Mediatonic

Mediatonic was founded in September 2005 by friends Dave Bailey and Paul Croft, both aged 21 at the time, during their final year at Brunel University.{{cite web |url=https://www.mediatonicgames.com/company |title=Company |year=2019 |website=Mediatonic}}{{cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/from-flash-to-minis-mediatonic-on-creating-tiny-wonders |title=From Flash To Minis: Mediatonic On Creating Tiny Wonders |first=Simon |last=Parkin |date=8 October 2010 |website=Gamasutra}} They decided on the opening in a drunken conversation at the university's student union bar.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/mediatonics-rise/ |title=Mediatonic's Rise |author=Edge Staff |date=30 September 2010 |magazine=Edge |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403182001/http://www.edge-online.com/features/mediatonics-rise/ |archive-date=3 April 2013 |url-status=dead}} With an office near the campus, they set up the company as a work-for-hire studio to create Flash games and sometimes skipped lectures to accept calls from clients.{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2020/06/18/tonic-games-group-forms-to-oversee-game-publishing-and-development/ |title=Tonic Games Group will manage multiple game studios and publishing operations |first=Dean |last=Takahashi |date=18 June 2020 |website=VentureBeat}} Snowman Salvage, a game that was part of Croft's dissertation, was Mediatonic's first release in December 2005.

PopCap Games, Big Fish Games and PlayFirst were early Mediatonic clients and, among others, Mediatonic produced Flash conversions of Bejeweled, Bookworm, Diner Dash and Poppit!. It also created Amateur Surgeon, an original game, for Adult Swim Games. Mediatonic was profitable enough in its first year that, following Bailey and Croft's graduation, the studio moved to a former government building in Westminster in February 2006 and hired ten employees. Other early games by Mediatonic included Meowcenaries, Gigolo Assassin, Must Eat Birds, and Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/mediatonics-rise/2/ |title=Mediatonic's Rise – Page 2 of 2 |author=Edge Staff |date=30 September 2010 |magazine=Edge |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618041022/http://www.edge-online.com/features/mediatonics-rise/2/ |archive-date=18 June 2013 |url-status=dead}} Having reached 25 employees, Mediatonic moved to new offices near Covent Garden in February 2008.

In July 2009, Mediatonic opened a studio in Brighton to act as a digital media agency, later spun out into a company named Graphite. Mediatonic received funding from entrepreneurs Kelly Sumner, Ian Livingstone and Geoff Heath in April 2010, and from Frog Capital in January 2012. Pete Hickman, a former executive producer for Eidos Interactive, joined Mediatonic as its head of production in July 2011.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/eidos-pete-hickman-joins-mediatonic-as-head-of-production |title=Eidos' Pete Hickman Joins Mediatonic As Head Of Production |first=Kyle |last=Orland |date=11 July 2011 |website=Gamasutra}}{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-07-11-eidos-exec-producer-joins-mediatonic |title=Eidos exec producer joins Mediatonic |first=Rachel |last=Weber |date=11 July 2011 |website=GamesIndustry.biz}} Planning to double its 50-strong headcount, Mediatonic moved its London headquarters to Soho in May 2012.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-04-02-mediatonic-planning-to-double-headcount |title=Mediatonic planning to double headcount |first=Rachel |last=Weber |date=2 April 2012 |website=GamesIndustry.biz}} Mediatonic opened a Brighton development studio that October.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-10-02-new-brighton-studio-for-mediatonic |title=New Brighton studio for Mediatonic |first=Rachel |last=Weber |date=2 October 2012 |website=GamesIndustry.biz}} According to Bailey, Mediatonic began giving original games and work-for-hire projects equal weight and the company grew as a result.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.mcvuk.com/business-news/mediatonic-launches-300-strong-tonic-games-group-it-means-that-we-can-all-be-much-more-resilient-and-stand-the-test-of-time/ |title=Mediatonic launches 300-strong Tonic Games Group – "It means that we can all be much more resilient and stand the test of time" |first=Chris |last=Wallace |date=18 June 2020 |magazine=MCV/Develop}} It later branched out into publishing, opening The Irregular Corporation as a sister company in December 2015.

Mediatonic moved into Shell Mex House, London, in April 2017. In July, a five-person team was established in a co-working space in Madrid, and expanded into a proper office in July 2019.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-07-08-mediatonic-opens-new-spanish-studio |title=Mediatonic opens new Spanish studio |first=James |last=Batchelor |date=8 July 2019 |website=GamesIndustry.biz}} A sister development studio, Fortitude Games, was established in Guildford in 2018. Frog Capital sold its share in Mediatonic to Synova Capital, making a 7.4-times return on its investment.{{cite web |url=https://frogcapital.com/think-frog/frog-news/frogs-stake-in-mediatonic-acquired/ |title=7.4 x return on the sale of Frog's stake in Mediatonic |first=Mike |last=Reid |date=6 June 2019 |website=Frog Capital}} A fourth studio for Mediatonic in Leamington Spa was announced in February 2020.{{cite web |url=https://gamasutra.com/view/news/357533/Fall_Guys_developer_Mediatonic_to_open_new_UK_studio.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204131923/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/357533/Fall_Guys_developer_Mediatonic_to_open_new_UK_studio.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 February 2020 |title=Fall Guys developer Mediatonic to open new UK studio |first=Chris |last=Kerr |date=3 February 2020 |website=Gamasutra}} Also in early 2020, Mediatonic established its headquarters in an office above London Victoria station, although it went largely unused due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing the company to make employees work from home.

Bailey and Croft established Tonic Games Group as a parent company for Mediatonic, The Irregular Corporation, and Fortitude Games, moving 35 employees to Tonic Games Group, while Mediatonic had a staff of 230. On 2 March 2021, Epic Games announced that it had acquired Tonic Games Group, including Mediatonic.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/epic-games-has-acquired-fall-guys-developer-mediatonic |title=Epic Games Has Acquired Fall Guys Developer Mediatonic |first=Adam |last=Bankhurst |date=2 March 2021 |website=IGN |access-date=2 March 2021}} In September 2023, Mediatonic was subjected to deep job cuts by its parent company. Though it was first speculated that the entire studio had been closed, that proved not to be the case.{{Cite news |last=Phillips |first=Tom |date=29 September 2023 |title=Fall Guys developer hit hard by Epic Games layoffs, but studio to remain open |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/fall-guys-developer-hit-hard-by-epic-games-layoffs-but-studio-to-remain-open |access-date=3 March 2024 |work=Eurogamer.net |language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://mediatonicgames.com/}}

{{Epic Games}}

Category:2005 establishments in England

Category:British companies established in 2005

Category:Companies based in the City of Westminster

Category:Epic Games

Category:Software companies based in London

Category:Video game companies established in 2005

Category:Video game companies of the United Kingdom

Category:Video game development companies