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Maximum Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in
Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek s ...
. Originally founded in 2009 as a publisher of family-oriented titles for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii, the company shifted to publishing games of all genres for all ages across all platforms shortly after inception. Maximum Games has acted as a sub-publisher and North American distributor for many other major video game publishers including Nacon, Microids, Funcom, and Focus Home Interactive. Some of the most notable franchises they have partnered on include the ''Farming Simulator'' series, '' Five Nights at Freddy's'', '' Bendy and the Ink Machine'', '' Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid'', '' Divinity: Original Sin'', and the ''WRC'' series. Maximum Games expanded into funding and development with a new publishing label in 2018 called Modus Games. In 2019, the company acquired its first studio, Brazilian-based The Balance, Inc. and rebranded it as Modus Studios Brazil.


History

Maximum Games is a privately held California corporation, and was founded as "Maximum Family Games" in 2009 by Christina Seelye and Len Ciciretto. During the 2009 holiday season, the company launched two successful Nintendo DS titles, Junior Brain Trainer and Junior Classic Games, with placement in major US retailers. In 2010, the company published 16 new products for the Nintendo DS, Wii and PC platforms. In the same year, the company was granted third-party publishing status with
Nintendo of America is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards. ...
and Sony Computer Entertainment America, and in 2011, they were granted the same status in Europe with both companies. In 2012, the company also secured its license with
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...
. That May, the company legally changed its name to Maximum Games. Following the rebrand, Maximum Games began rapidly expanding into sales and physical distribution in North America for European publishers, specifically for the seventh console generation. The company's output averaged around eight releases per year, handling packaging, third-party logistics, and negotiating with retailers to secure placements for physical releases. By 2015, the company had invested $2.5 million in future games and shipped a total of 1 million units across all releases. In March 2016, Maximum Games acquired UK-based video game publisher and distributor Avanquest Software Publishing Ltd. The acquisition marked Maximum's move to expand distribution of its games globally, establishing a European sales and marketing position. During this time, they also established a second European subsidiary, Maximum Games Ireland Limited. In 2017, Maximum Games began development of its first fully owned IP, ''
Extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds ( taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed ...
'', which released in the following year. The expansion into development would lay the foundation for its publishing label Modus Games, focusing on AAA publishing services for independent developers. During this same time, the company further developed its European network of partners and retailers, offering games in over 30+ countries. In 2018, Len Ciciretto transitioned out of the company and is no longer a shareholder. In October 2020, Maximum Games entered an agreement with Nacon to handle third-party logistics for their lineup of RIG computer and gaming accessories. Maximum Games began offering direct-to-consumer shipping from its own digital storefront in December 2020. It currently sells partner titles, Modus Games titles, and store exclusive collector's editions. The company was purchased by Swedish firm Zordix AB in November 2021, for a total of $42 million, with additional earnouts of up to $30 million.


Modus Games

In December 2017, Maximum Games created a new division of the company called Modus Games, focused on providing full-service publishing services to independent video game developers. Modus Games' first title published was action-adventure title ''
Extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds ( taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed ...
'', developed by
Iron Galaxy Iron Galaxy Studios, LLC is an American video game developer studio founded on August 14, 2008, and based in Chicago, Illinois, with a second studio in Orlando, Florida that was opened in 2012 and a third studio in Austin, Texas. Iron Galaxy ...
. In 2019, Modus Games purchased the independent Brazilian game studio The Balance, Inc., which it previously partnered with to publish the action game '' Override: Mech City Brawl''. The company was rebranded as Modus Studios Brazil and operates independently of the publishing arm, offering porting, development support, and development of original IPs.


History

Modus Games was first introduced in 2018 when the company was soft launched with the release of Iron Galaxy's ''Extinction''. The company was fully launched in March 2019. Their first title as a publishing label was Finnish developer Frozenbyte's '' Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince'', which received favorable reviews. Modus Games has since partnered with several developers of varying sizes for both physical and digital releases globally. The company has made their first foray into the collectibles market with the announcement of a collector's edition for Dreams Uncorporated's
action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the playe ...
''
Cris Tales ''Cris Tales'' (stylized as ''CrisTales'') is a role-playing video game developed by Colombian indie game studios Dreams Uncorporated and Syck, and published by Modus Games. It was released for Google Stadia, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Pl ...
''. In October 2020, Modus Games initiated an ongoing charitable initiative called Games Giving Back, in which the company donates a portion of each games' profits towards a charity, often in a similar theme to each game being highlighted. The first of these donations was to the Exceptional Women Awardees Foundation, an organization that helps women advance their careers through coaching and mentorship. In January 2022, Modus Games acquired Mane6, the development team behind ''
Them's Fightin' Herds ''Them's Fightin' Herds'' is an indie fighting game developed by Mane6 and published by Maximum Games. It features a cast of all-female ungulate characters fighting each other to find a champion worthy of gaining a magical key that will prote ...
''.


Modus Studios Brazil

Following the release of '' Override: Mech City Brawl'' by Brazilian studio The Balance, Inc., Modus Games purchased and rebranded the developer as Modus Studios Brazil in 2019. The company operates independently of the publishing arm, and has since released a sequel titled '' Override 2: Super Mech League''. It is the company's first developer acquisition under the Modus name. In addition to development, the studio also co-develops and offers porting services for other Modus published games.


List of video games

Games published and/or developed


Notes


Notable titles

*'' A Plague Tale: Innocence'' *'' Bendy and the Ink Machine'' *'' Call of Cthulhu'' *'' Car Mechanic Simulator 2018'' *'' Conan Exiles'' *'' Farming Simulator'' series *'' Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted'' *'' GreedFall'' *'' Infinite Air with Mark McMorris'' *'' Minecraft: Story Mode'' *'' Nickelodeon Kart Racers'' *'' Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid'' *''
SnowRunner ''SnowRunner'' is a 2020 off-road simulation video game developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive. Following on from ''Spintires'' and the sequel '' MudRunner'', the game was announced as ''MudRunner 2'' in August 20 ...
'' *'' Spintires: MudRunner'' *'' The Golf Club 2'' *'' The Sinking City'' *'' The Surge'' *'' Vampyr'' *'' Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood''


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2009 establishments in California Video game companies established in 2009 American companies established in 2009 Video game publishers Video game companies based in California Companies based in Contra Costa County, California Walnut Creek, California Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area