Digital Bros S.p.A. is an Italian

video game 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 ...

company that develops, publishes and distributes games. It publishes games under its

505 Games 505 Games S.p.A. is an Italian video game publisher based in Milan. It was founded in 2006 as a subsidiary of Milan-based Digital Bros. History 505 Games was founded in 2006 in Milan as a subsidiary of Digital Bros. The company found its earl ...

subsidiary brand since 2007 and established video game development school, ''Digital Bros Game Academy'', in 2014. Digital Bros was founded in 1989 as Halifax and the name is still used for distribution. Digital Bros is headquartered 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 ...

with offices in the United Kingdom, United States, France, Spain, Germany, China, Hong Kong and Japan.

History

1989–2000: Founding and growth

Halifax S.p.A. was founded in 1989 in Milan, Italy, by the brothers Abramo and Raffaele Galante. In the 1990s, the company had the rights to distribute games of international publishers on the Italian market through its Halifax brand; including

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and

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. It was listed on the STAR segment of the

Italian Stock Exchange Borsa Italiana () or Borsa di Milano (), based in Milan at Palazzo Mezzanotte, Mezzanotte Palace, is the Italy, Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and i ...

in 2000. Digital Bros also operated the European television channel Game Network from 1999 to 2006 and operated European servers for '' The Legend of Mir'' series and various other online games under the Game Network brand until 2009.

2001–2014: Internationalization and digitalization

In 2006, Digital Bros founded subsidiary

(505 GameStreet). In 2012, it started publishing games on digital platforms,

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

and

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. In 2013, it established its mobile games division,

Mobile.

2015–2020: Acquisitions and investments

In 2015, Digital Bros acquired

DR Studios DR Studios (formerly known as Deep Red Games) is a British video game developer based in Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom. DRS primarily develops strategy games, such as '' Monopoly Tycoon''. The company was formed in 1998 by Kevin Buckner a ...

, a developer based in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

, United Kingdom and was made responsible of its

Free to Play "Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...

games. The company acquired a stake of 49% in Ovosonico, a developer based in

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

. In 2017, the group acquired Kunos Simulazioni, a developer specializing in driving simulations, headquartered in Rome, Italy. In 2020, it announced its intent to generate 50% of its revenue from its own games. On 3 March 2020, Digital Bros acquires 51% of the remaining shares of the Ovosonico studio from Massimo Guarini. The Ovosonico brand remains the property of Massimo Guarini, controlled by Guarini Design, while the development studio, with its employees, has been acquired by Digital Bros. In November 2023, Digital Bros announced plans to lay off about 30% of its global workforce—around 130 employees—following an organizational review. This decision is attributed to changes in the global games industry and shifts in consumer behavior since the pandemic, with a noted preference for well-established intellectual properties. The company said it would be adjusting its strategy to focus more on sequels and new versions of successful games, reducing the number of new, large-budget projects. Job cuts continued into 2024, when 505 Games offices in Germany, Spain, and France were closed.

Subsidiaries

(formerly 505 GameStreet) *

* Kunos Simulazioni * Avantgarden * Nesting Games * Supernova Games * Infinity Plus Two * Ingame Studios

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://digitalbros.com/ Italian brands Companies based in Milan Companies listed on the Borsa Italiana Video game companies established in 1989 Italian companies established in 1989 Video game companies of Italy Video game publishers 505 Games