Alawar

Alawar
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded1999; 26 years ago (1999) in Novosibirsk, Russia
Founders
  • Sergey Zanin
  • Alexander Lyskovsky
Headquarters
Lewes, Delaware
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Sergey Zanin (CEO)
Number of employees
50+ (2021)
Websitecompany.alawar.com

Alawar Entertainment is an international developer and publisher of video games. Founded in Novosibirsk, Russia, it is based in Lewes, Delaware, United States. Its main areas of activity are free-to-play games.[1][2] The company's games have sold more than 200 million copies.[3]

History

The company was founded in 1999 by Novosibirsk State University students Alexander Lyskovsky and Sergey Zanin. Game development was the first department of the company. Alawar released two games: Puzzle Rally[4] and Bubble Bobble Nostalgie.[5]

In 2001, the company released Magic Ball, a 3D arkanoid-style game developed by Dream Dale in Irkutsk. Magic Ball was ported to PlayStation consoles and iOS. In 2006, Alawar became one of the first companies to support SMS payments in Russia[6] for its products.

In 2008, the first games in the Farm Frenzy and The Treasures of Montezuma franchises were released. In August 2009, Alawar and Oleg Kuvaev signed a cooperation agreement that gave Alawar exclusive rights to use the Masyanya brand[7] in games until 2014. In 2010, Alawar released around 15 projects for the iPhone and iPad. The Treasures of Montezuma was released on iOS.

In 2019, Alawar developed and published the free-to-play battle royale shooter Watchers (servers shut down in August 2021),[8] as well as Space Robinson, an action game with rogue-like elements. In 2021, Alawar published a 2D narrative detective Song of Farca. Later this year, the company released a 2D action platformer They Always Run by its own production.

In 2022, Alawar released the third chapter of the Beholder saga. In April, the company announced the development of Necrosmith, a rogue-like Necromancer simulator that was released on 13 July 2022 and has sold over 200,000 copies on Steam. On 6 March 2023, Alawar announced the development of Necrosmith 2. On 5 April 2023, Wall World, a mining and tower defense game by Alawar, was released on Steam and sold 200,000 copies in 2 months.

Alawar has a distribution network through its website and affiliate program. On June 1, 2023, Alawar closed its game storefronts.[citation needed]

Awards

  • 2008 – Farm Frenzy was named the best casual game at the 2008 Game Developers Conference[9]
  • 2008 – Alawar won the Runet Prize 2008[10]
  • 2012 – Alawar was named best publisher at the Game Developers Conference[11]
  • 2016 – Beholder won the Excellence in Game Design and Best Indie Game categories at the DevGamm Independent Games Conference[12]
  • 2017 – Do Not Feed The Monkeys received several awards: Best Narrative (DevGamm Conference, Minsk[13]), Most Innovative (3DWire, Segovia), Best Indie Game (FEFFS, Strasbourg), DevGamm Choice (Get It! Conference, Odessa), Media Choice (Indiecade Europe, Paris)
  • 2019 – Do Not Feed The Monkeys was a finalist at the Independent Games Festival (IGF) in several categories: Innovative Game, Best Design and Grand Prix
  • 2023 – Beholder 3 won the Best Serious Game category at the German Computer Games Awards 2023.[14]

Games developed

Year Title Platform(s)
2016 Beholder Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
2017 Distrust Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Beholder – Blissful Sleep Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
2018 I am not a Monster: First Contact Microsoft Windows
Beholder 2 Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
2021 They Always Run Microsoft Windows
2022 Necrosmith Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
2023 Wall World Microsoft Windows
2024 Necrosmith 2 Microsoft Windows
TBA Wall World: Deep Threat Microsoft Windows

Games published

Year Title Developer(s) Platform(s)
2004 Roads of Fantasy Gamemaster's Group Microsoft Windows
2017 Displaced Gamexy Microsoft Windows, macOS
2018 Do Not Feed the Monkeys Fictiorama Studios, BadLand Games Publishing Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
2019 Space Robinson Luxorix Games Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS
2021 Song of Farca Wooden Monkeys Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS
A Tale for Anna Far Mills Microsoft Windows, macOS
Looking for Aliens Yustas Games Studio Microsoft Windows
2022 Beholder 3 Paintbucket Games Microsoft Windows

References

  1. ^ "Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine". archive.org. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Alawar Entertainment Inc - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  3. ^ "About company | Alawar Midcore Games". Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Puzzle Rally".
  5. ^ "Bubble Bobble Nostalgie. Get the software safely and easily". Software Informer. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  6. ^ "История компании Alawar - от офисных казуалок до душевных игр 🎮".
  7. ^ "Alawar Entertainment получил эксклюзивные права на использование бренда 'Масяня' в играх".
  8. ^ "Watchers' End of Service". 6 June 2021.
  9. ^ "КРИ 2008 - во что же мы будем играть в ближайшее время". StopGame.ru — всё про видеоигры. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Номинанты и Лауреаты".
  11. ^ "Объявлены победители церемонии КРИ Awards 2012". www.igromania.ru. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Победители DevGAMM Минск 2016".
  13. ^ "Победители DevGAMM Awards Minsk 2017".
  14. ^ Deutschen computerspielpreises 2023