505 Games

505 Games S.p.A.

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video games
Founded	2006; 18 years ago (2006)
Headquarters	Milan , Italy
Parent	Digital Bros
Subsidiaries	505 Mobile DR Studios Hawken Entertainment Infinity Plus Two
Website	505games.com

505 Games S.p.A. is an Italian video game publisher based in Milan.^[1] It was founded in 2006 as a subsidiary of Milan-based Digital Bros.

History

505 Games was founded in 2006 in Milan as a subsidiary of Digital Bros.^[2] The company found its early success through its video games such as Cooking Mama and Zumba Fitness.^[3]

In April 2012, 505 Games took over publishing duties from THQ for the fitness game Adidas MiCoach, following a lawsuit between THQ and Adidas.^[4] In April 2013, they acquired the license of Drawn To Life series. The purchase included rights to the franchise as a whole.^[5] In November 2013, it canceled Ashes Cricket 2013 and issued refunds.^[6] In April 2014, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with Adam Orth's Three One Zero of the game Adrift. The game is described as a first-person experience, where the player controls an astronaut exploring debris of a wrecked station in outer space.^[7] In January 2015, 505 Games confirmed the acquisition of the intellectual property (IP) rights to the multi-award-winning Game of the Year 2013,^[8] Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons from Starbreeze Studios.^[9] In April 2015, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with Swedish game developer Starbreeze for the game Overkill's The Walking Dead, which released in late 2018.^[10] A month later, 505 Games announced a publishing agreement with game developer Overkill Software for the game Payday 2 Crimewave Edition.^[11] In August 2016, 505 Games announced it would be publishing Virginia from Variable State.^[12]

In March 2015, 505 Games purchased 2.67% stock of Swedish game developer Starbreeze Studios.^[13] In January 2016, 505 Games announced that they will shift their focus from publishing games for other developers to developing their own intellectual properties.^[14] In October 2016, 505 Games has announced through Koji Igarashi, their collaboration in publishing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night from Igarashi's own ArtPlay, DICO and Inti Creates, though Inti's involvement has been reduced.^[15] At the Sony E3 press conference on 11 June 2018, 505 Games announced a partnership with Remedy Entertainment to publish Control.^[16]

505 Games acquired Australia-based Infinity Plus Two, the developers of the Puzzle Quest games in January 2021.^[17]

505 Games is working with Rabbit and Bear Studios to publish Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series. The partnership was announced February 2021.^[18]

On 27 June 2022 D3 Go! was acquired by 505 Games. The acquisition also included the intellectual property of the Puzzle Quest games.^[19][20]

In November 2023, 505 Games parent company Digital Bros announced plans to lay off about 30% of its global workforce—around 130 employees.^[21] Job cuts continued into 2024, when 505 Games closed offices in Germany, Spain, and France.^[22][23]

In February 2024, 505 Games sold the IP rights to Control back to developer Remedy Entertainment for €17 million. 505 Games will remain as publisher through the end of 2024.^[24]

Games published

Main article: List of 505 video games

Games published by 505 Games include Sniper Elite III, Payday 2, Assetto Corsa, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Terraria, Redout, How to Survive, Defense Grid 2, Deep Black, Abzû, Adrift, Virginia, Dead by Daylight, Control, Unturned, Indivisible, and the PC release of Death Stranding.^{[25][26][12][27][28]}

Accolades

In April 2015, 505 Games was awarded the title of Best Indie Games Label at the MCV Awards.^[29]

References

1. "Privacy Policy". 505 Games. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
2. Doolan, Lian (13 September 2018). "Terraria Publisher 505 Games Expands Coverage To Japan And South Korea". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
3. "505 Games' Ian Howe Interview". Digital Trends. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
4. "Adidas MiCoach Now Published by 505 Games". Engadget. 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
5. "505 Games Acquires Draw To Life License". Warp Zoned. 23 April 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
6. Cowan, D. (2 December 2013). "Ashes Cricket 2013 pulled from Steam, publisher issuing refunds". Engadget.
7. "505 Games Publishing Adr1ft". IGN. 4 April 2014. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
8. "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Game of the Year Award". PlayStation Blog. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
9. "Brothers IP Sold to 505 Games". Eurogamer. 16 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
10. "505 Games To Publish Overkills The Walking Dead". The Koalition. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
11. "PayDay 2: Crimewave Edition Release". Christian Today. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
12. Robinson, Martin (25 August 2016). "Virginia, one of 2016's most promising games, is coming to Xbox One, PS4 and PC next month". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
13. "505 Games Acquires Stake in Starbreeze". Develop. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
14. Dring, Christopher (21 January 2016). "505 Games switches focus to developing its own IP". MCV. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
15. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (5 October 2016), Bloodstained and 505 Games Partnership, archived from the original on 19 December 2021, retrieved 5 October 2016
16. Kuchera, Ben (11 June 2018). "Sony debuts Remedy's new game, Control, at E3 2018". Polygon. Archived from the original on 10 February 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
17. Minotti, Mike (14 January 2021). "505 Games acquires Puzzle Quest studio Infinity Plus Two". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
18. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Partnership Announcement with 505 Games, retrieved 3 July 2023
19. "505 Games acquires D3 Go, publisher of Marvel Puzzle Quest". 27 June 2022.
20. Blake, Vikki (3 July 2022). "505 Games acquires D3 Go! and the Puzzle Quest franchise". Eurogamer. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
21. "Digital Bros, parent company of 505 Games, is laying off 30% of its staff". www.gameshub.com. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
22. Kennedy, Victoria (29 February 2024). "Ghostrunner 2 publisher 505 Games closes offices in Germany, Spain and France". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
23. Caballero, David (29 February 2024). "Más recortes en Digital Bros: ¿afectarán a Assetto Corsa 2 o Project Iron?". Gamereactor España (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
24. Dring, Christopher (28 February 2024). "Remedy acquires full Control rights from 505 Games for €17m". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
25. "505 Games Announces Abzu". IGN. 10 June 2014. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
26. "505 Games Publishing Adrift". Engadget. 5 April 2014. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
27. "Death Stranding on PC will be published by 505 Games". IGN. 28 October 2019. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
28. "Lab Zero partnering with 505 Games for Indivisible". 28 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
29. "MCV Awards 2015". MCV. 21 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.

External links

• Official website