Panic Inc.

Last updated

Panic Inc.
Company type Private
Industry
Founded1997
FoundersSteven Frank
Cabel Sasser
Headquarters Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Key people
Steven Frank
Cabel Sasser
Products Transmit, Coda, Playdate
Website panic.com

Panic Inc. is an American software development and video game publishing company based in Portland, Oregon. The company specializes in macOS and iOS applications and began publishing video games in 2016.

Contents

Panic was founded by Steven Frank [1] and Cabel Sasser in 1997. [2]

Products

Software

Panic is known for their flagship app Transmit, [3] as well as their Audion media player, Unison usenet client, and Nova code editor (a successor to their web development app Coda). The company has won multiple Apple Design Awards for their products. [4] [5] [6]

In 1999, Audion was introduced as a skinnable MP3 media player. One of its competitors, SoundJam MP, was acquired by Apple in 2000 and was further developed into iTunes 1.0, which became available in 2001. [7] Panic retired Audion in 2004 and began distributing it free of charge. [8]

After Audion, Panic focused development on two other software applications. In 2004, they released Unison, a Usenet reader, [9] and Stattoo, a tool that shows "digital statistics" overlayed on the Mac OS X desktop wallpaper. [10] In 2007, the web development application Coda was introduced. [11] In 2019, Panic announced a successor to Coda named Nova. [12]

AppPlatformTypeRef.
Active development
Transmit macOSFTP client
NovamacOSWeb development
PromptiOSCommand line
Panic PalsiOSiMessage stickers
Playdate Sticker PackiOSiMessage stickers
Discontinued
“Code Editor”iOSWeb development
AudionmacOSMusic player [8]
CandyBarmacOSIcon customization [13]
Coda macOSWeb development
DesktasticmacOSDesktop annotation
StattoomacOSComputer statistics
Status BoardiOSInformation display [14]
TransmitiOSFTP client [15]
UnisonmacOSUsenet client [16]

Video games

The company published their first video game, Firewatch , on February 9, 2016. [17] Panic published their second game, Untitled Goose Game , on September 20, 2019. [18]

TitlePlatform(s)DeveloperRelease dateRef.
Firewatch PC (Windows, macOS, Linux), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch Campo Santo 9 February 2016 [17]
Untitled Goose Game PC (Windows, macOS), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch House House 20 September 2019 [19]
Nour: Play with Your Food PC (Windows, macOS), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch Terrifying Jellyfish12 September 2023 [20]
Thank Goodness You're Here! PC (Windows and macOS), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch Coal Supper1 August 2024 [21]
Arco PC (Windows, macOS), Nintendo Switch Franek Nowotniak, Max Cahill, José Ramón “Bibiki” García, Antonio “Fáyer” Uribe15 August 2024 [22]
Despelote PC (Windows), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena1 May 2025 [23]
Time Flies PC (Windows, macOS), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch Playables31 July 2025 [24]
Herdling PC (Windows)Okomotive21 August 2025 [25]
Blippo+ Playdate, PC (Windows), Nintendo Switch Yacht, Telefantasy Studios, Dustin Mierau, Noble RobotPlaydate
9 May 2025
Windows, Switch
23 September 2025		 [26] [27]
Big Walk PC (Windows, macOS) House House 2026 [28]
Ratcheteer DX PC (Windows), Nintendo Switch Shaun InmanTBA [29]

Playdate

Playdate console with the crank in an open position Playdate front-view.png
Playdate console with the crank in an open position

On May 22, 2019, Panic unveiled Playdate, a handheld gaming device, designed by Panic in collaboration with the Swedish firm Teenage Engineering. The device features a 400x240 pixel 1-bit screen, a directional pad on the left, two buttons on the right, and a mechanical crank on the right edge of the device. [30]

Games are released in "seasons", where there are two new games each week, automatically downloaded to the device when available. [31] Also, there is a store of additional games to buy on demand, [32] the ability to sideload games to the device, and two environments to self develop games. [33] While some video games for Playdate are being produced at Panic, most games are created by indie game developers such as Keita Takahashi, Zach Gage, Bennett Foddy, Shaun Inman, and Lucas Pope. [34]

