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YoYo Games

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YoYo Games Ltd.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded2007; 17 years ago (2007)
Founders
  • Michel Cassius
  • Sandy Duncan
  • Spencer Hyman
  • James North-Hearn
HeadquartersDundee, Scotland, UK
Key people
Russell Kay (Senior Product Director)
ProductsGameMaker
ParentPlaytech (2015–2021)
Opera (2021–present)
Websitegamemaker.io

YoYo Games is a British software development company based in Dundee, Scotland. From February 2015 to January 2021, the company was owned by Playtech; afterwards, it was sold to Opera to launch its new gaming division.

History

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YoYo Games was founded in 2007 by Michel Cassius, Sandy Duncan, Spencer Hyman and James North-Hearn, former entertainment and video game industry executives. Duncan was appointed chief executive officer of the company.[1] On 26 January 2007, Mark Overmars announced his partnership with a company based in Dundee, Scotland, called YoYo Games.[2][3]

The company established its European office in Dundee in May 2010 by opening an office within Abertay University with two team members.[4] The company currently employs more than 25 employees.[5] YoYo Games has announced plans to create an additional 25 positions, over the next 18 months, in systems development, software engineering, sales and customer service.[6] The employees will be hired to help the company keep pace with the rapid evolution of the global games market and demand for Game Maker: Studio.[7] To accommodate this expansion, in June 2013, YoYo Games moved from its old location within Abertay University[7] into new office space on Dundee’s Waterfront redevelopment.[5] On 16 February 2015 it was announced that Playtech acquired YoYo Games for £10.65 million (USD$16.4 million).[8][9] Shortly thereafter, Duncan stepped down from his position.[10] He was later replaced by James Cox as general manager, who himself stepped down in October 2018 to be replaced by Stuart Poole in January 2019.[11]

Playtech sold YoYo Games to Opera for US$10 million in January 2021. Opera announced with YoYo's acquisition, it was launching a new Opera Gaming division alongside their browser software.[12][13]

In February 2021, Stuart Poole left the role of General Manager and Russell Kay was named Senior Product Director (Head of GameMaker)[14]

References

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  1. ^ "YoYo Games". University of California, Santa Barbara.
  2. ^ Public announcement from Mark Overmars, Game Maker Community
  3. ^ Schonfeld, Erick; Yen, Yi-Wyn. "It's a Web, Web, Web 2.0 world". CNN Money. CNN. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  4. ^ "YoYo Games Expands Into Dundee Waterfront". Dundee Waterfront. Dundee City Council. 22 April 2013. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  5. ^ a b Williamson, James (23 April 2013). "Dundee's YoYo Games looks to next level - The Courier". The Courier. DC Thomson. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  6. ^ "YoYo Games to Double its Staff to 50". Interactive Tayside. 22 April 2013. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  7. ^ a b scottishgames (23 April 2013). "YoYo Games Expanding, Recruiting New Staff, Moving To New Office | Scottish Games Network". Scottish Games Network. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  8. ^ Pearson, Dan (16 February 2015). "YoYo Games sells to PlayTech for $16.4 million". GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  9. ^ Chapple, Craig (16 February 2015). "PlayTech buys GameMaker creator YoYo Games for £10m". Develop. NewBay. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  10. ^ Judge, Alysia (17 February 2015). "YoYo Games CEO steps down following $16 million Playtech deal". Pocket Gamer.biz.
  11. ^ Handrahan, Matthew (16 January 2019). "YoYo Games promotes Stuart Poole to general manager". GamesIndustry.biz.
  12. ^ Kerr, Chris (19 January 2021). "Playtech sells GameMaker Studio maker YoYo Games for $10 million". Gamasutra. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  13. ^ Takahashi, Dean (20 January 2021). "Opera acquires YoYo Games for $10 million and launches Opera Gaming division". Venture Beat. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  14. ^ GameMaker Update 2022, retrieved 22 April 2022
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