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Bigpoint cutting 120 jobs, abandoning U.S. development
Browser game outfit Bigpoint can be forgiven if it doesn't look fondly on 2012. Last summer the firm noted for Battlestar Galactica Online and an upcoming Game of Thrones spinoff vacated its mobile development business and jettisoned a couple of executives. Now GamesIndustry.biz reports that the free-to-play company is cutting 120 jobs. Bigpoint will shutter its San Francisco development office (approximately 40 jobs) as well as terminate 80 employees at its Hamburg location. "We have seen that developing games in the U.S. is not really the most efficient way for us at the moment," CEO Heiko Hubertz tells GamesIndustry. "The games that we have developed in the last two years haven't been that successful, and the San Francisco area and Bay Area is quite a competitive market. San Francisco is, after New York, one of the most expensive cities you can live in in the US, so the people are quite expensive." Hubertz will abdicate his CEO duties for an executive chairman position later this year. Bigpoint has yet to name a replacement. Hubertz also indicated that none of Bigpoint's current titles will be affected and that the company will continue making games.
Bigpoint company shake-up includes closing mobile games development
German online games publisher Bigpoint, best known for free-to-play and browser games, will be dumping its mobile games development side very soon. Two managing directors, brothers Tobias and Philip Reisberger, and the chief communications officer, Nils Holger Henning, will be exiting the company to pursue work in mobile gaming elsewhere. Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz stated that of the approximately 10 games that were in development, "some of them are finished and will launch in the next few weeks but most of them will be completely closed and shut down." Bigpoint is not abandoning mobile games completely; it is looking to assist and support external development teams. The company has stated it is focusing on game development and distribution and plans to open more offices globally.
Battlestar Galactica Online inches toward 10M players, hands out swag for anniversary
Battlestar Galactica Online has quietly but surely expanded its reach across the cosmos, netting nearly 10 million registered players as the title hits its first anniversary. To celebrate the dual achievement, Bigpoint is dishing out goodies to all of its players over the next week. From today through May 6th, Bigpoint is handing out in-game gifts and bonuses to players. Players need to log in each day to grab these prizes, however. In addition to distributing freebies, BSGO is increasing the daily merit cap and offering special deals for its item shop. Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz sees Battlestar Galactica Online's first year as both a success and the beginning of a great run: "We are thrilled with the tremendous growth of BSGO and how the game has performed over the past year. We're excited to move forward with this momentum, celebrate our achievements, and reward all of our players in the community who helped us get to this point." [Source: Bigpoint press release]
Bigpoint surpasses 250 million registered users
The folks at Bigpoint must be feeling quite nice about themselves about now, as a new press release from the company has announced that the studio's games now have a total of 250 million registered users worldwide. Heiko Hubertz, CEO and founder of the browser-focused MMORPG developer, is quite pleased with the development, claiming that "since 2002, [Bigpoint has] strived to bring high-quality games and experiences to the widest possible audience... and we're not done." The press release goes on to make the bold claims that "Bigpoint introduced the concept of F2P games" and that "over the past decade, Bigpoint has radically improved the quality of... online games." The statement conclues that "the company is planning a series of new launches in 2012, including new titles that leverage world-class Hollywood intellectual property." We already know that Bigpoint is the studio behind the upcoming MMOs based on A Game of Thrones and The Mummy, but what else does the studio have up its sleeve? We'll just have to wait to find out. [Source: Bigpoint press release]
Controlling share in Bigpoint purchased for $350 million
The prolific MMO developer Bigpoint is answering to couple of new bosses today. According to Gamasutra, Summit Partners and TA Associates have banded together to heavily invest in the company -- and by doing so, to take a controlling share in Bigpoint. The two firms, which are now on the board of directors, have jointly invested $350 million into Bigpoint. These funds will recapitalize the studio and expand its presence worldwide. Bigpoint founder and CEO Heiko Hubertz, who controls 30 percent of the company, appears optimistic: "The investment by TA Associates and Summit Partners is a validation of Bigpoint's leadership position within the gaming industry, and will give us a huge boost toward becoming one of the most successful gaming companies worldwide." Bigpoint has a wide portfolio of titles including Battlestar Galactica Online, DarkOrbit, and the upcoming Drakensang Online.
Battlestar Galactica Online passes one million player milestone
Bigpoint's browser-based Battlestar Galactica Online is a certifiable hit according to a new press release touting the fact that the title recently surpassed one million registered players. The milestone comes a scant six weeks after the launch of BSGO's open beta period and dovetails nicely with the news that the game is getting an engine upgrade as well as new ship content. "There is always a risk when you translate a well-known IP into another medium. We built what we believed was a recipe for success; a fantastic gaming experience inspired by an iconic show, with the added benefit of being a free-to-play title," explains Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz. Head to the official Battlestar Galactica Online website for more info on the game and the new upgrades.
