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Mediatonic

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Mediatonic Limited
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedSeptember 2005; 19 years ago (2005-09) in Uxbridge, England
Founders
  • Dave Bailey
  • Paul Croft
Headquarters
London
,
England
Key people
  • Dave Bailey (CEO)
  • Paul Croft (CGO)
Products
Number of employees
230 (2020)
ParentTonic Games Group (2020–present)
Websitemediatonicgames.com

Mediatonic Limited is a British video game developer based in London. The company was founded in September 2005 by Brunel University students Dave Bailey and Paul Croft, releasing their first game, Snowman Salvage in December that year. Initially a work-for-hire studio for Flash games, Mediatonic has developed original games for other platforms, including Murder by Numbers and Fall Guys. As of June 2020, Mediatonic employs 230 people in four studios and is part of Tonic Games Group, which is a subsidiary of Epic Games since March 2021.

History

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Mediatonic was founded in September 2005 by friends Dave Bailey and Paul Croft, both aged 21 at the time, during their final year at Brunel University.[1][2] They decided on the opening in a drunken conversation at the university's student union bar.[3] With an office near the campus, they set up the company as a work-for-hire studio to create Flash games and sometimes skipped lectures to accept calls from clients.[2][4] Snowman Salvage, a game that was part of Croft's dissertation, was Mediatonic's first release in December 2005.[1][4]

PopCap Games, Big Fish Games and PlayFirst were early Mediatonic clients and, among others, Mediatonic produced Flash conversions of Bejeweled, Bookworm, Diner Dash and Poppit!. It also created Amateur Surgeon, an original game, for Adult Swim Games.[2][3][4] Mediatonic was profitable enough in its first year that, following Bailey and Croft's graduation, the studio moved to a former government building in Westminster in February 2006 and hired ten employees.[1][2] Other early games by Mediatonic included Meowcenaries, Gigolo Assassin, Must Eat Birds, and Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess.[5] Having reached 25 employees, Mediatonic moved to new offices near Covent Garden in February 2008.[1]

In July 2009, Mediatonic opened a studio in Brighton to act as a digital media agency, later spun out into a company named Graphite.[1] Mediatonic received funding from entrepreneurs Kelly Sumner, Ian Livingstone and Geoff Heath in April 2010, and from Frog Capital in January 2012.[1] Pete Hickman, a former executive producer for Eidos Interactive, joined Mediatonic as its head of production in July 2011.[6][7] Planning to double its 50-strong headcount, Mediatonic moved its London headquarters to Soho in May 2012.[1][8] Mediatonic opened a Brighton development studio that October.[9] According to Bailey, Mediatonic began giving original games and work-for-hire projects equal weight and the company grew as a result.[10] It later branched out into publishing, opening The Irregular Corporation as a sister company in December 2015.[1][10]

Mediatonic moved into Shell Mex House, London, in April 2017.[1] In July, a five-person team was established in a co-working space in Madrid, and expanded into a proper office in July 2019.[1][11] A sister development studio, Fortitude Games, was established in Guildford in 2018.[4] Frog Capital sold its share in Mediatonic to Synova Capital, making a 7.4-times return on its investment.[12] A fourth studio for Mediatonic in Leamington Spa was announced in February 2020.[13] Also in early 2020, Mediatonic established its headquarters in an office above London Victoria station, although it went largely unused due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing the company to make employees work from home.[10]

Bailey and Croft established Tonic Games Group as a parent company for Mediatonic, The Irregular Corporation, and Fortitude Games, moving 35 employees to Tonic Games Group, while Mediatonic had a staff of 230.[4][10] On 2 March 2021, Epic Games announced that it had acquired Tonic Games Group, including Mediatonic.[14] In September 2023, Mediatonic was subjected to deep job cuts by its parent company. Though it was first speculated that the entire studio had been closed, that proved not to be the case.[15]

