Pixelberry Studios Explained

Pixelberry Studios
Type:Subsidiary
Industry:Game Developer
Predecessors:-->
Successors:-->
Founder:Oliver Miao, Keith Emnett, Winston She
Hq Location City:Mountain View, CA
Hq Location Country:United States
Areas Served:-->
Owners:-->
Parent:Nexon (2017-2024)
Series Entertainment (2024–present)

Pixelberry Studios is a mobile game development company based in Mountain View, California, United States. Founded in 2013 by Oliver Miao, Keith Emnett, and Winston She, Pixelberry develops episodic narrative mobile games for Android and iOS, aiming to create "games with heart,"[1] beginning with Surviving High School and Cause of Death, which deals with themes of bullying, eating disorders and capturing serial killers.[2] [3] Since then, the company has fully released three more mobile games: Hollywood U, High School Story.[4] [5] [6] [7]

History

Pixelberry launched Choices: Stories You Play in August 2016.[8] [9] Like their previous games, Choices: Stories You Play is an interactive narrative game.[10] [11] In it, players can pick "choose your own adventure" stories or "books" across multiple literary genre such as romance, adventure, mystery, fantasy, and horror. Each "book" is divided into "chapters", and chapters are released on a weekly basis. The player character is usually highly customizable, from skin tone to gender.[12] Since the shutdown of their other games, Choices is the flagship game and primary focus for the studio. In November 2017, Pixelberry was acquired by Nexon.[13]

In 2020, a planned plot line in one of Choices most popular titles was leaked, leading to fan backlash and further criticism of racial insensitivity in Choices stories. Pixelberry's CEO issued a personal apology and pledged $100,000 to Black Girls Code, the Black Writers Collective, and the Latinx Writers Collective. He also committed the company to enact more representative writing and hiring practices.[14]

In 2022, Pixelberry launched a sister app to Choices, called StoryLoom which features creator-made, interactive stories.[15] On July 15, 2022, Pixelberry Studios announced that High School Story would have its servers permanently shut down on August 10, 2022.[16]

On January 22, 2024, Pixelberry announced it would shut down StoryLoom on February 29 and lay off 120 employees across multiple departments.[17] [18] [19] Pixelberry was acquired by Series Entertainment in July.[20]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Mobile Games With Heart? Pixelberry In 2015. Strauss. Karsten. Forbes. 2018-04-26. en. 2018-04-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20180426150104/https://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2015/02/02/mobile-games-with-heart-pixelberry-in-2015/. live.
  2. News: Inside The Game: Why Oliver Miao almost left gaming. pocketgamer.biz. 2018-04-26. 2018-04-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20180426212959/http://www.pocketgamer.biz/comment-and-opinion/60428/inside-the-game-why-oliver-miao-almost-left-gaming/. live.
  3. News: After bullying, High School Story tackles body image and eating disorders. Polygon. 19 September 2017. 14 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170614071028/https://www.polygon.com/2014/6/12/5787172/after-bullying-high-school-story-tackles-body-image-and-eating. live.
  4. News: Mobile game takes a stand against cyberbullying. San Francisco Chronicle. 19 September 2017. 19 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170919235338/http://m.sfgate.com/technology/article/Mobile-game-takes-a-stand-against-cyberbullying-5065326.php. live.
  5. News: Pixelberry Studios Tackles Teenagers' Body-Image Issues With A New Mobile Game. TechCrunch. 19 September 2017.
  6. News: 16 percent of teens consider suicide before graduation. This quest is for them. The Washington Post. 19 September 2017. 24 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170924045824/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/12/13/16-percent-of-teens-consider-suicide-before-graduation-this-quest-is-for-them/. live.
  7. News: Priestman . Chris . Ex-EA devs add cyberbullying-themed quests to High School Story to teach players how to deal with the issue themselves . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20171013182828/http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/High+School+Story/news.asp?c=56030 . 13 October 2017 . 19 September 2017 . Pocket Gamer.
  8. Web site: Choices on Twitter. en-US. 2016-08-04 . 2024-03-09.
  9. Web site: Choices on Twitter. en-US. 2016-08-17 . 2024-03-09.
  10. Web site: 2016-08-17 . Cause of Death . 2024-03-09 . Facebook . en-US.
  11. Web site: Choices, the new storytelling game from Pixelberry Studios, is a positive visual novel game with questionable intentions. kastorskorner.com. en-US. 2024-03-09. 2016-09-12. 2018-04-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20180423170025/http://kastorskorner.com/wp/choices-storytelling-game-pixelberry-studios-positive-visual-game-questionable-intentions/. dead.
  12. News: Ray . Somdyuti Datta . Pixelberry's 'Choices' Was the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Escape I Needed . en-US . Wired . 2023-07-29 . 1059-1028 . 2023-07-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230729234521/https://www.wired.com/story/pixelberry-choices-game-escape-alternate-lives/ . live .
  13. News: 2017-11-10 . Nexon acquires High School Story developer Pixelberry Studios . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180426145100/https://venturebeat.com/2017/11/09/nexon-acquires-pixelberry/ . 2018-04-26 . 2018-04-26 . VentureBeat . en-US.
  14. Web site: Archived copy . 2023-07-31 . 2023-07-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230731045410/https://www.pixelberrystudios.com/blog/2020/6/15/representation-at-pixelberry . live .
  15. Web site: October 4, 2023 . Pixelberry Studios Launches StoryLoom Out of Beta to Give Interactive Content Creators Publishing Freedom . Business Wire.
  16. Web site: 2022-07-15 . High School Story and Hollywood U - The Final Sunset . 2024-03-04 . Pixelberry Studios . en-US.
  17. Web site: 2024-01-22 . 2024 Studio Update . 2024-03-04 . Pixelberry Studios . en-US.
  18. Web site: Kerr . Chris . January 17, 2024 . Nexon-owned mobile studio Pixelberry is conducting layoffs . 2024-03-04 . www.gamedeveloper.com . en.
  19. Web site: Patel . Devon J. . February 9, 2024 . Santa Clara County game developer slashes 120 jobs as tech layoffs continue . 2024-03-04 . www.bizjournals.com.
  20. Web site: Blake . Vikki . 2024-07-10 . Series Entertainment acquires mobile game studio Pixelberry Studios . 2024-07-11 . GamesIndustry.biz . en.

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