 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 12 August 2014; 11 years ago (12 August 2014)[1] |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , England |
Key people | Gavin Price (managing director) |
| Divisions | Playtonic Friends |
| Website | playtonicgames.com |
Playtonic Limited[1] (also known asPlaytonic Games) is a Britishvideo game developer founded in 2014. It consists in large part of former members ofRare.
Playtonic Games was founded in August 2014 by Steve Hurst, Steve Mayles, Gavin Price, Jens Restemeier, Mark Stevenson, andChris Sutherland, all of whom previously worked atRare.[1][2][3] Of the founders, Price assumed the role ofstudio head.[3] They were joined byGrant Kirkhope and Steven Hurst. The first game the company worked on was codenamed "Project Ukulele", which was described as aspiritual successor toBanjo-Kazooie.[3] The team launched aKickstarter campaign for the project, and it managed to reach the stretch goal of US$1 million within 24 hours.[4] In part due to the campaign's success, the team's attention was often diverted to other aspects such as making merchandise items instead of focusing on game's development, and some choices related to game development were forced as well due to them being promised in the campaign.[5]
Project Ukulele was unveiled as the 3D platformerYooka-Laylee, which was released in 2017 to mixed critical reviews.[6] Playtonic followed up onYooka-Laylee withYooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, their second game, a 2.5D spinoff. While bearing similarities with theDonkey Kong Country series, the team opted not to use the moniker "spiritual successor" to market the game, unlike withYooka-Laylee.[7]Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair was released in 2019 to a more positive reception thanYooka-Laylee.
Playtonic Games announced the rebranding of their company name to "Playtonic" and the launch of a publishing division, Playtonic Friends, in February 2021, with three titles under development from partner studios Awe Interactive, Fabraz, and Okidokico.[8] On 26 March 2021, Playtonic Friends' revealed their first game,Demon Turf, developed by Fabraz.[9] On 29 April 2021, Playtonic Friends's announced their next game,BPM: Bullets Per Minute, would be released in 2021 forPlayStation 4 andXbox One.[10] On 19 May 2021, Playtonic announcedA Little Golf Journey, to be released on PCs andNintendo Switch and developed by Okidokico.[11]
Tencent acquired a minority stake in Playtonic in November 2021.[12]
| Year | Game | Platform(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Yooka-Laylee | Linux,Luna,macOS,Nintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,Windows,Xbox One | Team17 |
| 2019 | Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair | Luna, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One | |
| 2025 | Yooka-Replaylee | Nintendo Switch 2,PlayStation 5, Windows,Xbox Series X/S | Playtonic Friends, PM Studios |
The games below were published under the name Playtonic Friends.[13]
| Year | Game | Platform(s) | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Demon Turf | Nintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,Windows,Xbox One,Xbox Series X/S | Fabraz |
| BPM: Bullets Per Minute | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | Awe Interactive | |
| A Little Golf Journey | Nintendo Switch, Windows | Okidokico | |
| 2022 | Lil Gator Game | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Megawobble |
| Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince | Nintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Castle Pixel | |
| Demon Turf: Neon Splash | Nintendo Switch, Windows | Fabraz | |
| 2024 | CorpoNation: The Sorting Process | Nintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Canteen |
| Elsie | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows | Knight Shift Games | |
| Victory Heat Rally | Android,iOS, Nintendo Switch, Windows | Skydevilpalm | |
| 2025 | Dunk Dunk | Nintendo Switch, Windows | Badgerhammer |
| Cattle Country | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S | Castle Pixel |