Games developed

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Year Title Publisher Platform(s)
2005 Snowman Salvage Shockwave Web
Beetle Bomp iWin Web
2006 Air Control Lufthansa Web
2007 Lego Pirates: Quest for Brickbeard's Bounty The Lego Group Web
Operation Challenge Pogo.com Web
Mystery Case Files: Millionheir Nintendo Web
PlaySega Blackjack Sega Web
Mah Jong Amazon Adventure Sega Web
Brain Assist! Sega Web
Letter Linker Sega Web
Addiction Solitaire Shockwave Web
Tequila Trouble William Grant & Sons Web
Mole Hunt Pogo.com Web
Homerun Hero Shockwave Web
Horizon AstraZeneca Web
SiteAdvisor Challenge McAfee Web
Diamond Detective Gamehouse Web
Battleships! Sega Web
Meat Match Boonty Web
Bubble Bubble Sega Web
Super Collapse! Gamehouse Web
Little Shop of Treasures Gamehouse Web
2008 Turbo Solitaire Sega Web
Text Twist Sega Web
Sudoku Sega Web
Greedy Gang Mediatonic Web
Portal Peril Nickelodeon Web
Penguin Panic Mediatonic Web
Word Whomp Mini Pogo.com Web
Poppit! Mini Stressbuster Pogo.com Web
Poppit! Stressbuster Pogo.com Web
Bookworm PopCap Games Web
Bejeweled 2 PopCap Games Web
Diner Dash PlayFirst Web
Bejeweled 2 PopCap Games Web
Inca Quest iWin Web
Talismania PopCap Games Web
Manor Mystery Boonty Web
Gigolo Assassin Adult Swim Web
Aquatic Word Burst Sega Web
Ice Shuffle Sega Web
Greek Island Solitaire Sega Web
Beijing 2008, High Dive Sega Web
Beijing 2008, Archery Sega Web
Beijing 2008, Weightlifting Sega Web
Hidden Expedition Titanic Big Fish Games Web
Bureaucracy Buster AstraZeneca Web
Amateur Surgeon Adult Swim Web, iOS
Trivial Pursuit Quiz Electronic Arts Web
Crestor Challenge AstraZeneca Web
Travelogue 360 Rome Big Fish Games Web
Azada Big Fish Games Web
Sonic at the Olympic Games Sega Web
Music, Melodies and Rockstars Sega Web
The Quiz of Culinary Delights Sega Web
Back to the 80s Quiz Sega Web
Hollywood Adventure Quiz Sega Web
Three Reel Slots Sega Web
Columns Sega Web
Sega Pool Sega Web
2009 Commanders Sierra Entertainment Web
Diego's Underwater Adventures Nickelodeon Web
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training 2 Namco Bandai Games Feature Phones
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Exercise, Line Up Namco Bandai Games Web
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Exercise, Reverse Dice Namco Bandai Games Web
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Exercise, Follow the Pencil Namco Bandai Games Web
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Exercise, Predominant Number Namco Bandai Games Web
Hidden Expedition Titanic Big Fish Games Web
Hidden Expedition Titanic MSN Search Special Big Fish Games Web
Hidden Expedition Everest MSN Search Special Big Fish Games Web
Hidden Expedition Everest Big Fish Games Web
Travelogue 360 London Big Fish Games Web
Travelogue 360 Paris Big Fish Games Web
Amateur Surgeon Christmas Adult Swim Web, iOS
Fast & Furious Sierra Entertainment Facebook, Myspace
SpongeBob SquarePants: Hooked on You Nickelodeon Web
Sonic Level Creator Sega Web
Steamweavers Mediatonic Myspace
Toy Story: Woody's Great Escape Pixar Web
Suite Life on Deck: Smoothie Service Disney Web
Kid Vs. Kat: Katapult Katastrophe Disney Web
Biker Blast-Off! The Gadget Show iOS
Meowcenaries Adult Swim Web, iOS
Extreme Lawn Bowls Mediatonic Web
Must.Eat.Birds Mediatonic iOS, Android
2010 Amateur Surgeon 2 Adult Swim Web, iOS, Android
Vancouver 2010, Slalom Sega Web
Vancouver 2010, Ski Jump Sega Web
Vancouver 2010, Speed Skating Sega Web
Vancouver 2010, Snowboarding Sega Web
Moshling Boshling Mind Candy Web
Boom Bandits Spil Games Web
