Failbetter Games Explained

Failbetter Games Ltd.
Type:Private
Founders:Alexis Kennedy
Paul Arendt
Location City:London
Location Country:United Kingdom
Key People:Chris Gardiner
Emily Short
Adam Myers
Hannah Flynn
Industry:Video games
Products:Fallen London
Sunless Sea
Sunless Skies
Num Employees:12
Homepage:www.failbettergames.com

Failbetter Games is a British video game developer and interactive fiction studio based in London.

History

Founded in 2009 by Alexis Kennedy and Paul Arendt, Failbetter is chiefly known for its Fallen London Victorian Gothic franchise (comprising, to date, the Fallen London and Silver Tree browser games and the Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies and Mask of the Rose video games), which has garnered a cult following.[1] Failbetter was also commissioned by BioWare to build a browser-game prologue for ,[2] and by UK publisher Harvill Secker to create a puzzle game to accompany The Night Circus.[3] [4] The studio has consistently won acclaim for the quality of its writing, world-building and storytelling.[5] [6]

In 2016, Alexis Kennedy left Failbetter, citing a desire to work with a variety of other studios and work on his own smaller, more experimental projects.[7]

In February 2017, Failbetter ran a successful Kickstarter for a sequel to Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, raising almost half a million dollars. However, December that same year Failbetter unexpectedly laid off four members of staff, citing the under-performance of the Sunless Sea iPad port, and poor sales of their Sunless Skies in early access.[8] [9]

Failbetter was subsequently the target of an extensive but inconclusive investigative report by Eurogamer, which cited Kennedy and other unnamed staff in claiming poor management and a 'toxic' culture had developed since Kennedy's departure.[10]

GamesIndustry.biz awarded Failbetter Games for being one of the best places to work in the games industry in the UK in 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021.[11] [12] [13] [14]

On 8 June 2023 Failbetter released a romantic visual novel set in the Fallen London universe called Mask of the Rose, which is a prequel to the other games in the franchise.[15]

Games developed

YearTitlePlatform(s)
2009Fallen LondonAndroid, Browser, iOS
2012Tales of Fallen London: The Silver TreeBrowser
2014Dragon Age: The Last Court
2015Sunless SeaiOS, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, OS X, PlayStation 4
2019Sunless SkiesLinux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
2023Mask of the RoseLinux, macOS, Microsoft Windows

Notes and References

  1. Web site: How a cult-hit browser game spawned the dark world of 'Sunless Sea'. www.theverge.com.
  2. Web site: The Last Court. PC Games N.
  3. Web site: O'Hara. Jan. Author Interview at Writer Unboxed (Part II). Writer Unboxed. September 9, 2011. January 4, 2012.
  4. Web site: Khan. Yasmeen. The Night Circus. Failbetter Games. September 1, 2011. January 4, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20111222171111/http://blog.failbettergames.com/post/The-Night-Circus.aspx. December 22, 2011. dead.
  5. Web site: Best Words of 2014. Rock Paper Shotgun.
  6. Web site: The City and the Sea. Eurogamer.
  7. Web site: Alexis Kennedy leaving Failbetter Games. Brendan Sinclair.
  8. Web site: Failbetter lay off a few staff and delay Sunless Skies. Alice O'Connor. Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
  9. Web site: Behind the sunless scenes. Tom Phillips. Eurogamer. 2018-02-14. 2018-04-06.
  10. Web site: Behind the sunless scenes. Tom Phillips. Eurogamer. 2018-02-14. 2023-08-24.
  11. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/best-places-to-work-2017?page=2
  12. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/best-places-to-work-2019?page=2
  13. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/here-are-the-winners-of-the-gamesindustry-biz-2020-uk-best-places-to-work-awards
  14. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/who-are-the-2021-best-places-to-work-in-the-uk-games-industry
  15. Web site: Frech. Ricky. December 2, 2020. Failbetter Games Announce Next Game in the Fallen London Universe. Dualshockers. December 3, 2020.