 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Zhenghua Yang |
| Headquarters | , US |
Number of employees | 24 (2021) |
| Website | serenityforge |
Serenity Forge LLC is an American video game developer and publisher based in Boulder, Colorado. [1] The studio was founded in 2014 by Zhenghua "Z" Yang. [2]
Upon graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder's Leeds School of Business in 2014, Zhenghua Yang (commonly referred to as Z) formally founded Serenity Forge in Boulder, Colorado, with the mission to "create meaningful games that challenge the way players think," according to the company's official website. [3] [4] Despite his academic background in finance and economics, Yang, a lifelong gamer, decided to pursue a career in video games because he saw more potential and fulfillment in the medium. Prior to graduating college, Yang (under the Serenity Forge brand) released the studio's debut game Loving Life in 2012. [5] Loving Life released for free on online platforms and serves as an autobiographical visual novel detailing Yang's personal experience coping with chronic refractory idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a rare autoimmune disease that saw him hospitalized for over two years as a teenager. [6] [7]
In 2016, Serenity Forge began publishing games by third-party developers in addition to making its own. The Studio's first publishing releases were Stage 2 Studios' [8] science fiction exploration game Lifeless Planet and developer Ludo Land's narrative puzzle game Four Sided Fantasy. [9]
| Year | Title | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) | Platform(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Loving Life | Serenity Forge | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows | |
| 2014 | Lifeless Planet | Stage 2 Studios | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | [10] |
| Luna's Wandering Stars | Serenity Forge | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows | [11] | |
| 2015 | Pixel Galaxy | Serenity Forge | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows | [12] |
| 2016 | Four Sided Fantasy | Ludo Land | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | [13] |
| 2017 | Mystic Melee | Serenity Forge | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows | |
| Pinstripe | Atmos Games | Serenity Forge, Armor Games | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, macOS | [14] | |
| 2018 | A Case of Distrust | Ben Wander | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, iOS | [15] |
| The King's Bird | Serenity Forge | Graffiti Games | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One | [16] | |
| Where the Water Tastes Like Wine | Dim Bulb Games, Serenity Forge | Serenity Forge, Good Shepherd Entertainment | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, macOS | [17] | |
| 2020 | Half Past Fate | Serenity Forge | Way Down Deep | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch | [18] |
| The Alto Collection | Snowman, Serenity Forge | Snowman | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One | [19] | |
| Neversong | Serenity Forge, Atmos Games | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Apple Arcade | [20] | |
| 2021 | Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing | Serenity Forge | Way Down Deep | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch | [21] |
| Cyanide & Happiness - Freakpocalypse (Episode 1) | Explosm, Skeleton Crew Studios | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | [22] | |
| Date Night Bowling | Serenity Forge | Way Down Deep | Microsoft Windows | [23] | |
| Land of Screens | Serenity Forge | Way Down Deep | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch | [24] | |
| Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! | Team Salvato, Serenity Forge | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, macOS | [25] | |
| Death's Gambit: Afterlife | White Rabbit | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | [26] | |
| 2022 | Arcadian Atlas | Twin Otter Studios | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | [27] |
| 2023 | Smile For Me | LimboLane | Serenity Forge | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | [28] |
| Homestead Arcana | Serenity Forge | Skybound Entertainment | Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X/S | [29] | |
| LISA - Definitive Edition | Dingaling Productions | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 | [30] | |
| Roman Sands RE:Build | Arbitrary Metric | Serenity Forge | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | [31] |
Xseed Games is an American video game company founded by former members of Square Enix USA. It later became a subsidiary of the Japanese game company Marvelous, providing the localization and publishing services for video games and related materials.
CyberConnect2 Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game development studio mostly known for its work on the .hack series, along with a series of fighting games based on the Naruto franchise. They are also known for creating the Little Tail Bronx series. In 2016, they expanded their workforce into the international market by opening a studio in Montreal, Canada.
Numerous video games were released in 2016. New hardware came out as well, albeit largely refreshed and updated versions of consoles in the PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 4 Slim, and Xbox One S. Commercially available virtual reality headsets were released in much greater numbers and at much lower price points than the enthusiast-only virtual reality headsets of earlier generations. Augmented reality also became mainstream with Pokémon Go. Top-rated games originally released in 2016 included Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Inside, Overwatch, Forza Horizon 3, Madden NFL 17, WWE 2K17, NBA 2K17, Dark Souls III, and Battlefield 1 and Doom 2016. The top five highest-grossing video games of 2016 were League of Legends, Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor, Monster Strike, Clash of Clans, and Dungeon Fighter Online.
