505 Games S.p.A. is an Italian

video game publisher A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer. They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer ...

based in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. It was founded in 2006 as a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

of Milan-based

Digital Bros Digital Bros S.p.A. is an Italian video game company that develops, publishes and distributes games. It publishes games under its 505 Games subsidiary brand since 2007 and established video game development school, ''Digital Bros Game Academy'' ...

History

505 Games was founded in 2006 in

as a

. The company found its early success through its

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

such as ''

Cooking Mama ''Cooking Mama'' (stylized as ) is a video game series and media franchise owned by Cooking Mama Limited. The series is a cookery simulation-styled minigame compilation of many video games and adventures for Nintendo gaming platforms. Generally, ...

'' and '' Zumba Fitness''. In April 2012, 505 Games took over publishing duties from THQ for the fitness game ''Adidas MiCoach'', following a lawsuit between THQ and

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

. In April 2013, they acquired the license of ''Drawn To Life'' series. The purchase included rights to the franchise as a whole. In November 2013, it canceled

Ashes Cricket 2013 ''Ashes Cricket 2013'' was a cricket video game that was developed by Trickstar Games and published by 505 Games. The game was released on 22 November 2013 for Windows, exclusively via Steam, for a short period of time before it was removed fro ...

and issued refunds. In April 2014, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with Adam Orth's Three One Zero of the game ''

Adrift ADRIFT is a graphical user interface used to create and play text adventures. The name is an acronym for "Adventure Development & Runner - Interactive Fiction Toolkit". The project was solely developed by Campbell Wild until he made it open so ...

''. The game is described as a first-person experience, where the player controls an astronaut exploring debris of a wrecked station in outer space. In January 2015, 505 Games confirmed the acquisition of the intellectual property (IP) rights to the multi-award-winning Game of the Year 2013, '' Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons'' from Starbreeze Studios. In April 2015, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with Swedish game developer Starbreeze for the game ''

Overkill's The Walking Dead ''Overkill's The Walking Dead'' is a first-person shooter developed by Overkill Software and published by Starbreeze Studios and 505 Games. The title, based on the comics of '' The Walking Dead'', has a strong emphasis on cooperative gameplay. ...

'', which released in late 2018. A month later, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with game developer

Overkill Software Overkill Software is a Swedish video game developer based and founded in Stockholm in 2009 by Ulf Andersson (video game designer), Ulf Andersson, Bo Andersson, the founders and owners of defunct game developer Grin (company), Grin, along with Si ...

for the game ''

Payday 2 ''Payday 2'' is a Cooperative video game, cooperative first-person shooter video game developed by Overkill Software and published by 505 Games. The game is a sequel to 2011's ''Payday: The Heist''. It was released in August 2013 for Microsoft Wi ...

'' Crimewave Edition. In August 2016, 505 Games announced it would be publishing ''

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

'' from Variable State. In March 2015, 505 Games purchased 2.67% stock of Swedish game developer

Starbreeze Studios Starbreeze AB is a Swedish video game developer and publisher based in Stockholm. The studios's notable games developed include '' The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay'', ''Payday 2'' and '' Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons''. Founde ...

. In January 2016, 505 Games announced that they will shift their focus from publishing games for other developers to developing their own

intellectual properties Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

. In October 2016, 505 Games has announced through

Koji Igarashi is a Japanese video game producer, programmer, writer, and creative director. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time. Often credited as IGA, he began his career by joining Konami in 1990 as a programmer ...

, their collaboration in publishing '' Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night'' from Igarashi's own ArtPlay, DICO and

Inti Creates is a Japanese video game development company. Formed by ex-Capcom staff in May 1996, they are best known for developing games in the '' Mega Man'' series, namely the '' Mega Man Zero'' series and its follow-ups ''Mega Man ZX'' and '' Mega Man ZX ...

