Bigpoint Games
 | |
| GmbH | |
| Industry | Browser games |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Heiko Hubertz |
| Headquarters | Hamburg, Germany |
Key people | Khaled Helioui (CEO) |
Number of employees | 800 (2011) |
| Parent | Youzu Interactive |
| Website | Official page |
Bigpoint GmbH is a German video game developer. The company develops stand-alone browser-based games as well as social network games. Bigpoint also runs a gaming portal website with a number of browser-based massively multiplayer online role playing games it has produced and has over 200 million registered users (announced in June 2011).[1] Bigpoint.com states that 337.104.419 players are registered in the top right corner, as of 10/10/13. NBCU has featured some of Bigpoint's games on the websites of some of its cable channels.
In addition to its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, Bigpoint maintains offices in Berlin, San Francisco, Malta and São Paulo.[2] Some of the company's games include Battlestar Galactica Online, Farmerama, Drakensang Online, DarkOrbit and Seafight. The studio was acquired by Youzu Interactive in 2016 and continues to operate as an independent subsidiary.[3]
History
In 2002, the company was founded by Heiko Hubertz as m.wire GmbH in Hamburg, Germany's second largest city. Heiko Hubertz started this company with a football management game in which every player transfer would cost a small amount for famous football players. Bigpoint's first game was Icefighter, an ice hockey management simulation. Till the end of 2004 there were further games launched, "F1Manager" and "Fussballmanager" (Football Manager in German). In 2005 the company was renamed to e-sport GmbH. In 2006 Samwer brothers with European Founders Fund and beginning of 2007 United Internet invested in the company. The company quickly expanded, having one million registered users in 2006. By 2007, Bigpoint was running 22 browser games.
In June 2008, General Electric and NBC Universal, along with European private-equity group GMT Communications Partners, bought out a 70 percent share of Bigpoint,[4] leaving the remaining 30 percent share under Heiko Hubertz's control.
By 2009, Bigpoint reached more than 100 million users and had a revenue of more than 50 million Euros.
On April 26, 2011, TA Associates and Summit Partners invested $350 million into Bigpoint to become the majority shareholders. On May 16, 2011, Bigpointdotcom posted a video on YouTube.com announcing their new office building. Previous shareholders Comcast Interactive Capital’s Peacock Equity Fund sold their holdings in this transaction. GMT Communications Partners and GE sold a majority of their stakes. Hubertz retained his existing ownership stake in the company.[5]
In May 2011, Bigpoint had more than 800 employees world-wide.
On the 23rd of October 2012, Bigpoint laid off 120 staff members. At the same time Heiko Hubertz stepped down as CEO.[6]
Finally, in March of 2016, the beleaguered developer was acquired by Youzu Interactive in an €80 million ($89.68 million) stock buyout.[3]
Used technology
Games are developed using PHP, Adobe Flash, Java and the Unity engine.
List of games developed by Bigpoint
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List of games published by Bigpoint
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References
- ↑ Bigpoint Surpasses 200 Million Gamers Worldwide, Bigpoint, June 20, 2011
- ↑ Bigpoint, Europe's Leading Multiplayer Game Publisher, Expands Into US Market With Rapid-Fire Launch Schedule, Marketwire, December 3, 2008
- 1 2 Takahashi, Dean (Mar 22, 2016). "China’s Youzu Interactive buys German online game developer Bigpoint for $89.7M". Venturebeat. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
- ↑ Szalai, Georg (June 12, 2008), Peacock Fund Takes Bigpoint Stake, The Hollywood Reporter, retrieved February 3, 2009
- ↑ Online Games Leader Bigpoint Announces Summit Partners and TA Associates to Make $350 Million Investment, Bigpoint, April 26, 2011
- ↑ Bigpoint cuts 120 jobs, CEO leaves role, gamesindustry.biz, Aug 27, 2013
External links
- Online Gaming Outfit Bigpoint Points To Some Big Numbers TechCrunch June 20, 2011
- The Next Wave of Free-to-Play: Licensing Gamasutra June 16, 2011
- Battlestar Galactica Online Surpasses 2 Million Players Jostiq May 26, 2011
- Investors buy majority stake in online game maker Bigpoint for $350M VentureBeat April 25, 2011
- Bigpoint Talks Drakensang Online Massivley March 21, 2011
- Bigpoint expands to US with Electronic Arts digital distribution deal VentureBeat February 28, 2011
- Bigpoint saves Planet Moon game studio with hiring binge VentureBeat January 1, 2011
- Bigpoint in €70 million buy-out, at www.growthbusiness.co.uk, June 9, 2008.
- Bigpoint’s Sale to NBC-GMT a Big Deal: Online gaming company fetches $110 million, signifying continued interest in the space from major media companies and ongoing consumer interest., By JONATHAN MARINO, Mergers & Acquisitions Report via mergersunleashed.com, June 9, 2008.
- Peacock, GMT agree to majority buyout of Bigpoint, siliconindia news bureau, June 12, 2008.
- GMT and NBC Universal take over Bigpoint, Galaxynews.com June 9, 2008.