Big Fish Games

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Big Fish Games, Inc.
Subsidiary
Industry Video game
Computer software
Founded Seattle (2002)
Headquarters Seattle, Washington, United States
Key people
 Paul Thelen, Chairman/CEO
Products Video games (Casual games)
Number of employees
 700 (2013)
Parent Churchill Downs Incorporated
Website bigfishgames.com

Big Fish Games is a casual gaming company based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The company serves as both a developer and distributor of casual games, primarily on computers and mobile devices. The company was founded in 2002 by Paul Thelen,[1] and currently employs more than 500 people.[2]

History

Big Fish Games was founded by ex-RealNetworks executive Paul Thelen in 2002 with $10,000.[3] Thelen was the Group Product Manager that launched the RealArcade games service for RealNetworks.[4] In 2009, the company announced the opening of their new European headquarters in Cork, Ireland. The BBB rates Big Fish Games as an A+ due to its response and resolution to complaints, and the relative low complaint volume for a business of its size.[5]

In September 2008, the company received $83M financial backing from Venture Capital funds Balderton Capital, General Catalyst Partners and Salmon River Capital. [6]

In August 2013, the company announced the closing of its cloud-based games service, Vancouver studio and Cork offices.[7]

On November 12, 2014, Big Fish Games was acquired by Churchill Downs Incorporated for $885 million. The company is primarily involved in the gambling business, and is the owner of several major horse racing tracks, including its namesake Churchill Downs.[8]

Big Fish Studios

Big Fish Studios is the internal development studio that publishes original titles every year through Big Fish Games. Many of these games are developed using its own proprietary game engine that supports both DirectX and OpenGL.[9][10]

Games developed by Big Fish Studios include:

Digital distribution

Big Fish Games distributes over 2500 casual downloadable games for over 500 developers.[11] According to Big Fish Games, the company serves over 1,500,000 downloads per day.[12] The service offers downloadable casual games with a try-before-you-buy model where consumers can play games for free for 60 minutes, then have the option to purchase that game to keep playing.

Online games

Big Fish Games entered the browser gaming with its acquisition of the game website Ion Thunder in 2007; the service was re-branded as Atlantis following the acquisition.[13] The service, which was later revamped as Big Sea Games in 2009, was shut down in 2010 as part of the company's shift from traditional online games to social games on Facebook and mobile apps.[14]

References

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  6. ↑ http://techcrunch.com/2008/09/12/big-fish-games-raises-833-million-for-casual-game-distribution/
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External links


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