Hothead Games Closes After 18 Years
Image Credit: Hothead Games
Hothead Games, a game studio in Vancouver, has closed after being in business for 18 years. The studio was started in 2006 and was known for making games for mobile, PC, and consoles.
Ian Wilkinson, the president of Hothead, said the company had to declare bankruptcy after it couldn’t secure a deal for its latest big project. The game was a cross-platform title meant for both mobile and console. However, both publishers backed out. The mobile publisher reportedly had a “change in strategy,” which led to the collapse of the deal.
It’s unclear how many people lost their jobs. According to its LinkedIn page, the studio had between 51 and 200 employees. In 2023, its website mentioned it had over 40 developers, plus a tech team, marketing staff, QA testers, and artists. Hothead had described itself as one of Canada’s biggest indie mobile game studios.
The company officially closed on December 13, 2024.
What Hothead Made
Hothead Games worked on many projects, offering support, co-development, and porting for mobile, PC, and console games. Some of the games it worked on include Box Office Tycoon, Hero Hunters, Kill Shot Bravo, and Super Hit Baseball.
A Look Back at Hothead’s History
When it started in 2006, Hothead made downloadable games for PC and consoles. It partnered with the creators of the Penny Arcade web comic to make its first games. Later, it shifted to making premium mobile games and eventually moved to free-to-play titles.
The studio also worked on sports games under the Big Win brand and shooting games like Rivals at War. In recent years, Hothead shifted to “work-for-hire,” helping other companies by porting games to consoles and developing mobile titles.
In a LinkedIn post, Wilkinson shared how the company struggled to keep up with changing trends. “We started making idle games but were too late to the market,” he explained. Hothead then pivoted back to working with other companies and subcontracting for larger studios.
Why Hothead Closed
In the past year, Hothead developed a playable demo for a big game and hoped to sign deals to create both mobile and console versions. Both deals were close to being finalized, but things fell apart at the last minute. The mobile publisher dropped out due to a change in strategy. Two weeks later, the console publisher backed out as well.
Wilkinson said these failed deals left the studio with no choice but to declare bankruptcy.
Recommended
