Failbetter Games

Founded in 2009 by Alexis Kennedy and Paul Arendt, Failbetter is chiefly known for its Fallen London Victorian Gothic franchise (comprising, to date, the Fallen London and Silver Tree browser games and the Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies and Mask of the Rose video games), which has garnered a cult following.{{cite web|title=How a cult-hit browser game spawned the dark world of 'Sunless Sea'|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/14/5898379/sunless-sea|website=www.theverge.com|date=14 July 2014 }} Failbetter was also commissioned by BioWare to build a browser-game prologue for Dragon Age: Inquisition,{{cite web|title=The Last Court|url=http://www.pcgamesn.com/dragon-age-3-inquisition/failbetter-games-bridges-the-timeline-to-dragon-age-inquisition-with-the-last-court|website=PC Games N|date=2 November 2014 }} and by UK publisher Harvill Secker to create a puzzle game to accompany The Night Circus.{{cite web|last=O'Hara|first=Jan|title=Author Interview at Writer Unboxed (Part II)|url=http://writerunboxed.com/2011/09/09/erin-morgenstern-part-ii/|publisher=Writer Unboxed|date=September 9, 2011|accessdate=January 4, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Khan|first=Yasmeen|title=The Night Circus|url=http://blog.failbettergames.com/post/The-Night-Circus.aspx|publisher=Failbetter Games|date=September 1, 2011|accessdate=January 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111222171111/http://blog.failbettergames.com/post/The-Night-Circus.aspx|archive-date=December 22, 2011|url-status=dead}} The studio has consistently won acclaim for the quality of its writing, world-building and storytelling.{{cite web|title=Best Words of 2014|url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/12/15/best-writing-2014-sunless-sea/|website=Rock Paper Shotgun|date=15 December 2014 |last1=Hivemind |first1=R. P. S. }}{{cite news|title=The City and the Sea|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-04-06-the-city-and-the-sea-the-story-of-failbetter-games|newspaper=Eurogamer.net|date=6 April 2014 }}

In 2016, Alexis Kennedy left Failbetter, citing a desire to work with a variety of other studios and work on his own smaller, more experimental projects.{{cite web| url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-05-25-alexis-kennedy-leaving-failbetter-games| title=Alexis Kennedy leaving Failbetter Games| author=Brendan Sinclair| date=25 May 2016}}

In February 2017, Failbetter ran a successful Kickstarter for a sequel to Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, raising almost half a million dollars. However, December that same year Failbetter unexpectedly laid off four members of staff, citing the under-performance of the Sunless Sea iPad port, and poor sales of their Sunless Skies in early access.{{cite web| url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/02/07/failbetter-layoffs/| title=Failbetter lay off a few staff and delay Sunless Skies| author=Alice O'Connor| work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun| date=7 February 2018}}{{cite web| url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-14-behind-the-sunless-scenes| title=Behind the sunless scenes| author=Tom Phillips| work=Eurogamer| date=2018-02-14| accessdate=2018-04-06}}

Failbetter was subsequently the target of an extensive but inconclusive investigative report by Eurogamer, which cited Kennedy and other unnamed staff in claiming poor management and a 'toxic' culture had developed since Kennedy's departure.{{cite web| url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-14-behind-the-sunless-scenes| title=Behind the sunless scenes| author=Tom Phillips| work=Eurogamer| date=2018-02-14| accessdate=2023-08-24}}

GamesIndustry.biz awarded Failbetter Games for being one of the best places to work in the games industry in the UK in 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/best-places-to-work-2017?page=2 | title=Page 2 | Revealed: The Best Places to Work in the UK games industry | date=22 September 2017 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/best-places-to-work-2019?page=2 | title=Page 2 | Meet the best places to work in the UK video games industry 2019 | date=20 September 2019 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/here-are-the-winners-of-the-gamesindustry-biz-2020-uk-best-places-to-work-awards | title=Here are the winners of the GamesIndustry.biz 2020 UK Best Places to Work Awards | date=18 September 2020 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/who-are-the-2021-best-places-to-work-in-the-uk-games-industry | title=Who are the 2021 best places to work in the UK games industry? | date=16 September 2021 }}

On 8 June 2023 Failbetter released a romantic visual novel set in the Fallen London universe called Mask of the Rose, which is a prequel to the other games in the franchise.{{cite web |last=Frech|first=Ricky|date=December 2, 2020|url=https://www.dualshockers.com/failbetter-games-mask-of-the-rose-project/|title=Failbetter Games Announce Next Game in the Fallen London Universe|publisher=Dualshockers|accessdate=December 3, 2020}}

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{{Failbetter Games}}

Category:Companies based in the London Borough of Southwark

Category:Video game companies established in 2010

Category:Video game companies of the United Kingdom

Category:Video game development companies