Kwalee Ltd. is a British video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in May 2011 by David Darling, co-founder and former CEO of Codemasters. The company publishes hypercasual games on mobile, PC, console, and mobile platforms. Based in Leamington Spa in the county of Warwickshire, Kwalee is one of the several companies that make up the Leamington Spa video gaming cluster. The name is Australian Aboriginal for “wait for me”, the name of a sailboat owned by Darling's grandfather.
As of 2022, the company also has offices in Bangalore, Beijing and Portugal. Kwalee employs over 180 people in its offices, including Andrew Graham (designer and programmer of Micro Machines) and COO Jason Falcus (programmer of NBA Jam).
History In 2019, the company began to publish PC and console games with Max Everingham from Team17 through a new division. These games are published under the brand "Kwalee Gaming".
In 2018, Kwalee implemented a profit sharing scheme where employees would receive bonuses based on the success of their games; in February 2020, Kwalee claimed that £1 million in bonuses were paid.
In 2021, Kwalee donated their game Teacher Simulator's UK profits during the first week of the school term to FareShare, a charity that tackles child food poverty in the United Kingdom.
Less than one month after the release of Luna Abyss (a AA shooter) in 2021, the entire development team of Kwalee Labs was laid off. No reason was given to the public; in a personal LinkedIn post, CEO Hollie Emery stated that the decision was "completely outside of their control".
On 24 January 2022, Kwalee acquired the French studio Tictales, who published visual novel mobile games.
On 5 July 2024, Kwalee acquired a 3.58% minority share in Devolver Digital.
On 10 October 2024, Microids established a new third-party publishing division with Kwalee. The first published title under it was The Precinct.
Published titles
Mobile games YearNameGenrePlatform2024Text Express: Word AdventurePuzzleiOS and Android2023Landlord SimulatorSimulationiOS and Android2022Perfect Coffee 3DSimulationiOS and Android2022Airport SecuritySimulationiOS and Android2020Line Up: Draw the CriminalSimulationiOS and Android2020Hook and SmashArcadeiOS and Android2020Sneak Thief 3DActioniOS and Android2020Bake itSimulationiOS and Android2020OverTakeRacingiOS and Android2020TENS!PuzzleSteam and Nintendo Switch2019Off the Rails 3DArcadeiOS and Android2019Crazy ShoppingArcadeiOS and Android2019Drop & SmashArcadeiOS and Android2019Rocket Sky!ArcadeiOS and Android2019Shootout 3DPuzzleiOS and Android2019Jetpack JumpSportsiOS and Android2019Draw ItArcadeiOS and Android2018Go FishSportsiOS and Android2018PLANK!ArcadeiOS and Android2018Looper!MusiciOS and Android2018Skiddy CarRacingiOS and Android2018SPILLZPuzzleiOS and Android2017TENS!PuzzleiOS and Android2012Farm FightersArcadeiOS and Android2012Flip the CatsPuzzle iOS and Android2012Gobang SocialPuzzleiOS and Android
PC & console games YearGameDevelopersPlatform2019AfterBeat (ex Project Arrhythmia)Vitamin GamesPC2020TENS!Sock Monkey StudiosPC, Nintendo SwitchEternal HopeDoublehit GamesPC2022ScatheDAMAGE STATEPC2023Die by the BladeTriple Hill Interactive, Toko Midori GamesPC PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch Wildmender Muse Games PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC 2024 Robobeat Inzanity PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo SwitchVoidwroughtPowerSnake PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/SIn SinkClock Out GamesPC The Spirit of the Samurai Digital Minds s.l. PC 2025 The Precinct Fallen Tree Games PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/SSpace ChefBlue Goo GamesPC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo SwitchFeignTeneke KafalarPC2026Don't Stop, Girlypop!Funny Fintan SoftworksPCHordes of HungerHyperstrangePCThe Coin GamedevotidPC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/SGRIME IIClover BitePC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/SModulus: Factory AutomationHappy VolcanoPCGround ZeroMalformation GamesPC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S Call of the Elder Gods Out of the Blue Games PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2Rune DiceSmart Raven StudioPC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo SwitchLuna AbyssKwalee LabsPC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/STown to City Galaxy Grove PCShift at MidnightBun MuenPC, Xbox Series X/Slily's world XDEmily PitcherPCTalespinnerFlash Cat GamesPC, Nintendo SwitchSprawl ZeroMaethPC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2Welcome to ElderfieldChris CotePCRetroSpaceThe Wild GentlemenPC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2Lost HelldenArtisan StudiosPC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo SwitchBPM BitcrushedAwe Interactive PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo SwitchHark the GhoulDeep DenizensPCTBASteam to ElectricGalaxy GrovePCVampire: The Masquerade - Eternal WhispersFlyosPC
Awards In 2012, Kwalee was named in the Startups 100 awards as one of the UK's most innovative, inspiring and ground-breaking new companies.
In 2019, its game Shootout 3D was awarded a TIGA award for 'Best Puzzle Game'.
In App Annie's Top Publisher Awards 2021, awarded based on overall mobile downloads throughout 2020, Kwalee was named the UK's biggest mobile game publisher by downloads and the UK's third highest-ranked app publisher overall behind the BBC and the NHS.
In 2021, Kwalee was nominated in the Best Publisher and Best Developer categories at the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Game Awards.
In 2022, the company won the title as Publisher of the Year at both the TIGA Games Industry Awards 2022 and the PocketGamer Mobile Game Awards 2022.
It was also named in the Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
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