Playsaurus

Last updated
Playsaurus
Founded2011
Headquarters
Los Angeles
,
USA
Website playsaurus.com

Playsaurus is an American developer-publisher based in Los Angeles that is known for idle and incremental games. [1] [2] Founded in 2011, it debuted with the Browser-RPG Cloudstone, broke out globally with Clicker Heroes, [3] [4] and now operates a hybrid model, developing its own games such as Poker Quest [5] and MrMine [6] while publishing external projects including the Steam editions of Cookie Clicker and Sixty-Four. [7] [8]

Contents

History

Playsaurus’ first release, Cloudstone (open beta 2011, full launch 2012), mixed action-RPG mechanics with social-network distribution and laid the groundwork for the studio’s fantasy art assets, later reused in Clicker Heroes. [9] Clicker Heroes (2014 browser, 2015 Steam) popularised the idle-clicker genre and became one of Steam’s most-played F2P titles. [10] In 2017 the firm publicly rejected micro-transactions for its paid sequel, citing ethical concerns about “whales” and addiction. [10] [11]

The studio faced a high-profile patent-infringement suit in 2018 over virtual currency but vowed to fight, calling the claimant a “patent troll”. [12] A year later Apple temporarily removed the mobile version of Clicker Heroes after a third-party trademark filing, spotlighting store-front vulnerabilities for indies. [13]

Publishing & notable projects

In September 2021, Playsaurus launched PC version of Cookie Clicker, listed as the game’s Steam publisher. [14] In 2024 the company released solo-developer Oleg Danilov’s Sixty-Four, a minimalist factory sim praised by Ars Technica for its “dark extractive journey” and previewed by Bleeding Cool ahead of launch. [7] [8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Clicker Heroes studio abandons upcoming sequel's free-to-play model for "ethical reasons"". Eurogamer.net. 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  2. ↑ "Clicker Heroes developer's new approach to monetization is nothing like EA's". Android Authority. 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  3. ↑ "Clicker Heroes devs say they're". PCGamesN. 2018-03-06. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  4. ↑ "Clicker Heroes 2". IGN. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  5. ↑ Capron, Julien (2021-07-20). "Poker Quest disponible en accès anticipé sur Steam". Actua (in French). Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  6. ↑ "The longest video games ever: From least to most hours". TyN Magazine. 2024-04-21. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  7. 1 2 Purdy, Kevin (2024-03-10). "Sixty Four is a beautiful system design toy that reveals something rather dark". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  8. 1 2 "Minimalist Sim Strat Game Sixty Four Announces March Release Date". bleedingcool.com. 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  9. ↑ Johnson, Leif (2012-07-30). "Cloudstone Review". Gamezebo. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  10. 1 2 "Clicker Game Ditches Microtransactions, Becomes Steam Best Seller". Kotaku. 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  11. ↑ "Clicker Heroes 2 ditches free-to-play model because dev doesn't want to "make money off players in denial of their addiction"". VG247. 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  12. ↑ "Playsaurus targeted by "patent trolls" over Clicker Heroes virtual currency". GamesIndustry.biz. 2018-03-06. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  13. ↑ "Clicker Heroes 2 drops free to play model over developer's ethical concerns". PC Gamer. 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  14. ↑ "Publisher · Playsaurus". SteamDB. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
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