Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Video games |
Founded | 2011 |
Founder | Nenad Tomić Uroš Banješević Aleksa Todorović |
Headquarters | Novi Sad, Vojvodina |
Key people | Nenad Tomić (CEO) |
Parent | Saber Interactive (2020–present) |
Website | madheadgames |
Mad Head Games is a video game development studio with offices in Belgrade and Novi Sad, Serbia, and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. [1]
The studio was founded in 2011 by three game developers, Nenad Tomić, Uroš Banješević, and Aleksa Todorović. [2]
Mad Head Games is one of the pioneers of game development in Serbia and quickly grew into an industry leader, gaining recognition for its innovative approach to casual adventure games. [3]
As the studio matured, it evolved into the creator of action-adventure and role-playing games, the first of which were Pagan: Absent Gods [4] and Scars Above .
In November 2020, Mad Head Games was acquired by Embracer Group through their subsidiary Saber Interactive, continuing to operate as an independent game developer, with continued leadership by its founders. [5]
In March 2024, amid financial difficulties, Embracer Group sold Saber Interactive and 20 Saber-branded studios, including Mad Head Games, to Beacon Interactive, owned by Saber Interactive's co-founder Matthew Karch. [6]
Saber Interactive Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Founded by Andrey Iones, Matthew Karch, and Anton Krupkin in 2001, it is controlled by Karch's investment company Beacon Interactive. The company employs over 1,350 people.
Aspyr Media, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded by Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch in Austin, Texas. Originally founded to bring top gaming titles to macOS, the company, since 2005, has become a publisher and developer of entertainment for multiple gaming platforms.
Marvelous USA Inc.,, is an American video game company founded by former members of Square Enix USA. Founded in 2004, the company became a subsidiary of Japanese game company Marvelous in 2011, providing the localization and publishing services for video games and related materials. In 2024, the company only retained the Xseed Games brand for third-party published titles.
Acquire Corp. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher, mainly known for their Tenchu and Way of the Samurai series.
Mages Inc., formerly 5pb. Inc., is a Japanese video game developer and record label for video game and anime music.
Focus Entertainment is a French video game developer and publisher based in Paris. Founded in 1996, Focus has published and distributed original titles such as Sherlock Holmes, TrackMania, Runaway, and sports games like Cycling Manager and Virtual Skipper.
New World Interactive LLC (NWI) is an American video game developer founded by Andrew Spearin and Jeremy Blum in 2010. The company developed the multiplayer tactical shooter games Insurgency (2014), Day of Infamy (2017), and Insurgency: Sandstorm (2018). In 2020, New World Interactive was acquired by Saber Interactive.
THQ Nordic GmbH is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were renamed THQ Nordic in August 2016 after the parent company had acquired the "THQ" trademark in 2014.
Science Adventure, commonly shortened to SciADV, is a multimedia series consisting of interconnected science fiction stories created by Mages, initially in collaboration with Nitroplus. The main entries mostly take the form of visual novel video games.
Nacon is a French video game publisher, holdings company and gaming peripherals manufacturer based in Lesquin. It designs and distributes gaming accessories, and publishes and distributes video games for various platforms. In 2020, Bigben Group was consolidated to form Nacon.
Annapurna Games, LLC is an American video game publisher and developer. The company is a division of Annapurna Pictures, and was founded in 2016, and has focused on publishing innovative and emotive indie games. Notable games published by the company include Donut County, Kentucky Route Zero, Outer Wilds, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Wattam, What Remains of Edith Finch, Telling Lies, Neon White and Stray.
Embracer Group AB is a Swedish video game and media holding company based in Karlstad. The company comprises 9 operative groups: Amplifier Game Invest, Asmodee, CDE Entertainment, Coffee Stain, Dark Horse Media, Deca Games, Freemode, Plaion, and THQ Nordic.
Deca Games, stylized as DECA, is a game publisher and developer of video games that is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. The company's primary focus is on acquiring and operating older free-to-play games as a service. They are the current owners and developers of the massively multiplayer online shooter Realm of the Mad God. The company has also acquired a number of free-to-play mobile games, including DragonVale and multiple titles from Japanese publisher GREE.
In the video game industry, 2021 saw the release of many new titles. The numerous delays in software and hardware releases due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted development schedules, leading to several games being delayed into 2022 or even postponed indefinitely. Additionally, computer and console hardware were impacted by the combined effects of a semiconductor shortage and a rising growth of bitcoin mining that strained the supply of critical components.
In the video game industry, 2022 saw the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry, slowing hardware sales for most of the year as well as development delays for major titles. The industry continued its trend of acquisitions and mergers, highlighted by Microsoft announcing its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion. The industry as a whole continued to deal with issues such as workplace harassment and discrimination, alongside crunch periods, leading to at least the quality assurance staff at three separate studios to vote to unionize.
Plug In Digital is a French video game publisher and distributor. They were founded in 2012 and established two subsidiaries since then: Dear Villagers, who publish mid-market games for personal computers and consoles, and PID Games, who publish games of all varieties.