Black Forest Games

Black Forest Games GmbH is a German video game developer based in Offenburg. The company was founded in July 2012 by a team of 40 staff members, including chief executive officer Andreas Speer, previously employed by Spellbound Entertainment, which filed for insolvency earlier that year. As of August 2017, it is a subsidiary of THQ Nordic.[2] As of June 2019, the company employs 66 people.[3]

Black Forest Games GmbH
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
PredecessorSpellbound Entertainment
FoundedJuly 13, 2012 (2012-07-13)
FounderAndreas Speer
Headquarters
Offenburg
,
Germany
Key people
Andreas Speer (CEO)
ProductsGiana Sisters series
Number of employees
75[1] (2020)
ParentTHQ Nordic (2017–present)
Websiteblack-forest-games.com

History

Following the release of Arcania: Fall of Setarrif, the game's developer, Spellbound Entertainment, filed for insolvency in March 2012.[4] Upon completion, on 13 July 2012, it was announced that Black Forest Games was founded in Offenburg as a successor to Spellbound, employing 40 of the Spellbound's former 65 staff.[4][5] Under these 40 was most of the former management, including chief executive officer Andreas Speer.[5][6]

In July 2012, Black Forest Games started a Kickstarter campaign for a new installment of The Great Giana Sisters tentatively titled Project Giana, stating "Project Giana is the grandchild of The Great Giana Sisters". The game features music from The Great Giana Sisters' original composer Chris Huelsbeck and the Swedish "SID metal" band Machinae Supremacy.[7] Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams was released on October 23, 2012 for PC with later releases on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo eShop.[8]

Rogue Stormers was revealed at the Game Developers Conference 2010, in San Francisco under the project name RavensDale, although it has been in development since 2007. After an unsuccessful attempt on Kickstarter in 2013 the game was put on hold. In a second attempt in early 2014 the game, then known as DieselStormers, was successfully funded on Kickstarter and went to Steam early access in July 2014.[9][10][11]

Due to a trademark registration of DieselStormers by Diesel S.p.A.'s successful trademark lawsuit, Black Forest Games decided to change the name from DieselStormers to Rogue Stormers.[12] Fade to Silence was announced at The Game Awards 2017. It is a survival game set in a snow-covered forest, requiring the player to collect resources, build a refuge, and recruit others as followers to survive. The game entered early access on Steam on 14 December 2017, and had its full release on 30 April 2019 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The game was published by THQ Nordic.[13]

On 7 June 2019, THQ Nordic announced a remake of the 2005 science fiction game Destroy All Humans! is in development at Black Forest Studios, set for a release in 2020 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The remake will feature content that was cut from the original release developed by Pandemic Studios.[14] The game was officially announced in June 2019. An extended gameplay demo was launched at E3 2019.[15] In August 2019, Google announced that the game will also be available for Stadia.[16]

Games developed
Year Title Platform(s)
2012 Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams Microsoft Windows
2013 PlayStation 3
Wii U
Xbox 360
Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Rise of the Owlverlord Microsoft Windows
2015 Giana Sisters: Dream Runners Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
2016 Rogue Stormers Linux
Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition Microsoft Windows
2017 Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
2018 Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams – Owltimate Edition Nintendo Switch
Titan Quest Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
2019 Fade to Silence Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
2020 Destroy All Humans! Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Stadia

References
  1. Fröhlich, Petra (10 January 2020). "Die größten Spiele-Entwickler in Deutschland 2020" [The largest game developers in Germany 2020]. GamesWirtschaft (in German).
  2. McAloon, Alissa (21 August 2017). "THQ Nordic picks up Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams dev Black Forest Games". Gamasutra.
  3. Wingefors, Lars (27 August 2019). "THQ Nordic Annual Report 2018/19" (PDF). Cision.
  4. Steinlechner, Peter (13 July 2012). "Nach Insolvenz: Spellbound wird zu Black Forest Games" [After insolvency: Spellbound becomes Black Forest Games]. Golem.de (in German).
  5. Gera, Emily (13 July 2012). "'Gothic 4' developer emerges from insolvency as Black Forest Games". Polygon.
  6. Holmes, Mike (13 July 2012). "Black Forest Games launch". Gamereactor.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Project Giana by Black Forest Games".
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "DIESELSTÖRMERS". Kickstarter.
  11. "Save 75% on Rogue Stormers on Steam". store.steampowered.com.
  12. "Blog – Black Forest Games". Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  13. Roemer, Dan (7 December 2017). "New Early Access survival game Fade to Silence leaked ahead of The Game Awards". Destructoid. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  14. Yin-Poole, Wesley (7 June 2019). "The trailer for the Destroy All Humans! remake is certainly something". Eurogamer. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  15. "Destroy All Humans Remake - 15 Minutes Of Cinematics And Extended Gameplay Demo | E3 2019". Gamespot. 13 June 2019.
  16. Romano, Sal (19 August 2019). "Destroy All Humans! remake adds Stadia version". Gematsu. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
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