Panic Inc.

American software company and video game publisher From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Panic Inc. is an American software development and video game publishing company based in Portland, Oregon. The company specializes in macOS and iOS applications and began publishing video games in 2016.

Company typePrivate
Industry
Founded1997
FoundersSteven Frank
Cabel Sasser
Quick facts Company type, Industry ...
Panic Inc.
Company typePrivate
Industry
Founded1997
FoundersSteven Frank
Cabel Sasser
HeadquartersPortland, Oregon, U.S.
Key people
Steven Frank
Cabel Sasser
ProductsTransmit, Coda, Playdate
Websitepanic.com
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Panic was founded by Steven Frank[1] and Cabel Sasser in 1997.[2]

Products

Software

Panic is known for their flagship app Transmit,[3] as well as their Audion media player, Unison usenet client, and Nova code editor (a successor to their web development app Coda). The company has won multiple Apple Design Awards for their products.[4][5][6]

In 1999, Audion was introduced as a skinnable MP3 media player. One of its competitors, SoundJam MP, was acquired by Apple in 2000 and was further developed into iTunes 1.0, which became available in 2001.[7] Panic retired Audion in 2004 and began distributing it free of charge.[8]

After Audion, Panic focused development on two other software applications. In 2004, they released Unison, a Usenet reader,[9] and Stattoo, a tool that shows "digital statistics" overlaid on the Mac OS X desktop wallpaper.[10] In 2007, the web development application Coda was introduced.[11] In 2019, Panic announced a successor to Coda named Nova.[12]

More information App, Platform ...
App Platform Type Ref.
Active development
Transmit macOS FTP client
Nova macOS Web development
Prompt iOS Command line
Panic Pals iOS iMessage stickers
Playdate Sticker Pack iOS iMessage stickers
Discontinued
Code Editor iOS Web development
Audion macOS Music player [8]
CandyBar macOS Icon customization [13]
Coda macOS Web development
Desktastic macOS Desktop annotation
Stattoo macOS Computer statistics
Status Board iOS Information display [14]
Transmit iOS FTP client [15]
Unison macOS Usenet client [16]
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Video games

The company published their first video game, Firewatch, on February 9, 2016.[17] Panic published their second game, Untitled Goose Game, on September 20, 2019.[18]

More information Title, Platform(s) ...
Title Platform(s) Developer Release date Ref.
Firewatch PC (Windows, macOS, Linux), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch Campo Santo 9 February 2016 [17]
Untitled Goose Game PC (Windows, macOS), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch House House 20 September 2019 [19]
Nour: Play with Your Food PC (Windows, macOS), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch Terrifying Jellyfish 12 September 2023 [20]
Thank Goodness You're Here! PC (Windows and macOS), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S Coal Supper 1 August 2024 [21]
Arco PC (Windows, macOS), Nintendo Switch Franek Nowotniak, Max Cahill, José Ramón “Bibiki” García, Antonio “Fáyer” Uribe 15 August 2024 [22]
Despelote PC (Windows), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena 1 May 2025 [23]
Time Flies PC (Windows, macOS), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch Playables 31 July 2025 [24]
Herdling PC (Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch Okomotive 21 August 2025 [25]
Blippo+ Playdate, PC (Windows), Nintendo Switch Yacht, Telefantasy Studios, Dustin Mierau, Noble Robot Playdate
9 May 2025
Windows, Switch
23 September 2025
[26][27]
Ratcheteer DX PC (Windows, macOS), Nintendo Switch Shaun Inman 5 March 2025 [28]
Big Walk PC (Windows, macOS) House House 2026 [29]
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Playdate

Playdate console with the crank in an open position

On May 22, 2019, Panic unveiled Playdate, a handheld gaming device, designed by Panic in collaboration with the Swedish firm Teenage Engineering. The device features a 400x240 pixel 1-bit screen, a directional pad on the left, two buttons on the right, and a mechanical crank on the right edge of the device.[30]

Games on Playdate are released in "seasons", where there are two new games each week, automatically downloaded to the device when available.[31] Also, there is a store of additional games to buy on demand,[32] the ability to sideload games to the device, and two environments to self develop games.[33] While some video games for Playdate are being produced at Panic, most of the games are created by indie game developers such as Keita Takahashi, Zach Gage, Bennett Foddy, Shaun Inman, and Lucas Pope.[34]

Awards

More information Year, App ...
Year App Award Category Result Ref.
2003 Transmit 2 Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X User Experience Runner-up
2004 Unison 1.0.2a Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X Product Runner-up
2004 Unison 1.0.2a Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X User Experience Won
2005 Transmit 3 MacWorld MacWorld Best of Show Won [35]
2005 Transmit 3.2 Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X Tiger Technology Adoption Won [4]
2007 Coda 1 Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X User Experience Won [5]
2013 Coda 2 Apple Design Awards Mac OS X Won [6]
2021 Nova Apple Design Awards Interaction Nominated [36]
2025 Thank Goodness You're Here! Apple Design Awards Delight and Fun Nominated [37]
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References

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