Awards

YearAppAwardCategoryResultRef.
2003Transmit 2 Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X User ExperienceRunner-up
2004Unison 1.0.2a Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X ProductRunner-up
2004Unison 1.0.2a Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X User ExperienceWon
2005Transmit 3 MacWorld MacWorld Best of ShowWon [35]
2005Transmit 3.2 Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X Tiger Technology AdoptionWon [4]
2007Coda 1 Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X User ExperienceWon [5]
2013Coda 2 Apple Design Awards Mac OS XWon [6]
2021Nova Apple Design Awards InteractionNominated [36]
2025Thank Goodness You're Here! Apple Design Awards Delight and FunNominated [37]

References

  1. ↑ Rosmarin, Rachel (June 8, 2007). "Developers To Jobs: Give Me My iPhone!". Forbes. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  2. ↑ Tach, Dave (October 2, 2013). "How Panic got into video games with Campo Santo". Polygon. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  3. ↑ Sorrel, Charlie (May 13, 2010). "Video: iPad Loading Software onto Apple ][e". Wired. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  4. 1 2 "WWDC: Apple Design Award 2005 winners announced". Macworld. June 10, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Apple Design Awards 2007 winners announced". Macnn. June 13, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  6. 1 2 "The 2013 Apple Design Award Winners". June 10, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  7. ↑ "The Song Is Over for SoundJam". Macworld. May 1, 2001. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Gibson, Brad (November 11, 2004). "Panic "Retires" Audion; Reveals Inside Story". The Mac Observer. Archived from the original on February 25, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Panic unveils Unison, Usenet reader for Mac OS X". Macworld. January 28, 2004. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  10. ↑ Cohen, Peter (April 28, 2004). "Panic's Stattoo 'tattoos' info on your desktop". Macworld. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  11. ↑ Martellaro, John (April 24, 2007). "Panic Releases Coda 1.0" . Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Panic Blog » Nova. Our next big thing" . Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Panic's Candy Bar is now free, goes to Iconfactory". Engadget. August 6, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  14. ↑ Miller, Chance (November 29, 2016). "Panic discontinuing Status Board stats app following final iOS 10 support update". 9to5Mac. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Panic Stops Development of Transmit for iOS & Removes it from Sale • Beautiful Pixels". Beautiful Pixels. January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Panic discontinues Unison gracefully – Marco.org". marco.org. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  17. 1 2 "Firewatch: hope and heartbreak in the American wilderness". The Guardian. February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  18. ↑ Radulovic, Petrana (August 28, 2018). "Mischief-filled Untitled Goose Game is coming to Nintendo Switch". Polygon. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  19. ↑ Radulovic, Petrana (August 28, 2018). "Mischief-filled Untitled Goose Game is coming to Nintendo Switch". Polygon. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Upcoming Indie Game Nour: Play With Your Food Wants To Make You Hungry". Kotaku. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Thank Goodness You're Here! - Reveal Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Arco - Reveal Trailer". YouTube. August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  23. ↑ "First-person soccer adventure game despelote announced for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC". Gematsu. May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Time Flies - new trailer August 2023". YouTube. August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  25. ↑ Romano, Sal. "Panic and Okomotive announce adventure game Herdling for consoles, PC". Gematsu. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Official Website". Blippo.plus. May 29, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  27. ↑ Romano, Sal. "Panic announces mysterious full-motion video game Blippo+". Gematsu. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  28. ↑ Valentine, Rebekah (December 8, 2023). "Big Walk Is the Next Game From the Developers of Untitled Goose Game". IGN. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Official Website" . Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  30. ↑ Fahey, Mike (May 22, 2019). "The People Who Published Firewatch Are Now Making A Game Console With, Uh, A Crank". Kotaku. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  31. ↑ Webster, Andrew (May 22, 2019). "Playdate is an adorable handheld with games from the creators of Qwop, Katamari, and more". The Verge. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Playdate Games Catalog". play.date Games Catalog. April 19, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Playdate developer SDK and Pulp". play.date developer SDK and Pulp. September 30, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Playdate, a new handheld console backed by indie royalty, unveiled in new issue of Edge magazine". GamesRadar. May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Best of Show: Macworld Expo San Francisco". January 15, 2005. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  36. ↑ "Meet the 2021 Apple Design Award Finalists" . Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  37. ↑ "Introducing the 2025 Apple Design Award winners" . Retrieved June 3, 2025.
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