505 Games

Last updated

505 Games S.p.A.
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Video games
Founded2006;18 years ago (2006)
Headquarters,
Italy
Parent Digital Bros
Subsidiaries
Website 505games.com

505 Games S.p.A. is an Italian video game publisher based in Milan. [1] It was founded in 2006 as a subsidiary of Milan-based Digital Bros.

Contents

History

505 Games was founded in 2006 in Milan as a subsidiary of Digital Bros. [2] The company found its early success through its video games such as Cooking Mama and Zumba Fitness . [3]

In April 2012, 505 Games took over publishing duties from THQ for the fitness game Adidas MiCoach, following a lawsuit between THQ and Adidas. [4] In April 2013, they acquired the license of Drawn To Life series. The purchase included rights to the franchise as a whole. [5] In November 2013, it canceled Ashes Cricket 2013 and issued refunds. [6] In April 2014, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with Adam Orth's Three One Zero of the game Adrift . The game is described as a first-person experience, where the player controls an astronaut exploring debris of a wrecked station in outer space. [7] In January 2015, 505 Games confirmed the acquisition of the intellectual property (IP) rights to the multi-award-winning Game of the Year 2013, [8] Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons from Starbreeze Studios. [9] In April 2015, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with Swedish game developer Starbreeze for the game Overkill's The Walking Dead , which released in late 2018. [10] A month later, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with game developer Overkill Software for the game Payday 2 Crimewave Edition. [11] In August 2016, 505 Games announced it would be publishing Virginia from Variable State. [12]

In March 2015, 505 Games purchased 2.67% stock of Swedish game developer Starbreeze Studios. [13] In January 2016, 505 Games announced that they will shift their focus from publishing games for other developers to developing their own intellectual properties. [14] In October 2016, 505 Games has announced through Koji Igarashi, their collaboration in publishing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night from Igarashi's own ArtPlay, DICO and Inti Creates, though Inti's involvement has been reduced. [15] At the Sony E3 press conference on 11 June 2018, 505 Games announced a partnership with Remedy Entertainment to publish Control . [16]

505 Games acquired Australia-based Infinity Plus Two, the developers of the Puzzle Quest games in January 2021. [17]

505 Games is working with Rabbit and Bear Studios to publish Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes , a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series. The partnership was announced February 2021. [18]

On 27 June 2022 D3 Go! was acquired by 505 Games. The acquisition also included the intellectual property of the Puzzle Quest games. [19] [20]

In November 2023, 505 Games parent company Digital Bros announced plans to lay off about 30% of its global workforce—around 130 employees. [21] Job cuts continued into 2024, when 505 Games closed offices in Germany, Spain, and France. [22] [23]

In February 2024, 505 Games sold the IP rights to Control back to developer Remedy Entertainment for €17 million. 505 Games will remain as publisher through the end of 2024. [24]

Games published

Games published by 505 Games include Sniper Elite III , Payday 2 , Assetto Corsa , Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons , Terraria , Redout , How to Survive , Defense Grid 2 , Deep Black , Abzû , Adrift , Virginia , Dead by Daylight , Control , Unturned , Indivisible , and the PC release of Death Stranding . [25] [26] [12] [27] [28]

Accolades

In April 2015, 505 Games was awarded the title of Best Indie Games Label at the MCV Awards. [29]

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References

  1. "Privacy Policy". 505 Games. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  2. Doolan, Lian (13 September 2018). "Terraria Publisher 505 Games Expands Coverage To Japan And South Korea". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  3. "505 Games' Ian Howe Interview". Digital Trends . 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  4. "Adidas MiCoach Now Published by 505 Games". Engadget . 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  5. "505 Games Acquires Draw To Life License". Warp Zoned. 23 April 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  6. Cowan, D. (2 December 2013). "Ashes Cricket 2013 pulled from Steam, publisher issuing refunds". Engadget.
  7. "505 Games Publishing Adr1ft". IGN . 4 April 2014. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  8. "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Game of the Year Award". PlayStation Blog . 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
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  10. "505 Games To Publish Overkills The Walking Dead". The Koalition. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  11. "PayDay 2: Crimewave Edition Release". Christian Today . 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  12. 1 2 Robinson, Martin (25 August 2016). "Virginia, one of 2016's most promising games, is coming to Xbox One, PS4 and PC next month". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  13. "505 Games Acquires Stake in Starbreeze". Develop . Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  14. Dring, Christopher (21 January 2016). "505 Games switches focus to developing its own IP". MCV . Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  15. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (5 October 2016), Bloodstained and 505 Games Partnership, archived from the original on 19 December 2021, retrieved 5 October 2016
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  18. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Partnership Announcement with 505 Games , retrieved 3 July 2023
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  20. Blake, Vikki (3 July 2022). "505 Games acquires D3 Go! and the Puzzle Quest franchise". Eurogamer . Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  21. "Digital Bros, parent company of 505 Games, is laying off 30% of its staff". www.gameshub.com. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  22. Kennedy, Victoria (29 February 2024). "Ghostrunner 2 publisher 505 Games closes offices in Germany, Spain and France". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  23. Caballero, David (29 February 2024). "Más recortes en Digital Bros: ¿afectarán a Assetto Corsa 2 o Project Iron?". Gamereactor España (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  24. Dring, Christopher (28 February 2024). "Remedy acquires full Control rights from 505 Games for €17m". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
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  27. "Death Stranding on PC will be published by 505 Games". IGN . 28 October 2019. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  28. "Lab Zero partnering with 505 Games for Indivisible". 28 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  29. "MCV Awards 2015". MCV . 21 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.