Supergiant Games

Not to be confused with Supermassive Games.

American video game developer and publisher

Supergiant Games, LLC

Logo since August 2019

Company type| Private
Industry| Video games
Founded| 2009; 16 years ago (2009)
Founders|

* Amir Rao
* Gavin Simon

Headquarters|

San Francisco, California

U.S.

Key people

| Amir Rao (studio operations)
Products|

* Bastion
* Transistor
* Pyre
* Hades
* Hades II

Number of employees

| 25[1] (2024)
Website| supergiantgames.com

Supergiant Games, LLC is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in San Francisco. It was founded in 2009 by Amir Rao and Gavin Simon, and is known for the games Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, Hades and Hades II.

## History

[edit]

Amir Rao, co-founder of Supergiant Games, in 2012

Supergiant Games was formed in 2009 by Amir Rao and Gavin Simon, both previously of EA Los Angeles, where they were involved with the Command & Conquer series.[2] After agreeing to leave Electronic Arts, the duo moved into the same house, and began to work on a new game together. Artist Jen Zee became Supergiant's third member, and, later, its art director.[3] Musician and composer Darren Korb was hired for audio and music work.[4][5] They employed a number of freelance programmers and developers at various times during the development of their first game.[6][7]

Their first game, Bastion, received high critical praise, being listed among several "Game of the Year" lists from game journalists.[8] It was first shown in mid-development at the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo as one of many highlighted indie games.[9] This attracted several publishers who wanted to help distribute the game; Supergiant chose Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, leading to the game's distribution on Xbox Live Arcade and also as a premiere title during the 2011 "Summer of Arcade" promotion.[10]

In March 2013, Supergiant announced their next title, Transistor, released on May 20, 2014. A promotion video was released on March 19.[11] The game's protagonist, Red, is a singer in the cyberpunk city of Cloudbank who loses her voice and her bodyguard in a traumatic incident but gains a powerful USB-like sword.[12][13] The game features a similar isometric viewpoint to Bastion[14] and was also met with critical acclaim.[15]

In April 2016, the studio announced their third game, Pyre, released on July 25, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, Linux and PlayStation 4. It was described as a party-based role-playing game.[16] In a break from their previous games, Pyre does not use an isometric viewpoint; the player's party travels across a 2D overworld, and combat takes place in a separate arena. The combat system is also very different, being described as "fantasy basketball" with which the victors of games called Rites can receive absolution for past crimes and return from their exile in a wasteland called the Downfall to their country of origin, the Commonwealth.[17] Pyre was again regarded fondly by critics and was named Game Informer's best indie RPG for that year.[18]

Supergiant's next game, Hades, was revealed at The Game Awards 2018 and released on September 17, 2020, following an early access release from December 2018. Hades is an action roguelite game based on Greek mythology, where the player character Zagreus uses a combination of weapons, magic, and abilities to defeat enemies in procedurally-generated dungeons and escape from his father, Hades.[19] Hades was met with critical acclaim, selling over 1 million copies and reaching "universal acclaim" status on Metacritic,[20][21] with several awards won. It was nominated for nine awards at The Game Awards 2020, including for Game of the Year; Hades would end up winning two awards for Best Independent Game and Best Action. Hades wound up winning the best game of the year awards at the 17th British Academy Games Awards, the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, and the 21st Game Developers Choice Awards.[22]

At The Game Awards 2022, Supergiant announced Hades II. Like the original Hades, it is a roguelite game based on Greek mythology and it is currently being developed in early access.[23][24] The game's protagonist is Melinoë, daughter of Hades and younger sister of previous protagonist Zagreus, who has been raised by the witch Hecate to take down the Titan Chronos after his attack on Melinoë's family left them imprisoned and unreachable. [25][26]

