www.handy-games.com GmbH (

trade name A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

: HandyGames) is a German

video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

based in Giebelstadt. In July 2018, the company was acquired by

THQ Nordic THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were r ...

History

The company was founded in 2000 by brothers Christopher and Markus Kassulke along with Udo Bausewein. In 2006, HandyGames released its first free, ad-funded game and began the gradual transition to a largely ad-funded business model. Since 2010, all new HandyGames mobile titles are either free or

freemium Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium", is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical ( ...

. By 2014 HandyGames had 150,000 app downloads per month and more than 100 million downloads in total. They have developed all the '' Townsmen'' games. In 2012, HandyGames expanded onto other platforms like PC or Smart TVs. In January 2014 and 2015, the company were main sponsors for the "HandyGames Charity Day" in Würzburg, which aimed to raise funds for cancer research. On both occasions the event was able to raise roughly 50000 Euros. HandyGames was one of the first companies to launch games for

wearable technology Wearable technology is any technology that is designed to be used while worn. Common types of wearable technology include smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smartglasses. Wearable electronic devices are often close to or on the surface of the s ...

in 2014. The games are compatible with

Android Wear Wear OS, formerly Android Wear, is a closed-source Android distribution designed for smartwatches and other wearable computers, developed by Google. Wear OS is designed to pair with mobile phones running Android ( version 6.0 "Marshmallow" or n ...

devices, including the

Moto 360 The Moto 360 is a discontinued Android Wear/Wear OS-based smartwatch developed by Motorola Mobility through three generations. The original model was announced on March 18, 2014 and was released on September 5, 2014 in the US along with new mo ...

by Motorola, the

Huawei Watch The Huawei Watch and latest Huawei Watch 4 series are HarmonyOS-based (formerly Android Wear and LiteOS-based) Smartwatch, smartwatches developed by Huawei. The Huawei Watch is the first smartwatch produced by Huawei. It was announced at the 201 ...

, the

Sony SmartWatch The Sony SmartWatch is a line of wearable devices developed and marketed by Sony Mobile from 2012 to 2016 through three generations. They connect to Android (operating system), Android smartphones and can display information such as Twitter feeds ...

and the LG G Watch. The company began developing VR (

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

) games 2015 and released titles like "Hidden Temple – VR Adventure". They can be played in 360° mode or in VR using one of the supported head-mounted displays like

Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets, virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a virtual reality company founded by Palmer Luckey that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality indust ...

Samsung Gear VR The Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality headset developed by Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with Oculus VR, and manufactured by Samsung. The headset was released on August 21, 2015. When in use, a compatible Samsung Galaxy device acts as ...

, or

Google Cardboard Google Cardboard is a discontinued virtual reality (VR) platform developed by Google. Named for its fold-out cardboard viewer into which a smartphone is inserted, the platform was intended as a low-cost system to encourage interest and developm ...

. Simultaneously, HandyGames began developing games for the

Eighth generation of video game consoles The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017. The ge ...

like the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

or later the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

. On 9 July 2018,

announced that it had acquired HandyGames and all of its intellectual property. THQ Nordic said that the studio management and all employees remain with the company. Townsmen Expeditions (working title), which will mark the most recent entry in the Townsmen IP, received €150,000 development funding from

Creative Europe Creative Europe is a European Union programme for the cultural and creative sectors. In its first phase, going from 2014 to 2020, it had a budget of € 1.47 billion, which were expanded to € 2.44 billion in its second phase (2021-2027). His ...

. As of 2020, HandyGames employs 60 people. In May 2021,

Embracer Group Embracer Group AB (formerly Nordic Games Licensing AB and THQ Nordic AB) is a Swedish video game and media holding company based in Karlstad. The company comprises 8 operative groups: Amplifier Game Invest, CDE Entertainment, Coffee Stain Studi ...

announced the acquisition of Massive Miniteam by HandyGames, which will be fully integrated within the HandyGames organization, under the operative group THQ Nordic.

Awards

Deutscher Entwicklerpreis The Deutscher Entwicklerpreis () is a prize for video game development studios from German speaking countries, organized by Aruba Events GmbH. Description The Deutscher Entwicklerpreis was first awarded on 12 November 2004 in Essen. Between 20 ...

— Bestes Studio (Best German Studio)

Games

References

External links

* {{THQ Nordic German companies established in 2000 2018 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Bavaria THQ Nordic divisions and subsidiaries Video game companies established in 2000 Video game companies of Germany Video game development companies Video game publishers