Who's That Flying?! Mediatonic iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess Mediatonic PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
MicroGP Mediatonic Facebook
Pirate King Mediatonic Facebook
Ocean Snapper Mediatonic Myspace, Facebook
Back to the Future: Blitz Through Time Telltale Games Facebook, Online
2011 1000 Tiny Claws Mediatonic PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3
Amateur Ninja Adult Swim Web
Thundercats: Tree of the Ancients Warner Bros. Web
2012 Robot Unicorn Attack: Evolution Adult Swim Facebook
Amateur Surgeon Hospital Adult Swim Facebook
Superbia Disney Web
2013 Moshi Monsters: Lost Islands GREE iOS
Qwirkle Square Enix iOS, Android, Facebook
Foul Play Devolver Digital Xbox Live Arcade, Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
Amateur Surgeon 3: Tag Team Trauma Adult Swim iOS, Android
2014 Delivery Outlaw Adult Swim iOS
Secrets and Treasure Microsoft Studios Windows 8
Hatoful Boyfriend Devolver Digital Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
2015 Heavenstrike Rivals Square Enix Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows
Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star Devolver Digital Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
2016 Bounty Stars DeNA West Android, iOS
Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World WB Games Android, iOS
2017 New Yahtzee with Buddies Scopely Android, iOS
2018 Fable Fortune Microsoft Studios Microsoft Windows, Xbox One
2019 Gears Pop! Xbox Game Studios Android, iOS
2020 Murder by Numbers The Irregular Corporation Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows
Fall Guys Devolver Digital, Epic Games Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Company". Mediatonic. 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Parkin, Simon (8 October 2010). "From Flash To Minis: Mediatonic On Creating Tiny Wonders". Gamasutra.
  3. ^ a b Edge Staff (30 September 2010). "Mediatonic's Rise". Edge. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e Takahashi, Dean (18 June 2020). "Tonic Games Group will manage multiple game studios and publishing operations". VentureBeat.
  5. ^ Edge Staff (30 September 2010). "Mediatonic's Rise – Page 2 of 2". Edge. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013.
  6. ^ Orland, Kyle (11 July 2011). "Eidos' Pete Hickman Joins Mediatonic As Head Of Production". Gamasutra.
  7. ^ Weber, Rachel (11 July 2011). "Eidos exec producer joins Mediatonic". GamesIndustry.biz.
  8. ^ Weber, Rachel (2 April 2012). "Mediatonic planning to double headcount". GamesIndustry.biz.
  9. ^ Weber, Rachel (2 October 2012). "New Brighton studio for Mediatonic". GamesIndustry.biz.
  10. ^ a b c d Wallace, Chris (18 June 2020). "Mediatonic launches 300-strong Tonic Games Group – "It means that we can all be much more resilient and stand the test of time"". MCV/Develop.
  11. ^ Batchelor, James (8 July 2019). "Mediatonic opens new Spanish studio". GamesIndustry.biz.
  12. ^ Reid, Mike (6 June 2019). "7.4 x return on the sale of Frog's stake in Mediatonic". Frog Capital.
  13. ^ Kerr, Chris (3 February 2020). "Fall Guys developer Mediatonic to open new UK studio". Gamasutra.
  14. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (2 March 2021). "Epic Games Has Acquired Fall Guys Developer Mediatonic". IGN. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  15. ^ Phillips, Tom (29 September 2023). "Fall Guys developer hit hard by Epic Games layoffs, but studio to remain open". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
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