Hothead Games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founders |
|
| Defunct | December 13, 2024 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | , Canada |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Ian Wilkinson (President and CEO) |
| Website | hotheadgames |
Hothead Games Inc. was an independent Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver.
The studio was founded in 2006 by Steve Bocska, Vlad Ceraldi and Joel DeYoung, all three of which were formerly employed by Radical Entertainment.[1] Bocska left the company in 2007.[2] On 10 March 2009, Ian Wilkinson, who had been president and chief executive officer of Radical Entertainment since its foundation in 1991 until 2008, became president and chief executive officer of Hothead Games, replacing Ceraldi.[2] In turn, Ceraldi became the studio's director of game development, while DeYoung moved from his chief operating officer position to director of game technology.[2]
Following the conclusion of the DeathSpank series and the departure of its creator Ron Gilbert in 2011, Hothead Games shifted its development focus entirely to mobile games in response to market trends surrounding mobile devices.[3] In 2015, Hothead Games expanded by opening a studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia with an initial development team of 25 people, putting the company's employee count at 130.[4] In 2019, Hothead Games established a publishing arm to promote third-party free-to-play titles.[5]
On 14 October 2021, Embracer Group announced that its subsidiary DECA Games had acquired the Hothead Games titles Hero Hunters and Kill Shot Bravo.[6] In January 2022, Vlad Ceraldi left Hothead Games to fill the CEO position of independent game developer Offworld Industries.[7] In December 2024, president and CEO Ian Wilkinson announced on LinkedIn that the company had filed for bankruptcy and would close down.[1]
In December 2024, following the shutdown of Hothead Games, Wilkinson and Tim Bennison, Hothead Games's former chief operating officer (COO), founded New Radical Games, again assuming the roles of president, CEO and COO, respectively.[8][9]