Mediatonic Explained

Mediatonic Limited
Type:Subsidiary
Industry:Video games
Founded: in Uxbridge, England
Hq Location City:London
Hq Location Country:England
Num Employees:230
Num Employees Year:2020
Parent:Tonic Games Group (2020–present)

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

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.[4] Snowman Salvage, a game that was part of Croft's dissertation, was Mediatonic's first release in December 2005.

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. 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. 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.

In July 2009, Mediatonic opened a studio in Brighton to act as a digital media agency, later spun out into a company named Graphite. Mediatonic received funding from entrepreneurs Kelly Sumner, Ian Livingstone and Geoff Heath in April 2010, and from Frog Capital in January 2012. 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.[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.

Mediatonic moved into Shell Mex House, London, in April 2017. In July, a five-person team was established in a co-working space in Madrid, and expanded into a proper office in July 2019.[11] A sister development studio, Fortitude Games, was established in Guildford in 2018. 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.

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. 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

YearTitlePublisherPlatform(s)
2005Snowman SalvageShockwaveWeb
Beetle BompiWinWeb
2006Air ControlLufthansaWeb
2007Lego Pirates: Quest for Brickbeard's BountyThe Lego GroupWeb
Operation ChallengePogo.comWeb
Mystery Case Files: MillionheirNintendoWeb
PlaySega BlackjackSegaWeb
Mah Jong Amazon AdventureSegaWeb
Brain Assist!SegaWeb
Letter LinkerSegaWeb
Addiction SolitaireShockwaveWeb
Tequila TroubleWilliam Grant & SonsWeb
Mole HuntPogo.comWeb
Homerun HeroShockwaveWeb
HorizonAstraZenecaWeb
SiteAdvisor ChallengeMcAfeeWeb
Diamond DetectiveGamehouseWeb
Battleships!SegaWeb
Meat MatchBoontyWeb
Bubble BubbleSegaWeb
Super Collapse!GamehouseWeb
Little Shop of TreasuresGamehouseWeb
2008Turbo SolitaireSegaWeb
Text TwistSegaWeb
SudokuSegaWeb
Greedy GangMediatonicWeb
Portal PerilNickelodeonWeb
Penguin PanicMediatonicWeb
Word Whomp MiniPogo.comWeb
Poppit! Mini StressbusterPogo.comWeb
Poppit! StressbusterPogo.comWeb
BookwormPopCap GamesWeb
Bejeweled 2PopCap GamesWeb
Diner DashPlayFirstWeb
Bejeweled 2PopCap GamesWeb
Inca QuestiWinWeb
TalismaniaPopCap GamesWeb
Manor MysteryBoontyWeb
Gigolo AssassinAdult SwimWeb
Aquatic Word BurstSegaWeb
Ice ShuffleSegaWeb
Greek Island SolitaireSegaWeb
Beijing 2008, High DiveSegaWeb
Beijing 2008, ArcherySegaWeb
Beijing 2008, WeightliftingSegaWeb
Hidden Expedition TitanicBig Fish GamesWeb
Bureaucracy BusterAstraZenecaWeb
Amateur SurgeonAdult SwimWeb, iOS
Trivial Pursuit QuizElectronic ArtsWeb
Crestor ChallengeAstraZenecaWeb
Travelogue 360 RomeBig Fish GamesWeb
AzadaBig Fish GamesWeb
Sonic at the Olympic GamesSegaWeb
Music, Melodies and RockstarsSegaWeb
The Quiz of Culinary DelightsSegaWeb
Back to the 80s QuizSegaWeb
Hollywood Adventure QuizSegaWeb
Three Reel SlotsSegaWeb
ColumnsSegaWeb
Sega PoolSegaWeb
2009CommandersSierra EntertainmentWeb
Diego's Underwater AdventuresNickelodeonWeb
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training 2Namco Bandai GamesFeature Phones
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Exercise, Line UpNamco Bandai GamesWeb
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Exercise, Reverse DiceNamco Bandai GamesWeb
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Exercise, Follow the PencilNamco Bandai GamesWeb
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Exercise, Predominant NumberNamco Bandai GamesWeb
Hidden Expedition TitanicBig Fish GamesWeb
Hidden Expedition Titanic MSN Search SpecialBig Fish GamesWeb
Hidden Expedition Everest MSN Search SpecialBig Fish GamesWeb
Hidden Expedition EverestBig Fish GamesWeb
Travelogue 360 LondonBig Fish GamesWeb
Travelogue 360 ParisBig Fish GamesWeb
Amateur Surgeon ChristmasAdult SwimWeb, iOS
Fast & FuriousSierra EntertainmentFacebook, Myspace