, though Inti's involvement has been reduced. At the Sony E3 press conference on 11 June 2018, 505 Games announced a partnership with

Remedy Entertainment Remedy Entertainment Oyj, trading internationally as Remedy Entertainment Plc, is a Finnish video game developer based in Espoo. Notable games the studio has developed include the first two entries in the ''Max Payne'' franchise, '' Alan Wake' ...

to publish ''

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controlling ...

''. 505 Games acquired Australia-based

Infinity Plus Two Infinity Plus Two, previously Infinite Interactive, is a video game developer with headquarters in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia. History The company was founded by Steve Fawkner in 1989. After a long alliance with SSG, resulting in the de ...

, the developers of the ''

Puzzle Quest ''Puzzle Quest'' is a series of puzzle video games where tile-matching serves as the combat for a role-playing video game. The first game, '' Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords'', was released in 2007. It was designed by Steve Fawkner as a s ...

'' games in January 2021. 505 Games is working with Rabbit and Bear Studios to publish '' Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes'', a spiritual successor to the ''

Suikoden is a series of role-playing video games developed and published by Konami. Created by Yoshitaka Murayama, the games are loosely based on the classical Chinese novel '' Water Margin'', whose title is rendered as in Japanese. Each individual g ...

'' series. The partnership was announced February 2021. On 27 June 2022 D3 Go! was acquired by 505 Games. The acquisition also included the intellectual property of the ''Puzzle Quest'' games. In November 2023, 505 Games parent company Digital Bros announced plans to lay off about 30% of its global workforce—around 130 employees. Job cuts continued into 2024, when 505 Games closed offices in Germany, Spain, and France. In February 2024, 505 Games sold the IP rights to Control back to developer Remedy Entertainment for €17 million.

Games published

Games published by 505 Games include ''

Sniper Elite III ''Sniper Elite III'' is a 2014 Third-person view, third-person tactical shooter Stealth game, stealth video game developed and published by Rebellion Developments. The game is a prequel to its 2012 predecessor ''Sniper Elite V2'', and is the thir ...

'', ''

Assetto Corsa ''Assetto Corsa'' (Italian for "Race Setup") is a sim racing video game developed by the Italian video game developer, Kunos Simulazioni. It is designed with an emphasis on a realistic racing experience with support for extensive customization a ...

'', '' Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons'', ''

Terraria ''Terraria'' ( ) is a 2011 action-adventure sandbox game developed by Re-Logic and published by 505 Games. The game features exploration, combat, crafting, building, and mining inside a procedurally generated 2D computer graphics, 2D world. ...

'', ''

Redout A redout occurs when the body experiences a negative g-force sufficient to cause a blood flow from the lower parts of the body to the head. It is the inverse effect of a greyout, where blood flows away from the head to the lower parts of the bo ...

'', '' How to Survive'', '' Defense Grid 2'', '' Deep Black'', ''

Abzû ''Abzû'' is an adventure video game developed by Giant Squid and published by 505 Games for PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna. Initially released as a digital title in August 2016, a retail version for consoles ...

'', ''

Dead by Daylight ''Dead by Daylight'' is an online asymmetric multiplayer survival horror video game developed and published by Canadian studio Behaviour Interactive. It is a one-versus-four game in which one player takes on the role of a Killer and the other f ...

'', ''

Unturned ''Unturned'' is a partly free-to-play zombie survival/survival horror game by Smartly Dressed Games, a studio consisting of Canadian game designer Nelson Sexton and a community administrator who goes by "MoltonMontro". It was released for Windows ...

'', '' Indivisible'', and the PC and Xbox Series X/S release of ''

Death Stranding ''Death Stranding'' is a 2019 action-adventure game developed by Kojima Productions and originally published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is the first game from director Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions after their split from Konam ...

''.

Accolades

In April 2015, 505 Games was awarded the title of ''Best Indie Games Label'' at the '' MCV'' Awards.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Milan Italian companies established in 2006 Video game companies established in 2006 Video game companies of Italy Video game publishers