 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1991; 35 years ago (1991) |
| Founder | Paweł Marchewka |
| Headquarters | Wrocław, Poland |
Number of locations | 3 (2016) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products |
|
| Revenue | 182.7M PLN (2018) |
| Total equity | 101M PLN (2018) |
Number of employees | 550+[1] (2024) |
| Parent | Tencent (majority stake, 2024–present) |
| Website | techland |
Techland S.A. is a Polishvideo game developer andpublisher founded in 1991 by Paweł Marchewka. It developedCall of Juarez (2006) and its prequelCall of Juarez: Bound in Blood (2009), as well asDead Island (2011) and theDying Light series.[2] The company is headquartered inWrocław in western Poland and has offices inWrocław andWarsaw.[3]
The company was founded in 1991 by Paweł Marchewka. Marchewka, born in 1973 inOstrów Wielkopolski, displayed an interest in video games since his early childhood.[4] In his final years of high school, together with his friends, he started distributing video games to different shops across Poland.
The endeavour was successful enough that, in 1991, when Poland introduced changes to its intellectual property laws, he pivoted to officially founding Techland.[5] Initially, the company focused on translating foreign programs and publishing them on the Polish market. In 1993, Techland began producing its own software: Dictionaries, translators, computer-games.[6]
Techland started as a distributor of computer software and createdPrawo Krwi, the first game developed in-house, in 1995. Techland released the sci-fi-themed first-person-shooterChrome in 2003. A prequel titledChrome: Specforce was released in 2005. Techland has also developed driving games including rally simulation gamesXpand Rally andXpand Rally Xtreme andVolkswagen-licensedGTI-Racing (2006).[citation needed]
In 2011, Techland released open world survival horror gameDead Island. Its sequel,Dead Island: Riptide appeared in 2013. In August 2013, the company launched a branch inVancouver,Canada, under the name Digital Scapes Studios.[7]
In 2015, Techland releasedDying Light, a first-person survival horror game for thePlayStation 4,Xbox One, andMicrosoft Windows. An expansion for the game,Dying Light: The Following, was released in 2016. Techland's first title as a game publisher wasTorment: Tides of Numenera, released in 2017.[8] In 2018,Call of Juarez: The Cartel andCall of Juarez: Gunslinger were both delisted fromSteam,Xbox Live, andPlayStation Network citing a publishing dispute withUbisoft.[9][10]Call of Juarez: Gunslinger returned to those storefronts in April 2018 with Techland as the sole publisher.[11]
In July 2021 Techland sold Digital Scapes Studios toCD Projekt, another Polish developer, who proceeded to rename it to CD Projekt Red Vancouver.[12] They also celebrated the company's 30th anniversary that December with a series of discounts for its clients.[13] In 2022, Techland released the open world survival horror gameDying Light 2: Stay Human, a sequel toDying Light.
In July 2023,Tencent announced that it would become the company's majority shareholder.[14] Despite acquiring a 67% stake in the company for a reported US$1.6 billion, the Polish developer is to maintain creative independence and control over its brands.[15]
On January 10, 2024, it was reported that Tencent had completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Techland.[16]
Techland's proprietary Chrome Engine of 2003 has been developed further. ChromeEngine 4 was completed in 2006 and provided support for thePlayStation 3.[citation needed] Techland is using its own engine, known as C-Engine. Previously, Techland's engine was called Chrome Engine, but the C-Engine technology is all new.[17] According to the lead designer of the company, Tymon Smektała: “we agreed that this is what we want to do and we want to create games with highly detailed graphics so that you can truly immerse yourself in this world. We knew that to achieve this, we had to create a new engine, a new technology”.[18]
One of the main advantage of the technology is said to be the best possible support of ray tracing (and NVIDIA DLSS) and better use of multi-core processors.[19]
First release of the engine used inChrome.
Improved version of engine enhanced with support forDirectX 9.0.
This version of the engine underwent significant modifications.DirectX 9.0c andDirectX 10 support,HDR, shaders andbump mapping were implemented.
The fourth iteration of the Chrome Engine that was introduced withCall of Juarez: Bound in Blood. SupportsDirectX 9 only.
This version debuted withCall of Juarez: The Cartel,Call of Juarez: Gunslinger andDead Island. This version was primarily used between 2011–2013.
Version used since 2013 to developDying Light andDLC for Dying LightHellraid.
Techland is currently involved in multiple projects, including the development of a highly anticipatedAAAopen-world fantasyRPG, which the studio has described as its biggest project to date.[20] In addition to this, Techland is also working on another Dying Light series title calledDying Light: The Beast (released on September 18, 2025). Furthermore, the studio continues to provide ongoing post-launch support for Dying Light 2, ensuring a steady stream of updates and content for the game.[21]
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