2017 saw the release of numerous video games as well as other developments in the video game industry. The Nintendo Switch console was released in 2017, which sold more than 14 million units by the end of the year, exceeding the under-performing Wii U lifetime sales. This has helped to revitalize Nintendo, with the "retro" Super NES Classic Edition console, the refreshed New Nintendo 2DS XL handheld and a strategy for mobile gaming. Microsoft also released the higher-powered Xbox One X targeted for 4K resolutions and virtual reality support.
Numerous video games were released in 2018. Best-selling games included Madden NFL 19, NBA 2K19, NBA Live 19, WWE 2K19, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Marvel's Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Far Cry 5, God of War, Monster Hunter: World, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Games highly regarded by video game critics released in 2018 included Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Marvel's Spider-Man, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter: World, Dead Cells, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Celeste. The year's highest-grossing games included Fortnite, Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor, Dungeon Fighter Online, League of Legends, and Pokémon Go.
Nacon is a French video game company 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.
In the video game industry during 2019, both Sony and Microsoft announced their intent to reveal their next-generation consoles in 2020, while Nintendo introduced a smaller Nintendo Switch Lite, and Google announced its streaming game platform Stadia. The controversy over loot boxes as a potential gambling route continued into 2019, with some governments like Belgium and the Netherlands banning games with them under their gambling laws, while the United Kingdom acknowledging their current laws prevent enforcing these as if they were games of chance. The first video cards to support real-time ray tracing were put onto the consumer market, including the first set of games that would take advantage of the new technology. The Epic Games Store continued its growth in challenging the largest digital PC game distribution service Steam, leading to concern and debate about Epic Games' methods to seek games for its service. Dota Auto Chess, a community-created mod for Dota 2, introduced a new subgenre of strategy games called auto battlers, which saw several games in the genre released throughout the year. Blizzard Entertainment faced criticism due to their involvement in the Blitzchung controversy, which began after they had banned a Hearthstone player for making comments during a tournament regarding the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
In the video game industry, 2020 saw the launch of the next generation of video game consoles, with both Microsoft and Sony Interactive Entertainment having released the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 consoles, respectively, in November 2020. The industry was heavily affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which had begun in March and was characterized by COVID-19 lockdowns and remote work. While this caused numerous delays in software and hardware releases and the cancellation of live conferences and events in favor of virtual shows, it also created a boon for the industry as people turned to gaming as a means to pass the time. The industry also reacted to various political/cultural events.
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 still dealt with issues such as workplace harassment and discrimination, as well as crunch periods, leading to at least the quality assurance staff at three separate studios to vote to unionize.
In the video game industry, 2023 saw significant changes within larger publishers and developers. Microsoft, after having satisfied worldwide regulatory bodies, completed its US$69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, making them the third largest game publisher in the world. Embracer Group, which had been in an acquisition spree over the previous few years, had an estimated $2 billion deal fall through, causing many of the studios under Embracer to either lay off staff or close entirely. Similar layoffs were seen at Unity, Epic Games, Bungie, and Ubisoft, part of a larger trend of layoffs at technology companies in 2023.
Samurai Warriors 5, known in Japan as Sengoku Musou 5 (戦国無双5), is a hack and slash game by Koei Tecmo, and a reboot of the Samurai Warriors series, part of the long-running Warriors series of hack and slash games published by Koei Tecmo. Announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation on February 17, 2021, the game was stated to be a "fresh re-imagining" of the franchise, featuring an all-new storyline, revamped character designs, and a new visual presentation. It was released in Japan in June 2021 for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, with a worldwide release in July 2021 for those platforms and PC via Steam. A version for Amazon Luna was made available on June 30, 2022.
Edge of Eternity is a 2021 role-playing video game developed by Midgar Studio and published by Dear Villagers. It first released for Windows before releasing on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch in February 2022.
In the video game industry, 2024 is expected to see the release of many new video games.
Monster Crown is a 2021 role-playing video game developed by Studio Aurum and published by Soedesco. Heavily inspired by early games in the Pokémon series, it features similar mechanics, but with a darker fictional universe and storyline. The game received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay and graphical style, but noted significant bugs and performance issues, and also criticized it for game balance issues as well as its story.