## Games developed

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Platform(s)  | Genre(s)

|
|
|

2011  | Bastion | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, iOS | Action role-playing
2014  | Transistor | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Switch, iOS, Apple TV | Action role-playing, turn-based strategy
2017  | Pyre | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4  | Action role-playing, sports
2020  | Hades | Windows, macOS, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, iOS  | Action role-playing, roguelite
TBA  | Hades II | Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch 2 | Action role-playing, roguelite

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Stewart, Marcus (May 2024). "One More Run: The Making and Mythology of Hades II". Game Informer. Vol. 34 5, no. 366\. pp. 38–49.
2. ^ Wallace, Kimberley. "The Story Behind Supergiant Games' Bastion". Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
3. ^ Wallace, Kimberley (April 16, 2021). "The Story Behind Supergiant Games' Bastion". Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
4. ^ Jungreis, Max. "The cofounder of Supergiant, which created hit video game Hades, quit his job and moved in with his dad to make games. Here's how his team manages the workload in an industry struggling with burnout". Business Insider. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
5. ^ "The Holistic Master of Video Game Music: An Interview with Darren Korb". The Indie Game Website. March 9, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
6. ^ Caoili, Eric (March 12, 2010). "GDC: EA LA Vets Form Digital Download Dev Supergiant". Gamasutra. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
7. ^ Marie, Meagan (September 4, 2010). "SuperGiant's Bastion Is Beautiful". Game Informer. Archived from the original on November 14, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
8. ^ Anwer, Rizwan (January 3, 2012). "Bastion Sells 500,000 Copies And Wins Over 60 Awards". Wccftech. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
9. ^ Gallaway, Brad. "PAX 2010 – The Scoop". GameCritics.com. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
10. ^ Cullen, Johnny (July 19, 2011). "Supergiant: Warner "bought into" our "vision" of Bastion". VG247. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
11. ^ Transistor – Reveal Trailer. YouTube. March 19, 2013.
12. ^ Tang, Stephen. "If You Love Expedition 33's Turn-Based Combat, This Is The Perfect Indie Game For You". ScreenRant. ScreenRant. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
13. ^ "Transistor: The Giant Sword-Wielding Female Protagonist Game". The Mary Sue. May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
14. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (March 19, 2013). "Transistor from Supergiant Games gets a reveal trailer". VG247. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
15. ^ "Transistor Is Free on Epic Games Store Starting Today". Retrieved May 22, 2021.
16. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (April 19, 2016). "Bastion and Transistor dev announces RPG Pyre". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
17. ^ "Pyre is a mystical take on basketball from the team behind Transistor". TheVerge. July 24, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
18. ^ Kimberley Wallace (January 7, 2018). "The 2017 RPG Of The Year Awards". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
19. ^ Hasan, Maruf (September 22, 2020). "Hades has sold 1 million copies and that is no surprise". EIP Gaming. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
20. ^ Byford, Sam (December 6, 2018). "Hades is a new game from the makers of Pyre and Transistor, and it's out now in early access". The Verge. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
21. ^ Kerr, Chris (September 21, 2020). "Hades has sold over 1 million copies in under two years". www.gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
22. ^ "Bafta Games Awards 2021: Hades takes Best Game". BBC News. March 25, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
23. ^ Middler, Jordan (December 8, 2022). "Hades 2 announced at The Game Awards". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
24. ^ Friscia, John (December 8, 2022). "Hades II Announced by Supergiant Games, Enters Early Access in 2023". The Escapist. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
25. ^ Peters, Jay. "Hades II just keeps getting better". The Verge. The Verge. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
26. ^ King, Jade. "Killing Chronos In Hades 2 Is Only The Beginning". TheGamer. TheGamer. Retrieved May 31, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Supergiant Games

Games|

* Bastion
* Transistor
* Pyre
* Hades
* Zagreus
* Megaera
* Dusa
* Thanatos
* Hades II
* Melinoë

People|

* Logan Cunningham
* Greg Kasavin
* Darren Korb
* Jen Zee

Authority control databases

National|

* Germany
* United States

Other|

* MusicBrainz label

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