Limbo Developer Escapes Financial Hell

[Brian Albert]

Limbo Developer Escapes Financial Hell

Limbo's success allowed Danish developer Playdead to purchase itself from investors and fund a new, more ambitious title.

After a successful showing on Xbox Live - and later on PC and PSN - Limbo developer Playdead has managed to pay back investors that initially got the company on its feet. This move grants the studio a greater degree of financial and creative control, though Limbo indicated Playdead wasn't exactly churning out military first-person shooters to begin with.

Studio founders Arnt Jensen and Dino Patti funded Limbo's development with help from the Danish government. When it became clear that funds wouldn't allow Playdead to fully realize its game, investors were brought on board to foot the rest of the bill.

First released during Xbox Live's 2010 Summer of Arcade, the eerie, atmospheric platformer quickly amassed a following among critics and consumers alike. Escapist Senior Editor Susan Arendt gave Limbo a <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/7900-Review-Limbo>five-star rating, praising the game's imaginative environment and clever puzzle design.

Patti <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/104252-Limbo-Devs-Working-on-New-IP>announced last October that Playdead is working on another game, and that it will be "very different" from what we've seen in Limbo. However, he also said Limbo will "forever and always" be exclusive to XBLA, so it seems anything can happen. This new game - unlike Limbo - will be built in the Unity engine rather than a proprietary one.

"It was just too much work," Jensen told Edge in an interview. "It's like having a double product, doing both engine and game. And our next project is a little more ambitious than Limbo so there are a lot of things we don't want to make from the beginning."

For those hankering for another Playdead game, I'd recommend you not hold your breath.

"A good game takes time," Patti said. "I think the new production will take at least three and a half years."

Sources: <a href=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/36876/Limbo_Developer_Playdead_Buys_Itself_Back_From_Investors.php>Gamasutra, <a href=http://www.next-gen.biz/news/playdead-using-unity-next-project>Edge


Permalink

 

[Catchy Slogan]

Paying off investors doesn't exactly scream 'financial hell'.

And I don't see what this:

Playdead wasn't exactly churning out military first-person shooters to begin with.

Has to do with anything.

Also:

quickly amassed a following among critics and consumers and critics alike.

I don't mean to sound like some overly critical arsehole, but I honestly don't see how the first 2 things relate to this article.

 

[Hungry Donner]

Whenever I see people talking about Limbo my first thought is always Limbo of the Lost.

That aside, this sounds like great news, I look forward to their next project.

 

[RaikuFA]

"However, he also said Limbo will "forever and always" be exclusive to XBLA"

this just screams "im a douche". he gets more money for getting it multiplatform'd then says it should basically be only allowed on one platform

was gonna buy limbo, but now im not

 

[zwober]

small typo:
"Limbo's success allowed Swedish developer Playdead to purchase itself from investors and fund a new, more ambitious title."

- from the front page of the escapist

"Limbo's success allowed Danish developer Playdead to purchase itself from investors and fund a new, more ambitious title"

- in the article.

im not going to turn this into an episode of where´s Waldo, but i am tempted.
however, swedish or danish developer - which one is it ?

 

[zwober]

"However, he also said Limbo will "forever and always" be exclusive to XBLA"

this just screams "im a douche". he gets more money for getting it multiplatform'd then says it should basically be only allowed on one platform

was gonna buy limbo, but now im not

uh, i think he´s quoting something old, Limbo has been on steam for a while now, so its not that exclusive to XBLA.

 

[KeyMaster45]

However, he also said Limbo will "forever and always" be exclusive to XBLA

Steam would have to disagree with that statement. http://store.steampowered.com/app/48000/?snr=1_4_4__101

 

[RaikuFA]

"However, he also said Limbo will "forever and always" be exclusive to XBLA"

this just screams "im a douche". he gets more money for getting it multiplatform'd then says it should basically be only allowed on one platform

was gonna buy limbo, but now im not

uh, i think he´s quoting something old, Limbo has been on steam for a while now, so its not that exclusive to XBLA.

i know but i think hes planning on the new game to be a xbox exclusive

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

However, he also said Limbo will "forever and always" be exclusive to XBLA

Steam would have to disagree with that statement. http://store.steampowered.com/app/48000/?snr=1_4_4__101

*Sigh Did you even read the rest of that article?

