to the company signing a publishing deal with Panic Inc. The 90-second prototype clip amassed more than two million Twitter views within its first week, sparking global media attention. [14] Panic’s role was limited to funding and marketing support while House House retained full intellectual-property rights. [15] The game was later released on 20 September 2019, to critical acclaim, on the platforms Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows and macOS, with ports for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One which released on 17 December 2019. [16] [17] [18] Untitled Goose Game was a commercial success, topping the download charts for the Nintendo Switch in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. [19] [20] Publisher co-founder Cabel Sasser confirmed on 31 December 2019 that total sales had passed one million copies. [3] The title’s “honk-to-stealth” conceit generated a flood of memes and mainstream press coverage, including a Time feature that called it a “viral phenomenon.” [21] At the 2019 Australian Game Developer Awards, the game won Game of the Year and Best Sound Design. [22]

In January 2020, House House confirmed they were giving 1% of all profits to the Pay the Rent movement, in recognition that they make their video games on "stolen Wurundjeri land." [23] [24]

The team announced Big Walk at The Game Awards in December 2023, describing it as “a cooperative walker-talker about getting lost with friends,” and later shifted the launch window to 2026 after further gameplay reveals at Day of the Devs 2025. [25] [26]

Awards and recognition [10]

YearAwardCategoryResult
202023rd D.I.C.E. AwardsGame of the YearWon
202020th Game Developers Choice AwardsGame of the YearWon
2019Australian Game Developer AwardsGame of the Year; Best Sound DesignWon

Philanthropy

In January 2020, House House pledged to donate at least 1% of all future revenue to Indigenous organisations through Australia’s Pay the Rent movement. [27] Initial beneficiaries included the Wurundjeri Tribe Council, Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance, and the Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network. [27]

Video games

YearTitlePlatform(s)Publisher(s)
2016 Push Me Pull You Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Windows House House
2019 Untitled Goose Game macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One Panic Inc.
2026 Big Walk macOS, WindowsPanic Inc.

Development and technology

All House House titles are developed in the Unity engine, a choice the team credits for enabling rapid prototyping by a four-person staff. [28] For Big Walk the studio is experimenting with proximity voice chat, physical communication props, and a diegetic soundtrack by AKSFX, as detailed in its Day of the Devs 2025 presentation. [9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "House House Pty Ltd". opencorporates.com. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  2. "Home - House House". House House. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Untitled Goose Game | House House | 2019 | ACMI collection". www.acmi.net.au. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  4. "Untitled Goose Game Melbourne-based creators stunned after topping Nintendo charts". ABC News (Australia) . 2 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  5. Rychter, Tacey (27 September 2019). "This Video Game Fulfills Your Fantasy of Being a Horrible Goose". The New York Times . Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  6. "Untitled Goose Game Honks Its Way To Huge Milestone". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  7. "23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards". www.interactive.org. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  8. "20th Game Developers Choice Awards", Wikipedia, 12 May 2025, retrieved 4 July 2025
  9. 1 2 "Day of the Devs 2025: Big Walk" . Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  10. 1 2 Prescott, Shaun (6 June 2025). "Untitled Goose Game studio unpacks its new open world co-op game Big Walk, and it looks like nothing else I've played before". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  11. "Untitled Goose Game is a honkin' good time". The Verge . 20 September 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  12. Morton, Lauren (8 December 2023). "Every trailer and announcement from The Game Awards 2023". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  13. "'Lovely and horrible' Push Me Pull You brings players uncomfortably close on PS4 in 2016". Polygon . 18 November 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  14. "Participation points: What HR can learn from worker-owned cooperatives | HR Dive". www.hrdive.com. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  15. "Big Walk gets a reintroduction at Day of the Devs: SGF Edition 2025". Shacknews. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  16. Carpenter, Nicole (10 December 2019). "Untitled Goose Game is coming to PlayStation 4 next week". Polygon . Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  17. Romano, Sal (10 December 2019). "Untitled Goose Game for PS4 and Xbox One launches December 17". Gematsu. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  18. Grayson, Nathan (20 September 2019). "Untitled Goose Game: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  19. Fox, Chris (2 October 2019). "How a horrible goose topped the gaming chart". BBC News.
  20. Hernandez, Patricia (2 October 2019). "Untitled Goose Game is the best selling game on Switch right now". Polygon . Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  21. McCluskey, Megan (30 September 2019). "Tap Into Your Mischievous Side With Untitled Goose Game". TIME. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  22. "Untitled Goose Game Wins Game of the Year at the 2019 Australian Game Developer Awards". AusGamers.com. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  23. House House [@house_house_] (29 January 2020). "Our videogames are made on stolen Wurundjeri land. We at House House will be paying at least 1% of our income to Indigenous groups, in perpetuity, as part of the Pay the Rent movement. We'd encourage others to do the same: http://paytherent.net.au" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 February 2025 via Twitter.
  24. Marshall, Cass (29 January 2020). "Untitled Goose Game devs donate a percentage of profit to Indigenous groups". Polygon . Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  25. Staff, Verge (7 December 2023). "The Game Awards 2023: all of the biggest trailers and announcements". The Verge. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  26. Prescott, Shaun (8 December 2023). "Untitled Goose game team announces Big Walk, an online cooperative 'walker-talker'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  27. 1 2 Marshall, Cass (29 January 2020). "Untitled Goose Game devs donate a percentage of profit to Indigenous groups". Polygon. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  28. Prescott, Shaun (8 December 2023). "Untitled Goose game team announces Big Walk, an online cooperative 'walker-talker'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 July 2025.