SpongeBob SquarePants: Hooked on YouNickelodeonWeb
Sonic Level CreatorSegaWeb
SteamweaversMediatonicMyspace
Toy Story: Woody's Great EscapePixarWeb
Suite Life on Deck: Smoothie ServiceDisneyWeb
Kid Vs. Kat: Katapult KatastropheDisneyWeb
Biker Blast-Off!The Gadget ShowiOS
MeowcenariesAdult SwimWeb, iOS
Extreme Lawn BowlsMediatonicWeb
Must.Eat.BirdsMediatoniciOS, Android
2010Amateur Surgeon 2Adult SwimWeb, iOS, Android
Vancouver 2010, SlalomSegaWeb
Vancouver 2010, Ski JumpSegaWeb
Vancouver 2010, Speed SkatingSegaWeb
Vancouver 2010, SnowboardingSegaWeb
Moshling BoshlingMind CandyWeb
Boom BanditsSpil GamesWeb
Who's That Flying?!MediatoniciOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3
Monsters (Probably) Stole My PrincessMediatonicPlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
MicroGPMediatonicFacebook
Pirate KingMediatonicFacebook
Ocean SnapperMediatonicMyspace, Facebook
Back to the Future: Blitz Through TimeTelltale GamesFacebook, Online
20111000 Tiny ClawsMediatonicPlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3
Amateur NinjaAdult SwimWeb
Thundercats: Tree of the AncientsWarner Bros.Web
2012Robot Unicorn Attack: EvolutionAdult SwimFacebook
Amateur Surgeon HospitalAdult SwimFacebook
SuperbiaDisneyWeb
2013Moshi Monsters: Lost IslandsGREEiOS
QwirkleSquare EnixiOS, Android, Facebook
Foul PlayDevolver DigitalXbox Live Arcade, Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
Amateur Surgeon 3: Tag Team TraumaAdult SwimiOS, Android
2014Delivery OutlawAdult SwimiOS
Secrets and TreasureMicrosoft StudiosWindows 8
Hatoful BoyfriendDevolver DigitalWindows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
2015Heavenstrike RivalsSquare EnixAndroid, iOS, Microsoft Windows
2016Bounty StarsDeNA WestAndroid, iOS
Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding WorldWB GamesAndroid, iOS
2017New Yahtzee with BuddiesScopelyAndroid, iOS
2018Fable FortuneMicrosoft StudiosMicrosoft Windows, Xbox One
2019Gears Pop!Xbox Game StudiosAndroid, iOS
2020Murder by NumbersThe Irregular CorporationNintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows
Fall GuysDevolver Digital, Epic GamesMicrosoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Company . 2019 . Mediatonic.
  2. Web site: From Flash To Minis: Mediatonic On Creating Tiny Wonders . Simon . Parkin . 8 October 2010 . Gamasutra.
  3. Mediatonic's Rise . Edge Staff . 30 September 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20130403182001/http://www.edge-online.com/features/mediatonics-rise/ . 3 April 2013 . dead.
  4. Web site: Tonic Games Group will manage multiple game studios and publishing operations . Dean . Takahashi . 18 June 2020 . VentureBeat.
  5. Mediatonic's Rise – Page 2 of 2 . Edge Staff . 30 September 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20130618041022/http://www.edge-online.com/features/mediatonics-rise/2/ . 18 June 2013 . dead.
  6. Web site: Eidos' Pete Hickman Joins Mediatonic As Head Of Production . Kyle . Orland . 11 July 2011 . Gamasutra.
  7. Web site: Eidos exec producer joins Mediatonic . Rachel . Weber . 11 July 2011 . GamesIndustry.biz.
  8. Web site: Mediatonic planning to double headcount . Rachel . Weber . 2 April 2012 . GamesIndustry.biz.
  9. Web site: New Brighton studio for Mediatonic . Rachel . Weber . 2 October 2012 . GamesIndustry.biz.
  10. Mediatonic launches 300-strong Tonic Games Group – "It means that we can all be much more resilient and stand the test of time" . Chris . Wallace . 18 June 2020 . MCV/Develop.
  11. Web site: Mediatonic opens new Spanish studio . James . Batchelor . 8 July 2019 . GamesIndustry.biz.
  12. Web site: 7.4 x return on the sale of Frog's stake in Mediatonic . Mike . Reid . 6 June 2019 . Frog Capital.
  13. Web site: Fall Guys developer Mediatonic to open new UK studio . Chris . Kerr . 3 February 2020 . Gamasutra.
  14. Web site: Epic Games Has Acquired Fall Guys Developer Mediatonic . Adam . Bankhurst . 2 March 2021 . . 2 March 2021.
  15. News: Phillips . Tom . 29 September 2023 . Fall Guys developer hit hard by Epic Games layoffs, but studio to remain open . 3 March 2024 . Eurogamer.net . en.