Bigpoint's Battlestar Galactica Online just the beginning of its master plan
In the Battlestar Galactica TV reimagining, the Cylons were infamous for having an overarching plan for their domination of the galaxy. Likewise, Bigpoint's plan for the newly-launched Battlestar Galactica Online is far more than it might first appear. For starters, the SyFy channel -- which is hosting the game on its website -- plans to aggressively run commercials promoting BSGO to the public. According to Gamasutra, Bigpoint itself is in a state of rapid growth with the recent acquisition of the former employees of Planet Moon for its relatively new San Francisco office. This newly combined workforce numbers over 80, and CEO Heiko Hubertz has them all mostly working on two major IPs: "We didn't acquire the company; we just took over the employees. So almost 40 of them are now working for us, and they're working mainly on Battlestar and The Mummy." Bigpoint's plan to tackle the North American market diverges from its European strategy by focusing on high-quality, multi-million dollar budget browser titles -- and so far, it's paid off, as the company is in the black. Hubertz thinks this was a smart move: "It was very quick -- the decision, 'Okay, if we want to be successful in the U.S., we have to change our thinking about this industry.' And that's the reason why we developed games here in the U.S., that's the reason why we picked a technology like Unity to develop games of high quality." You can read up on Bigpoint's plan over at Gamasutra, and don't forget to check out our first impressions of Battlestar Galactica Online.
Bigpoint launches Battlestar Galactica Online
SyFy's Battlestar Galactica odyssey may have ended, but Bigpoint's MMO adaptation of the beloved reboot has just begun. The free-to-play game maker has announced the official launch of Battlestar Galactica Online, a browser-based title set during the latter half of the TV show's second season. Players can choose to fight for either the Cylons or the Colonials, as both fleets are stranded in uncharted space and in need of repairs and critical supplies. This leads into a contest for nearby resources that involves space combat, exploration, and mission-based play as well as ship unlocks, customization, and market features. Bigpoint has also made use of assets from the television series including the seminal Bear McCreary musical score and the instantly recognizable ship models. How does all this hold up in a browser game? Pretty well, according to Bigpoint. "We are confident that a new standard has been achieved -- no longer should browser games be considered sub-par to their console or PC-installed counterparts," says CEO Heiko Hubertz.
Bigpoint vs. BioWare: CEO says The Old Republic will never be profitable
As a high-profile MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic is proving itself to be a big target for attack. Bigpoint, the German game developer that's working on Battlestar Galactica Online, stepped up to take a swing at the as-of-yet-unreleased title. At the London Games Conference, Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz made the bold prediction that The Old Republic will never see a profit: "If you look at Star Wars from EA and BioWare, they estimated a development budget of over $100 million. This is an online game for many million of subscribers, so the publisher does not understand that a subscription model is not the future. With microtransactions maybe I see the game having a chance but I don't think that EA or BioWare will ever be profitable with this game." EA BioWare has yet to release a definite pricing plan for TOR, although it is widely believed it will be subscription-based. Earlier this year, Dr. Ray Muzyka said that there will be "more of the traditional business model with maybe some twists as well."
Has the iPhone App Market already crashed?
At GDC Europe earlier this week, Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz claimed that the iPhone app market "has already crashed. You cannot sell your game for 99 cents and expect a return." Apple has said that developers are collectively making more than a billion dollars on the App Store, but Hubertz knocks that figure down a few notches, suggesting that because there are over 250,000 actual apps on the store, no one developer is making enough to cover the development costs of any game worth making. Is he right? In a sense, he is -- it's already pretty clear that for a number of reasons, prices have raced to the bottom on the App Store. And while the audience is still growing (people are buying more and more iPhones every day), so is the pool of developers and apps. While there are definitely some runaway hits, the average developer isn't going to see profits that will keep an EA-level game afloat. That said, the market certainly hasn't "crashed." Apple wanted an app ecosystem that anyone with a Mac and some knowledge and time could join, and that's what they've got -- a developer who puts a worthy amount of time and talent into an app, with some help and promotion from sites like ours, can likely turn over a profit, if not make a good amount of money. Sure, the App Store's not very friendly to big budget producers, but that's probably not what Apple wanted in the first place anyway.
Bigpoint announces key characters in Battlestar Galactica Online
Bigpoint, the creator of upcoming browser-based MMO Battlestar Galactica Online, has revealed a part of the game that fans have been speculating on for a while. The names of key characters have been announced, and you'll certainly see plenty of familiar ones. These characters will be NPCs, placed in the game to "create a deeper connection to the storyline, provide quests and accentuate the dramatic tension that the series is known for delivering expertly." On the human side, you'll find William and Lee "Apollo" Adama, Starbuck and Apollo and Galen "Chief" Tyrol. The Cylon roster will be made up of One, Two, Six and Eight. (Sorry guys, no Three.) Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz is pleased with these additions to the game: "These characters brought to life the story and captured the imaginations of a whole new generation of Battlestar Galactica fans and we felt strongly that they needed to appear in the game." You can sign up for the game newsletter and receive more updates through the BSG Online site. [Editor's Note: Whoops, we made a mistake in our list! Fixed that for you. ~Sera]
