YoYo Games

YoYo Games Ltd.
Subsidiary of Playtech
Industry Software
Games Development
Genre Game Engine IDE
Desktop, Mobile and Web
Founded 2007 (2007)
Headquarters Dundee, Scotland
Key people
 Sandy Duncan
Mike Dailly
Russell Kay
Products GameMaker
Cross-platform Game development technology
Number of employees
 25–50
Parent Playtech
Website http://yoyogames.com

YoYo Games Ltd. is a software and game publishing company based in Dundee, Scotland. It is best known for developing the proprietary, game development IDE, GameMaker for Windows which can compile cross-platform, originally created by Mark Overmars. On 16 February 2015 the company announced that it had been purchased by Playtech for £10.65 million (16.4 million USD).[1][2]

History

On 26 January 2007, Mark Overmars announced his partnership with a company based in Dundee, Scotland called YoYo Games.[3] The company, headed by CEO Sandy Duncan (ex Vice President of Xbox Europe),[4] was founded to support the future development of GameMaker and to build a community for developers and casual gamers who could upload their games to the website.

The company established its European office in Dundee in May 2010 by opening an office within Abertay University with two team members.[5] The company currently employs more than 25 employees.[6] YoYo Games has announced plans to create an additional 25 positions, over the next 18 months, in systems development, software engineering, sales and customer service.[7] The employees will be hired to help the company keep pace with the rapid evolution of the global games market and demand for Game Maker: Studio.[8] To accommodate this expansion, in June 2013, YoYo Games moved from its old location within Abertay University[8] into new office space on Dundee’s Waterfront redevelopment.[6] On 16 February 2015 it was announced that Playtech acquired YoYo Games for £10.65 million (USD$16.4 million).[9]

Notable GameMaker Games

Title Year Platform
Spelunky September 2009 Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360
Hotline Miami October 2012 Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Android
Gunpoint June 2013 Microsoft Windows, OS X
Perfection June 2013 Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, Android
Samurai Gunn December 2013 Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
Risk of Rain November 2013 Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation Vita
Nidhogg January 2014 Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
Gods Will Be Watching July 2014 Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
Cubesis August 2014 Microsoft Windows
Step January 2015 Microsoft Windows, OS X
BLACKHOLE February 2015 Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
See No Evil March 2015 Microsoft Windows
Maddening Overload April 2015 PlayStation 4
Uncanny Valley April 2015 Microsoft Windows
Samurai Blitz July 2015 iOS
Orbit August 2015 Microsoft Windows, OS X, Xbox One
Undertale September 2015 Microsoft Windows
Nuclear Throne December 2015 Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One
Hyper Light Drifter March 2016 Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One
Orphan TBA Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Death's Gambit TBA TBA

Controversy

Digital rights management

In late 2012/early 2013, YoYo Games released a version of their Studio IDE for cross-platform development that would import games and destroy all of the image type resources for some legitimate purchasers of the software by superimposing a pirate symbol on top of the image.[10][11] This was due to a fault in their Digital Rights Management software implementation which they use as a method of combating infringing copies of the software.[12][13] YoYoGames publicly stated they would remove the DRM at a later point in time,[14] but that other less-invasive DRM techniques would remain.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "YoYo Games sells to PlayTech for $16.4 million". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "PlayTech buys GameMaker creator YoYo Games for £10m". develop-online.net. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Public announcement from Mark Overmars, Game Maker Community
  4. ↑ "It's a Web, Web, Web 2.0 world". cnn.com. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "News Article". Dundee Waterfront. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Dundee's YoYo Games looks to next level - News / Business / The Courier". Thecourier.co.uk. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "YoYo Games to Double its Staff to 50". Interactive Tayside. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  8. 1 2 scottishgames (23 April 2013). "YoYo Games Expanding, Recruiting New Staff, Moving To New Office | Scottish Games Network". Scottishgames.net. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "YoYo Games sells to PlayTech for $16.4 million".
  10. ↑ "Skull & Crossbones Vandalize Studio Games". Game Maker Blog. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Game Maker Studio DRM Misfires; Permanently Replaces Created Game Resources With Pirate Symbols". Techdirt. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  12. ↑ David Hing (27 November 2012). "Game Maker accidentally brands customers as pirates | bit-gamer.net". Bit-tech.net. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  13. ↑ Chapple, Craig (29 November 2012). "Gamemaker anti-piracy bug destroys developer assets | Latest news from the game development industry | Develop". Develop-online.net. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  14. ↑ "GameMaker Studio DRM Bug Trashes Legit Resources". Defy Media, LLC. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  15. ↑ "Game Maker DRM Permanently Vandalizing Paying Users' Games". Entertainment Consumers Association. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
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