Tarsier Studios

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Tarsier Studios AB
Amplifier Game Invest (2019–present)
Websitetarsier.se

Tarsier Studios is a Swedish video game developer based in Malmö.

History

Nine developers, including Andreas Johnsson and Björn Sunesson, founded Tarsier Studios in 2004.

work-for-hire projects while working on further prototypes. One physics-based fighting game prototype again attracted the interest of Sony, which hired the team to develop a remake of Rag Doll Kung Fu. This sparked the start of a longer partnership with Sony, with Tarsier creating art assets and later downloadable content packs for LittleBigPlanet.[1] In July 2010, Tarsier signed an exclusivity deal with Sony.[5]

During this time, the team grew to 30 people and moved from Karlshamn to Malmö.[1] The Karlshamn office was retained for continued outsourcing operations, while the Malmö office would house the development of console games.[6] A "super-ambitious" game Tarsier was working on for Sony was put on hold when the studio was offered to develop LittleBigPlanet PS Vita.[1] In June 2013, Nygren bought out the Karlshamn location, saying that it was not feasible for Tarsier to operate two locations at a time. He left Tarsier and installed Ola Holmdahl as its new CEO of the 40-person Malmö studio.[6][7] Out of the Karlshamn office, Nygren established The Station.[3] Tarsier's next bigger project was the horror game Hunger. The studio initially pitched the game to Sony, but the publisher had much higher ambitions for external projects and declined. Tarsier instead found a publisher in Bandai Namco Entertainment, which invested in the project with the intent of producing multiple games.[1] The deal was announced in August 2016 and Hunger was renamed Little Nightmares.[8] For Sony, Tarsier created the virtual reality game Statik, and the studio worked with Nintendo on The Stretchers.[1]

In December 2019, Tarsier Studios was acquired by Goodbye Kansas Game Invest (later known as Amplifier Game Invest)—an investment company previously bought by

chief people and culture officer. As of 2022, only three of the nine original founders remain with the company.[1]

Games

Year Title Platform(s)
2008 LittleBigPlanet (DLC)[10] PlayStation 3
2009
Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic[11]
2011 LittleBigPlanet 2 (DLC)[12]
2012 LittleBigPlanet PS Vita[13] PlayStation Vita
2013 DC Comics Premium Level Pack[14] PlayStation 3
2014 LittleBigPlanet 3[15] PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
2015 Tearaway Unfolded[16] PlayStation 4
2017 Little Nightmares[17] Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2017 Statik[18] PlayStation VR
2019 The Stretchers[19] Nintendo Switch
2021 Little Nightmares II[20]
Xbox Series X/S

Cancelled

References

  1. ^
    Future Publishing
    . pp. 94–97.
  2. ^ a b Purchese, Robert (13 July 2021). "Whatever happened to City of Metronome, the missing game by Little Nightmares developer Tarsier?". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b Callerstig, Emma (23 September 2019). "Stark utveckling för spelbolag" [Strong development for game companies] (in Swedish). NetPort. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Två stiftelser med Sparbankspengar" [Two foundations with Sparbank money]. Nyttan (in Swedish). Sparbanken i Karlshamn. 2013. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  5. ^ Cullen, Johnny (19 July 2010). "Tarsier Studios become first-party SCE developer". VG247. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b Callerstig, Emma (7 June 2013). "Mattias Nygren leaves his CEO position at Tarsier Studios". NetPort. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  7. Pocket Gamer.biz. Archived
    from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  8. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (18 August 2016). "Bandai Namco picks up evocative horror game Hunger, rebrands it Little Nightmares". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  9. ^
    GamesIndustry.biz. Archived
    from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  10. ^ "LittleBigPlanet >> Tarsier Studios - Having A Blast!". Tarsier Studios. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  11. ^ "RDKF Fists of Plastic >> Tarsier Studios - Having A Blast!". Tarsier Studios. Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  12. ^ "LittleBigPlanet 2 >> Tarsier Studios - Having A Blast!". Tarsier Studios. Archived from the original on 4 November 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  13. ^ "LittleBigPlanet PS Vita >> Tarsier Studios - Having A Blast!". Tarsier Studios. Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  14. ^ "DC Comics Premium Level Pack >> Tarsier Studios - Having A Blast!". Tarsier Studios. Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  15. ^ "LittleBigPlanet 3 >> Tarsier Studios - Having A Blast!". Tarsier Studios. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Tearaway Unfolded >> Tarsier Studios - Having A Blast!". Tarsier Studios. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  17. ^ "Little Nightmares >> Tarsier Studios - Having A Blast!". Tarsier Studios. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Statik >> Tarsier Studios - Having A Blast!". Tarsier Studios. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  19. ^ "The Stretchers". Tarsier. 14 November 2019. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Little Nightmares 2". Tarsier. 19 August 2019. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.

External links