| Supergiant Games, LLC | |
| Type: | Private |
| Industry: | Video games |
| Hq Location City: | San Francisco, California |
| Hq Location Country: | U.S. |
| Key People: | Amir Rao (studio operations) |
| Num Employees: | 25[1] |
| Num Employees Year: | 2024 |
Supergiant Games, LLC is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in San Francisco. It was founded in 2009 by Amir Rao and Gavin Simon, and is known for the games Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades.
Supergiant Games was formed by Amir Rao and Gavin Simon in 2009. Both had been working at the Los Angeles studio of Electronic Arts, involved with the Command & Conquer series.[2] In 2009 they agreed to quit their job, move into the same house, and begin to work on a new game together. Artist Jen Zee became the studio's third member, and, later, its art director.[3] Musician Darren Korb was hired for audio and music work.[4] [5] They employed a number of freelance programmers and developers at various times during the development of their first game.[6] [7]
Their first game, Bastion, received high critical praise, including being listed among several "Game of the Year" lists from game journalists.[8] It was first shown in mid-development at the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo as one of many highlighted indie games.[9] This attracted several publishers who wanted to help distribute the game; Supergiant Games chose Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, leading to the game's distribution on Xbox Live Arcade and also as a premiere title during the 2011 "Summer of Arcade" promotion.[10]
In March 2013, Supergiant Games announced their next title, Transistor, released on May 20, 2014. A promotion video was released on March 19.[11] The game features a female protagonist, Red, in a cyberpunk-like city, who has acquired a powerful weapon that she is nearly killed for possessing.[12] The game features a similar isometric viewpoint to Bastion[13] and was also met with critical acclaim.[14]
In April 2016, Supergiant Games announced their third game, Pyre, released on July 25, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, Linux and PlayStation 4. It was described as a party-based role-playing game.[15] In a break from their previous games, Pyre does not use an isometric viewpoint; the player's party travels across a 2D overworld, and combat takes place in a separate arena. The combat system is also very different, being described as "fantasy basketball".[16] Pyre was again regarded fondly by critics and was named Game Informer best indie RPG for that year.[17]
Supergiant's next game, Hades, was revealed at The Game Awards 2018 and released on September 17, 2020, following an early access release from December 2018. Hades is an action roguelite game based on Greek mythology, where the player character Zagreus uses a combination of weapons, magic, and abilities to defeat enemies in procedurally-generated dungeons and escape from his father, Hades.[18] Hades was met with critical acclaim, selling over 1 million copies and reaching "universal acclaim" status on Metacritic,[19] [20] with several awards won. It was nominated for nine awards at The Game Awards 2020, including for Game of the Year; Hades would end up winning two awards for Best Independent Game and Best Action. Hades wound up winning the best game of the year awards at the 17th British Academy Games Awards, the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, and the 21st Game Developers Choice Awards.[21]
At The Game Awards 2022, Supergiant announced Hades II. Like the original Hades, it is a roguelite game based on Greek mythology and it is currently being developed in early access.[22] [23]
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Genre(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Bastion | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, iOS | Action role-playing | |
| 2014 | Transistor | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Switch, iOS, Apple TV | Action role-playing, turn-based strategy | |
| 2017 | Pyre | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 | Action role-playing, sports | |
| 2020 | Hades | Windows, macOS, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, iOS | Action role-playing, roguelite | |
| 2024 | Hades II | Windows | Action role-playing, roguelite |