Fatshark is a Swedish

video game development Video game development (or gamedev) is the process of developing a video game. The effort is undertaken by a developer, ranging from a single person to an international team dispersed across the globe. Development of traditional commercial PC a ...

studio based in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden. The studio is located in Stockholm. Fatshark acted as a subcontractor for several AAA titles for PC and consoles, and the studio also develops its own games. In January 2021,

Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...

acquired majority control of the studio.

History

Fatshark originated from a company called Northplay, which subcontracted for various Swedish companies between 2003 and 2008. The company is best known for its involvement with the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

and the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

; developing for both, ''

Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 ''Bionic Commando Rearmed 2'' is a run-and-gun platform game developed by Fatshark and published by Capcom. A sequel to the '' Bionic Commando Rearmed'', it features enhancements to protagonist Rad Spencer's bionic arm, which he primarily uses t ...

'' and versions of their

PC game A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...

'' Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West''. In January 2019,

acquired about a 36% stake in Fatshark in a deal worth approximately (around ). Later, in January 2021, it was reported that Tencent had acquired a majority stake in the company valued at around 2.2 billion sek (around million).

Released and future games

As a recent and smaller developer, Fatshark has had some degree of success with its early releases. In 2010, Fatshark released '' Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West'' for PC. Described as "''

Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...

'' meets Wild West", the game received a 7.0 rating from GameSpot. A subsequent 2011 release, ''

Hamilton's Great Adventure ''Hamilton's Great Adventure'' is a puzzle game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Android. The game was the first self-published title from the Swedish developer Fatshark, which was considered a surprising change in the developer's choice ...

'' was received as a surprising change in the developer's choice of gameplay and genre as it focused more on single-player elements with a relatively low learning curve. Several gaming news outlets covered the company's 2012 release-announcement and footage of ''

Krater A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water. Form and function At a Greek symposium, krat ...

'', a

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

. Fatshark later released ''

War of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

'' in 2012, and received a 7.5 rating from GameSpot, 8.0 rating from Eurogamer, and was listed in the Guardian as one of the best games to play in the autumn of 2012. The critics promoted the game for its innovativeness and "freshness", but also noted a rather steep learning curve. ''

War of the Vikings ''War of the Vikings'' was a multiplayer hack and slash video game developed by Fatshark and published by Paradox Interactive. The game was announced at the Paradox Platypus Homecoming Event on 7 August 2013 in Sydney, Australia. The game is a fo ...

'' was later released in 2014 as the next installment in the War Franchise. The game added new features such as special attacks, a new Arena mode and the ability to throw weapons, and was set during the Viking Age rather than 15th century England. In November 2014, Fatshark released ''

Escape Dead Island ''Escape Dead Island'' is an adventure survival horror video game developed by Swedish developer Fatshark, published by German studio Deep Silver and distributed by Square Enix in North America for PS3 and Xbox 360 and Valve for PC. It is the sec ...

'', an adventure survival horror game set in Deep Silver's ''Dead Island'' universe, and is met with mostly negative reviews from game critics. In 2015, the company released '' Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide'', which sold more than 500,000 units. This was followed by its sequel, '' Warhammer: Vermintide 2'', released in 2018. '' Warhammer 40,000: Darktide'' was released in November 2022.

Games

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Companies based in Stockholm Video game companies established in 2008 2021 mergers and acquisitions Privately held companies of Sweden Video game companies of Sweden Video game development companies Swedish companies established in 2008 Tencent divisions and subsidiaries