Bonfire Studios
{{Short description|California video game developer}}
{{for|the former subsidiary of Zynga|Zynga Dallas}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Bonfire Studios
| logo = Bonfire_Studios_Corporate_Logo_Red.png
| logo_size = 150px
| type = Private
| industry = Video games
| founded = {{Start date and age|2015}}
| founder = Rob Pardo
| hq_location_city = Irvine, California
| num_employees = 70+
| num_employees_year = 2025
| website = {{URL|https://www.bonfirestudios.com/|bonfirestudios.com/}}
}}
Bonfire Studios is a video game development studio located in Orange County, California. It was co-founded in 2016 by former Blizzard Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Rob Pardo.
History
After leaving Blizzard Entertainment in 2014, where he served as Chief Creative Officer and lead designer of World of Warcraft, Rob Pardo co-founded Bonfire Studios in 2016. In its initial funding round, the studio secured investment from various sources, including John Riccitiello, who was CEO of Unity Technologies at the time. Pardo was able to raise another $25 million from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and video game developer Riot Games.{{Cite news |last=Wingfield |first=Nick |date=2016-09-11 |title=A New Phase for World of Warcraft's Lead Designer: His Own Start-Up |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/12/technology/a-new-phase-for-world-of-warcrafts-lead-designer-his-own-start-up.html |access-date=2019-04-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} "Bonfire" is a metaphor for the type of games that the studio wants to create: "Because what is a Bonfire? It's a place where friends gather, tell stories and grow closer together as friends. We want to create titles that have these communities that get behind the game and really last for a long time."{{Cite web |last=Batchelor |first=James |date=2017-11-03 |title=Building Bonfire: Rob Pardo's plans for 2018 and beyond |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-11-03-building-bonfire-rob-pardos-plans-for-2018-and-beyond |access-date=2019-04-30 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |language=en}} For over a year, the highest priority was to build the right team, next to prototyping some ideas. In late 2017, the team included among others Josh Mosqueira (game designer of Homeworld 2,{{cite magazine |author=Scott, Ryan |date=July 2006 |title=Company of Heroes: Dawn of (World) War (II) |magazine=Computer Gaming World |issue=264}} Company of Heroes, Far Cry and Diablo III),{{Cite web |last=Mosqueira |first=Josh |date=2013-05-05 |title=Messages From Hell: The Future of Diablo III |url=https://us.diablo3.blizzard.com/en-us/blog/9773963/messages-from-hell-the-future-of-diablo-iii-6-5-2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508070538/https://us.diablo3.blizzard.com/en-us/blog/9773963/messages-from-hell-the-future-of-diablo-iii-6-5-2013 |archive-date=2022-05-08 |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=blizzard.com}}{{Cite web |title=Speaker Details Page |url=https://www.dicesummit.org/dice_speakers/details.asp?idSpeaker=367 |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=www.dicesummit.org}} Min Kim (former CEO of Nexon America), Sigurlína Ingvarsdóttir (producer of Eve Online and Star Wars: Battlefront){{Cite web |last=Morris |first=Chris |date=2015-09-22 |title=Meet the woman responsible for the year’s biggest video game |url=https://fortune.com/2015/09/22/sigurlina-ingvarsdottir-star-wars-battlefront/ |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=Fortune |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-10-05 |title=Sigurlina Ingvarsdottir (Behold Ventures) |url=https://schedule.gdconf.com/speaker/ingvarsdottir-sigurlina.22774 |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=Game Developers Conference 2025 |language=en-US}} and Morgan Webb (co-host and senior segment producer of Xplay).{{cite web |title=X-Play.com |url=http://g4tv.com/games/xplay/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724063443/http://www.g4tv.com/games/xplay/ |archive-date=July 24, 2012 |access-date=July 19, 2009}}{{Cite web |last=Valdes |first=Giancarlo |date=2019-04-24 |title=Bonfire Studios is not 'gonna suddenly go out and make Candy Crush' |url=https://venturebeat.com/2019/04/23/bonfire-studios-is-not-gonna-suddenly-go-out-and-make-candy-crush/ |access-date=2019-04-29 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}}
In 2018, the studio started development of their first title, Arkheron, which was officially revealed in January 2025. The live-service game focuses on player versus player combat with a top-down view and it is being built with the Unity game engine. Private playtesting started in 2024. At the time of the announcement the team consisted of 70 people: 52 developers and 18 artists. Furthermore a successful Series B funding led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Founders Fund and Altos Ventures was confirmed.{{Cite news |last=Takahashi |first=Dean |date=15 January 2025 |title=Bonfire Studios Announces Debut Game Arkheron After 8 Years |url=https://venturebeat.com/games/bonfire-studios-announces-debut-game-arkheron-after-8-years/ |access-date=10 March 2025 |work=GamesBeat}}{{Cite web |date=2025-01-15 |title=Fenwick Represents Bonfire Studios in Series B Funding and Hybe… |url=https://www.fenwick.com/insights/experience/fenwick-represents-bonfire-studios-in-series-b-funding-and-hybe-publishing-agreement |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=Fenwick |language=en}} Hybe IM will publish the game in Korea and Japan. During the GamesBeat Summit 2019, Pardo described the pitch process that they used for Arkheron: Everyone in the studio had the opportunity to pitch a game. Of the 40 original ideas, the studio chose 7 to expand into full-fledged pitch decks. Everyone then ranked their favorites, and when they made the final decision, the result was fairly unanimous.