However, he also said Limbo will "forever and always" be exclusive to XBLA, so it seems anything can happen.

After a successful showing on Xbox Live - and later on PC and PSN....

Derp.

 

[Brian Albert]

It's Danish. I'm not sure why I typed Swedish in the first place. I recently spoke with a friend from Sweden, so that may be it. Sorry about that, everyone.

 

[KeyMaster45]

However, he also said Limbo will "forever and always" be exclusive to XBLA

Steam would have to disagree with that statement. http://store.steampowered.com/app/48000/?snr=1_4_4__101

*Sigh Did you even read the rest of that article?

Limbo's success allowed Danish developer Playdead to purchase itself from investors and fund a new, more ambitious title.[/b]

After a successful showing on Xbox Live - and later on PC and PSN
However, he also said Limbo will "forever and always" be exclusive to XBLA, so it seems anything can happen.

Derp.

Considering that's at the very start of the article I had to have read it to make it to the part I pointed out. Please don't automatically assume someone did not read the entirety of the article simply because they are pointing out the contradictory nature of a statement. Especially when the statement in question is towards the end of the article.

It doesn't make you look clever, it makes you look like a jerk.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

small typo:
"Limbo's success allowed Swedish developer Playdead to purchase itself from investors and fund a new, more ambitious title."

- from the front page of the escapist

"Limbo's success allowed Danish developer Playdead to purchase itself from investors and fund a new, more ambitious title"

- in the article.

im not going to turn this into an episode of where´s Waldo, but i am tempted.
however, swedish or danish developer - which one is it ?

Their headquarters is i Copenhagen, so I guess Danish.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

It doesn't make you look clever, it makes you look like a jerk.

I'm going to ignore that.

But if you knew that the article mentions that Playdead changed it's mind about a multiplatform version of Limbo, why did you feel the need to point it out again?

Edit; Also I'm sorry for making a balls of that quote in the original post, I fixed it straight afterwards.

 

[Yopaz]

However, he also said Limbo will "forever and always" be exclusive to XBLA

Steam would have to disagree with that statement. http://store.steampowered.com/app/48000/?snr=1_4_4__101

It's not a statement made by the guy who wrote the article. It's a statement by the guy who made Limbo. The reason they pull out that statement is to say "Yeah your game isn't going to be like Limbo at all, just like Limbo was a XBLA exclusive. We see how that statement turned out to be 100% true". It's really just a dry comment on their track record.

 

[twm1709]

First released during Xbox Live's 2010 Summer of Arcade, the eerie, atmospheric platformer quickly amassed a following among critics and consumers and critics alike.

Did I mention critics?

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

Looks like I'll be the first person to ignore the mistakes in the article and say congratulations to Playdead for making a profit on a title that deserves all the praise and income it can get.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

However, he also said Limbo will "forever and always" be exclusive to XBLA

Steam would have to disagree with that statement. http://store.steampowered.com/app/48000/?snr=1_4_4__101

I think you misread that. The statement is in conjunction with the one before it, where the developer says that the new game will be very different from Limbo. "However", says the article, "he also said that Limbo will 'forever and always' be exclusive to XBLA". Keep in mind, when Limbo came out last year, it was going to be 360-exclusive. Basically the article is implying that the game could very-well be similar to Limbo, as the developer has said something definite in the past that later proved untrue.

 

[Nikolaz72]

small typo:
"Limbo's success allowed Swedish developer Playdead to purchase itself from investors and fund a new, more ambitious title."

- from the front page of the escapist

"Limbo's success allowed Danish developer Playdead to purchase itself from investors and fund a new, more ambitious title"

- in the article.

im not going to turn this into an episode of where´s Waldo, but i am tempted.
however, swedish or danish developer - which one is it ?

Danish. To answer your question.