Hothead Games Inc. is an independent Canadian

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

History

The studio was founded in 2006 by Steve Bocska, Vlad Ceraldi and Joel DeYoung, all three of which were formerly employed by

Radical Entertainment Radical Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver. The studio is best known for developing '' The Simpsons: Hit & Run'', '' Prototype'' and ''Prototype 2'', as well as entries in the ''Crash Bandicoot'' franchise ...

. However, Bocska left the company in 2007. On 10 March 2009, Ian Wilkinson, who had been

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

of Radical Entertainment since its foundation in 1991 until 2008, became president and chief executive officer of Hothead Games, replacing Ceraldi. In turn, Ceraldi became the studio's director of game development, while DeYoung moved from his

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

position to director of game technology. Following the conclusion of the '' DeathSpank'' series and the departure of its creator

Ron Gilbert Ron Gilbert (born January 1, 1964) is an American video-game designer, programmer, and producer. His games are generally focused on interactive story-telling, and he is arguably best known for his work on several LucasArts adventure games, i ...

in 2011, Hothead Games shifted its development focus entirely to mobile games in response to market trends surrounding mobile devices. In 2015, Hothead Games expanded by opening a studio in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. Th ...

with an initial development team of 25 people, putting the company's employee count at 130. In 2019, Hothead Games established a publishing arm to promote third-party free-to-play titles. On 14 October 2021,

Embracer Group Embracer Group AB (formerly Nordic Games Licensing AB and THQ Nordic AB) is a Swedish video game and media holding company based in Karlstad. The company was established under the name Nordic Games Licensing in 2011 as part of Nordic Games Grou ...

announced that its subsidiary

DECA Games DECA Games is a game publisher and developer of video games that is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. The company's primary focus is on acquiring and operating older free-to-play games as a service. They are the current owners and developers ...

had acquired the Hothead Games titles ''Hero Hunters'' and ''Kill Shot Bravo''. In January 2022, Vlad Ceraldi left Hothead Games to fill the CEO position of independent game developer Offworld Industries.

Games developed

References

External links

* {{Vancouver Corporations 2006 establishments in British Columbia Companies based in Vancouver Video game companies established in 2006 Video game companies of Canada Video game development companies