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Big Fish Games

Topic: Company

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 5 min

Big Fish Games, Inc.
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded2002; 24 years ago (2002)
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington, United States
Number of employees
350 (2020)
ParentAristocrat Leisure
Websitebigfishgames.com

Big Fish Games, Inc. is a casual game company based in Seattle with a regional office in Oakland, California, owned by Aristocrat Leisure. It is a developer and distributor of casual games for computers and mobile devices.

In 2016, the company was accused of knowingly deceiving customers into signing up for monthly purchases without informed consent.[1] It was also the subject of a class action lawsuit over its app Big Fish Casino, resulting in a settlement of $155 million after a federal appeals court ruled that it constituted illegal online gambling.[2][3]

History

The company was founded in 2002.[4] In 2009, it announced the opening of its European headquarters in Cork, Ireland.[5] In July 2010, the company passed one billion game downloads from its online portal.[6]

In August 2013, Big Fish announced the closing of its cloud-based games service, Vancouver studio and Cork offices.[7] In 2014, the company was acquired by Churchill Downs Inc. in a deal valued at up to $885 million.[8][9] In 2018, Churchill Downs sold Big Fish to Australian gambling machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure for $990 million.[10] In September 2018, Big Fish cut 15% of its workforce,[11] and in September 2020, it cut nearly 50% of its workforce.[12]

Big Fish Studios

Big Fish Games has studios split between the Seattle office and Oakland office which develop games: Self Aware Games, Triton Studios, Epic Ventures and ARC Studios. Games developed by the various Big Fish studios include:

Online games

The company entered browser gaming with its acquisition of the game website Ion Thunder in 2007; the service was re-branded as Atlantis after the acquisition. The service which was revamped as Big Sea Games in 2009, was shut down in 2010 as part of the company's shift from traditional online games to social games on Facebook and other mobile apps.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Duryee, Tricia (August 6, 2014). "Lawsuit accuses Big Fish of baiting customers into signing up for 'free' game memberships that really aren't". GeekWire. https://www.geekwire.com/2014/big-fish-games-accused-lawsuit-charging-customers-monthly-fee-free-memberships/. 
  2. ↑ Soper, Taylor (August 31, 2020). "Judge approves $155M class action settlement related to Big Fish Games and online gambling lawsuit". https://www.geekwire.com/2020/big-fish-games-pay-155m-tweak-games-part-class-action-settlement-gambling/. 
  3. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (September 1, 2020). "250 Jobs Lost At Big Fish Games As Company Reaches $155 Million Settlement". https://www.gamespot.com/articles/250-jobs-lost-at-big-fish-games-as-company-reaches/1100-6481724/. 
  4. ↑ "About Big Fish". Big Fish Games. https://www.bigfishgames.com/daily/about/. 
  5. ↑ Cook, John (April 9, 2009). "Big Fish picks Ireland for European expansion". https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/04/06/daily42.html. 
  6. ↑ Martin, Matt (July 20, 2010). "Big Fish passes one billion game downloads". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/big-fish-passes-one-billion-game-downloads. 
  7. ↑ Cook, John (August 21, 2013). "Full memo: Big Fish CEO announces job cuts, cancellation of cloud games business and closure of Ireland and BC facilities". http://www.geekwire.com/2013/full-memo-big-fish-ceo-announces-job-cuts-closure-ireland-bc-facilities-cancellation-cloud-games-business/. 
  8. ↑ Wingfield, Nick (November 12, 2014). "Churchill Downs to buy Big Fish Games for up to $885 million". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/business/churchill-downs-to-buy-big-fish-games-for-up-to-dollar885-million.html. 
  9. ↑ "Churchill finishes purchase of Big Fish Games". The Blood-Horse. December 16, 2014. https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/110115/churchill-finishes-purchase-of-big-fish-games. 
  10. ↑ "Seattle-based Big Fish Games being sold for $990M to Australian firm". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. November 29, 2017. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/seattle-based-big-fish-games-being-sold-for-990m-to-australian-firm/. 
  11. ↑ Levy, Nat (September 25, 2018). "Internal memo: Big Fish Games cutting 15% of its workforce, including key executives". https://www.geekwire.com/2018/internal-memo-big-fish-games-cutting-15-workforce-including-key-executives/. 
  12. ↑ Soper, Taylor (September 1, 2020). "Seattle-based Big Fish Games lays off 250 people". https://www.geekwire.com/2020/seattle-based-big-fish-games-lays-off-250-people-read-memo-sent-staff/. 
  13. ↑ ""Grim Facade"". https://www.bigfishgames.com/us/en/games/search.html?platform=150&language=114&search_query=%22Grim+Facade%22. 
  14. ↑ Bell, Erin (August 9, 2010). "Big Sea Games fans swim to other ponds". http://www.gamezebo.com/2010/08/09/big-sea-games-fans-swim-other-ponds/. 

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