Supergiant Games
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 critically acclaimed games "Bastion", "Transistor", "Pyre" and "Hades". History. Supergiant Games was formed by Amir Rao and Gavin Simon in 2009. Both had been working at the Los Angeles studio of Electronic Arts, involved with the "Command & Conquer" series. In 2009 they agreed to quit their job, move into the same house, and begin to work on a new game together. At that time, they hired  musician Darren Korb for audio and music work. They also used a number of freelancer programmers and developers they could call on for help at various times during the development of this first game. Their first game, "Bastion", received high critical praise, including being listed among several "Game of the Year" lists from game journalists. It was first shown in mid-development at the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo as part of its "PAX 10" highlight ten upcoming independently developed games. This attracted several publishers who wanted to help distribute the game; Supergiant Games 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. In March 2013, Supergiant Games announced their next title, "Transistor", released on May 20, 2014. A promotion video was released March 19. The game features a female protagonist, Red, in a cyberpunk-like city, who has acquired a powerful weapon that she is nearly killed for possessing. The game features a similar isometric viewpoint to "Bastion" and also met with critical acclaim. In April 2016, Supergiant Games 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. 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 on a separate arena. The combat system is also very different, being described as "fantasy basketball". "Pyre" was again regarded fondly by critics and was named "Game Informer" best indie game for that year. 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 roguelike game based on Greek mythology, where the player character Zagreus uses a combination of weapon, magic, and abilities to defeat enemies in procedurally-generated dungeons and escape from his father, Hades. "Hades" was met with critical acclaim, selling over 1 million copies and reaching “universal acclaim” status on Metacritic; with several awards won. It was nominated for nine awards at The Game Awards 2020, winning two, including Best Independent Game and Best Action. "Hades" won the best game award at the 2021 Bafta Games Awards.