Panic Inc.

Last updated

Panic Inc.
Company type Private
Industry
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 and video game 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. [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 Valbuena2025 [23]
Time Flies PC (Windows, macOS), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch Playables2025 [24]
Big Walk PC (Windows, macOS) House House 2025 [25]
Herdling PC (Windows)Okomotive2025 [26]

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. [27]

Games will be released in "seasons", at a rate of two games per week for twelve weeks. [28] Games will automatically download to the device when available. 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, and Shaun Inman. [29]

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 [30]
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 [31]

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References

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