Bugbear Entertainment

{{Infobox company

| name = Bugbear Entertainment Oy

| logo = Bugbear Entertainment.svg

| type = Subsidiary

| industry = Video games

| founded = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2000}}

| founder = Janne Alanenpää

| hq_location_city = Helsinki

| hq_location_country = Finland

| key_people = Janne Alanenpää (CEO, creative director)

| num_employees = 28{{cite web |url=https://embracer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Embracer-Annual-Report-and-Sustainability-Report-2021.pdf |title=Embracer Group Annual Report & Sustainability Report 2020 / 2021 |date=25 August 2021 |publisher=Embracer Group |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=25 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825223946/https://embracer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Embracer-Annual-Report-and-Sustainability-Report-2021.pdf |url-status=live}}

| num_employees_year = 2021

| parent = THQ Nordic (2018–present)

| website = {{URL|http://bugbeargames.com/}}

}}

Bugbear Entertainment Oy is a Finnish video game developer based in Helsinki, founded by Janne Alanenpää in 2000. The company is best known for the FlatOut series and Wreckfest. In November 2018, a majority stake of the company was acquired by THQ Nordic.

History

Bugbear Entertainment was founded in Helsinki in 2000 by Janne Alanenpää.{{cite web |url=https://embracer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Investor-presentation-THQ-Nordic-AB-acquires-Bugbear-Entertainment-13....pdf |title=THQ Nordic AB (publ) acquires Bugbear Entertainment |date=14 November 2018 |website=Embracer Group |access-date=17 September 2019 |archive-date=28 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928190041/https://embracer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Investor-presentation-THQ-Nordic-AB-acquires-Bugbear-Entertainment-13....pdf |url-status=live }} On 14 November 2018, THQ Nordic announced that they had acquired 90% of Bugbear for an undisclosed sum, leaving open the option to acquire the remaining 10% later on.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/thq-nordic-acquires-coffee-stain-and-bugbear-entertainment |title=THQ Nordic acquires Coffee Stain and Bugbear Entertainment |first=Chris |last=Kerr |date=14 November 2018 |website=Gamasutra |access-date=June 30, 2019 |archive-date=14 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114174907/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/330658/THQ_Nordic_acquires_Coffee_Stain_and_Bugbear_Entertainment.php |url-status=live }} At this time, Bugbear had 18 employees and was led by co-founder Alanenpää as chief executive officer and creative director. As of March 2020, Bugbear has 28 employees.{{cite web |url=https://embracer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/1298981.pdf |title=Embracer Group Annual Report 2019/20 |first=Lars |last=Wingefors |date=27 August 2019 |website=Cision}}

All computer games developed by Bugbear are made in the car simulator genre. One of the well-known developments is the FlatOut series of games, the first game of which was released in 2004 for the personal computer and the Xbox and PlayStation 2 game consoles. The games in the series have received various awards from the media and favorable reviews from critics and players. The average review score, according to Metacritic, is 76 out of 100.{{Cite web|title=FlatOut 2|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/flatout-2/critic-reviews/?platform=pc|access-date=2022-01-21|website=Metacritic|language=en}} In addition to the FlatOut series, the company has developed other game projects such as Rally Trophy, a realistic rallying simulator.

Bugbear also released a new game from the Ridge Racer series, Ridge Racer Unbounded, which was released in 2012.{{Cite web|title=Ridge Racer Unbounded colliding with Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in 2012|url=https://www.engadget.com/2011-02-04-ridge-racer-unbounded-colliding-with-xbox-360-ps3-and-pc-in-201.html|access-date=2022-01-21|website=Engadget|date=4 February 2011 |language=en-US}}

On June 14, 2018, the company released a new game, Wreckfest, previously known under the working title Next Car Game.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/bugbeargames/status/518069049671294976|access-date=2022-01-21|website=Twitter|language=en}}

Bugbear used its own ROMU game engine (also known as the Bugbear Game Engine) to develop all games.{{Cite web|title=FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS|url=http://community.bugbeargames.com/threads/frequently-asked-questions.820/|access-date=2022-01-21|website=Bugbear Community|language=en-US|archive-date=6 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406222720/http://community.bugbeargames.com/index.php/topic,820.0.html|url-status=dead}}

Games developed

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
scope="col" \| Year ! scope="col" \| Title ! scope="col" \| Platform(s) ! scope="col" \| Publisher(s)
scope="row" \| 2001 \| Rally Trophy \| rowspan="2" \| Microsoft Windows \| JoWooD Productions
scope="row" \| 2003 \| Tough Trucks \| Activision Value
scope="row" \| 2004 \| FlatOut \| Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox \| Empire Interactive, Vivendi Universal Games
scope="row" \| 2005 \| Glimmerati \| N-Gage \| Nokia
scope="row" \| 2006 \| FlatOut 2 \| Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox \| Empire Interactive, Vivendi Universal Games, Konami
scope="row" rowspan="2" \| 2007 \| FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage \| Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 \| Empire Interactive
Sega Rally Revo \| PlayStation Portable \| Sega
scope="row" \| 2012 \| Ridge Racer Unbounded \| Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 \| Namco Bandai Games
scope="row" \| 2018 \| Wreckfest \| Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch \| THQ Nordic
scope="row" \| TBA \| Wreckfest 2 \| Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S \| THQ Nordic

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Platform(s)

! scope="col" | Publisher(s)

scope="row" | 2001

| Rally Trophy

| rowspan="2" | Microsoft Windows

| JoWooD Productions

scope="row" | 2003

| Tough Trucks

| Activision Value