Rollingmedia Limited (

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 ...

: Roll7) was a British

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 ...

based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Founded in 2008 by Simon Bennett, Tom Hegarty, and John Ribbins, the company initially developed educational games on a contract basis before shifting to original

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 2012. Roll7's ''

OlliOlli ''OlliOlli'' is a skateboarding video game developed and published by Roll7. It was released for PlayStation Vita on 21 January 2014 in North America, and on 22 January 2014 in Europe. The game received a port for Microsoft Windows, OS X and L ...

'', first released in 2014 for the

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

, became highly successful and landed the company a publishing deal. Roll7 later developed '' OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood'' (2015), '' Not a Hero'' (2015), '' Laser League'' (2018), and '' Rollerdrome'' (2022). Since May 2015, all employees were

remote work Remote work (also called telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of work (human activity), working at or from one's home or Third place, another space rather than from ...

ers. Roll7 became a subsidiary of

Private Division Fictions Inc. (formerly Private Division) is an American video game publisher based in Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in December 2017 as a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive. It funds and publishes indie games developed ...

since November 2021, until the studio's closure in 2024.

History

Roll7 was founded by friends Simon Bennett and Tom Hegarty, alongside

creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...

John Ribbins. They had been working together at their "youth multimedia training company" RollingSound when the British television network

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

commissioned the production of a video game for its anti-

knife crime Knife legislation is defined as the body of statutory law or case law promulgated or enacted by a government or other governing jurisdiction that prohibits, criminalizes, or restricts the otherwise legal manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, po ...

season "Disarming Britain". They decided to produce games under a sister venture to RollingSound, establishing Roll7 in 2008. Their game for Channel 4, titled ''Dead Ends'', was released on 25 June 2008. Roll7 continued creating educational games on a contract basis. One such project was ''Focus Pocus'', a game for children with

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple ...

, which Neurocog Solutions released for

NeuroSky NeuroSky, Inc. is a manufacturer of brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies for consumer product applications, which was founded in 2004 in Silicon Valley, California. The company adapts electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG ...

's MindWave headset in February 2012. The studio expressed its desire to develop original

but devised that it needed to save up funds first. An

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

game, ''Gets to the Exit'', was released in July 2012. Although receiving favourable reviews, it was a commercial failure. With the intent of creating games for consoles and

personal computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...

s, Roll7 began developing several prototype games in 2012. They met with James Mardsen, the manager of the

indie game An indie video game or indie game (short for independent video game) is a video game created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A ...

studio FutureLab, in July that year. Mardsen advised them to discuss these prototypes with Shahid Ahmad, a senior

business development Business development entails tasks and processes to develop and implement growth opportunities within and between business organizations. It is a subset of the fields of business, commerce and organizational theory. Business development is the cre ...

manager for

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

. At the time, Ribbins was working on an iOS prototype of a

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

game titled ''OlliOlliOlli'', which he pitched to Ahmad upon Hegarty's request. After playing the game for roughly half an hour, Ahmad requested the game be brought to Sony's

platform. While developing the game, Roll7 consisted of five people. The company released it as ''

'' for the PlayStation Vita in January 2014. The game became a surprise success and won the

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award for the best

sports game A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with video games, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize playing the sport (such ...

in March 2015. This success led to a publishing deal with

Devolver Digital Devolver Digital, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Austin, Texas, specializing in the publishing of indie games. The company was founded in June 2009 by Nigel Lowrie, Harry Miller, Graeme Struthers, Rick Stults, and Mike Wil ...

and the eventual release of a sequel, '' OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood'', in March 2015. During this time, the team grew to seven members. Another Roll7 game, '' Not a Hero'', was published by Devolver Digital in May that year. This project was largely developed by five

freelancers ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

who worked remotely. Bennett described this process as "thoroughly enjoyable" and, consequently, Roll7 shut down its

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

offices in late May 2015 and shifted all company operations to remote work. Also in 2015, Roll7 began working with the publisher

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 ...

on a game that would be "much bigger" than Roll7's forgone games and supported by the UK Games Fund. This was later announced as '' Laser League'' and released in May 2018. In August of that year, Roll7 transferred all development duties for ''Laser League'' to 505 Games, citing that it had to take a break from game development. The studio released ''RunMe'', a free

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...

largely developed by Ribbins, in April 2020. In July of that year, Roll7 signed with

for a "

flow state ''Flow State'' is the debut studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Tash Sultana, released on 31 August 2018, through their own record label, Lonely Lands Records (distributed by Sony Music Australia in Australia, and Mom + Pop elsewhere) ...

" game. The two companies announced ''OlliOlli World'' in April 2021, expecting to release it later that year. In November, Private Division's

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

Take-Two Interactive Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993. The company owns three major Imprint (trade name), publishing labels, Rockstar Games, Zynga and 2K ...

, acquired Roll7 and made it part of the publishing label. Being part of Private Division allowed the studio to stop seeking publishers for each project as it could stick to one partner with similar values. In May 2024, Bloomberg reported that Take-Two planned to close Roll7. Later that month, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick denied the studio's closure. Roll7 was eventually confirmed to be shut down after Take-Two sold Private Division to an undisclosed buyer in November 2024.

Operations

Roll7 operated with via work from home with a few work days in its London offices per month and regular employee meetups elsewhere. The studio claimed to provide a "no- crunch culture" and encouraged employees not to work overtime. As of February 2023, Roll7 employed 55 people.

Games developed

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2008 establishments in England 2024 disestablishments in England 2021 mergers and acquisitions British companies established in 2008 British companies disestablished in 2024 British subsidiaries of foreign companies Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in the London Borough of Lewisham Take-Two Interactive divisions and subsidiaries Video game companies established in 2008 Video game companies disestablished in 2024 Video game development companies