Ankama

Ankama is a French entertainment company headquartered in Roubaix, France,[1] focused on the design of massive multiplayer online role playing games (Dofus, Dofus Arena and Wakfu). The company is also active in publishing, animation and Web development. It was founded by Anthony Roux, Camille Chafer and Emmanuel Darras. The company name comes from their own names : ANthony, KAmille, MAnu.

Ankama
TypeSAS
IndustryVideo game design (Ankama Games), Interactive communication (Ankama Web), Comic book publishing (Ankama Éditions) and Animation (Ankama Animation)
FoundedMay 15, 2001 (2001-05-15)
Headquarters75 boulevard d'Armentières, 59100 Roubaix Cedex 1 – France
Key people
  • Camille Chafer
  • (lead programmer, co-founder)
  • Anthony Roux
  • (art director, co-founder)
  • Emmanuel Darras
  • (sales manager, co-founder)
Number of employees
500 (2012)
Websiteankama.com/en

Video games

Ankama Games create, produce and distribute their own video games:

  • Dofus, the first game by the studio, is an MMORPG developed entirely in Flash. Players control an Avatar in the medieval fantasy "World of Twelve". aiming to acquire experience by completing quests and defeating monsters. The game uses a unique, turn based tactical combat system, which sets Dofus apart from many other MMORPGs. The basic version of the game is free-to-play, but more features are available to player purchasing a subscription.
  • Dofus Arena, which public beta-testing began in early 2006, is the PvP (Player versus player) version of Dofus. The players take on the role of a coach setting up a team to compete with the teams of other players. Dofus Arena takes its combat system from Dofus. The goal of the game is to go up a relative ranking of players, which is based on the Elo rating system.
  • Voya Nui Online Game, the only known game developed by Ankama to be used by another company (the aforementioned Lego Group), is a one-player RPG that could be played from Lego's website in 2006.
  • Islands of Wakfu, an action-adventure role-playing game for the Xbox 360 Xbox Live Arcade published by Microsoft Games Studios, set in the universe of Wakfu. Released in 2011.
  • Wakfu, an MMORPG developed in 2011. It allows players to interact without any NPC interference. The game takes place in the same world as Dofus, but is set 1000 years later.
  • Fly'n, is a puzzle platformer released on 9 November 2012.
  • Tactile Wars is a multi-player video game released in 2015.
  • King Tongue is a single player phone app released in 2015.
  • Drag'n'Boom
  • Nindash
  • Krosmaster
  • Krosmaga
  • Waven, a free-to-play multiplayer tactical RPG, for mobile devices, PC and Mac.[2] Available in early access since August 2023.[3]

Comic book publishing

Ankama Éditions was set up in 2006 to publish comic books. The published works include titles related to Ankama Games' Dofus universe, but also unrelated titles such as Mutafukaz, which is very successful in France. Published works include:

  • Artbooks Dofus
  • Dofus manga
  • Original SoundTrack Dofus
  • Mutafukaz comic book (bd)
  • Dofus Pandala comic book (bd)
  • Dofus Arena (manga) manga
  • Maliki (comic book), comic book (bd)
  • Dofus Monster manga
  • Kuma-kuma manga
  • Chaosland comic book (bd)
  • Artbook Café Salé
  • Dofus Mag
  • Debaser manga
  • Freaks Squeele comic book (bd)
  • Kanvict comic book (bd)
  • Radiant manga

Web

Ankama Web is an interactive communication agency specialized in digital media, Web development and marketing buzz strategies. Ankama Web thus develops websites and Internet applications for professionals. Created in 2001, the agency was historically the first pole of activity of Ankama.[4][5]

Press

Ankama Presse, dedicated to the publication of magazines, was created on June 15, 2007, as a part of Ankama's cross-media strategy. It published mainly magazines about Ankama's video games. Its main product was Dofus Mag, focused on Ankama's flagship game, Dofus. The magazine's format was inspired by the Japanese concept of mook, indicating a hybrid product between magazine and book: while being distributed in newsstands, it was meant to be read and preserved as a book. Dofus Mag and other Ankama Presse titles were subsequently canceled.[6][7]

Animation

Ankama Animations was created in March 2007. MadLab Animations was created in 2017.

In 2008, Wakfu: The Animated Series (based on the video game, Wakfu) began airing. A second season aired in 2010. Both seasons consisted of 26 20-minute episodes. The plot focuses on Yugo and his companions as he is looking for his biological family. The series was animated in Adobe Flash.

In 2013, Dofus: The Treasures of Kerubim, based upon the Dofus game, aired. The series is set 200 years before the beginning of the MMORPG. It follows the main character Kerubim throughout various episodes of his life. The premise has Kerubim narrating several of his adventures to his adopted son Joris and their housekeeper Simone. The series consists of 52 10-minute episodes. A movie adaptation of the TV series is slated to release in late 2015.

In 2016, the film Dofus, livre 1 : Julith (Anthony Roux, Jean-Jacques Denis) was released in French theaters.

In 2018, the film Mutafukaz (Guillaume Renard, Shōjirō Nishimi) was released in French theaters. On December 25, 2019 it was released on Netflix in the US market.

Development strategy

Internationally

Ankama developed internationally from the 2000s with two subsidiaries in the United States and Japan, and expanded with the arrival of Olivier Comte as general manager and the creation of many other studios.[8]

Ankama Studio is a subsidiary of Ankama, created in 2006,[9] which produces games for other companies, particularly in North America. The Ankama Japan studio, based in Tokyo, opened in early 2009.[10] It mainly deals with animation.[11]

Based in Montreal,[12] the Ankama Canada studio was created on August 1, 2013 by two Ankama employees. The group, made up of ten employees, is the author of the video game Abraca.[13] To enable (among other things) the expansion of the Wakfu game in China,[14][15][16] the company opened a studio in Singapore in early 2014. These two studios, as well as another in São Paulo in Brazil,[17] will close quickly, to allow Ankama to focus on Japan and Paris.[18]

The Ankama Asia group, based in Manila in the Philippines, and aiming to develop its games in the Asian world, was acquired on March 22, 2016 by Keywords Studios. During this four-year contract, Keywords wishes to recruit about twenty more employees.[19]

In 2018, Studio No Border was created, a Tokyo subsidiary responsible for the development of Japanese animations and video games.[20][21] Thomas Romain, known for his Code Lyoko series, is the artistic director.[22]

In 2019, Ankama reached the twelfth rank of the most profitable French companies.[23]

References
  1. "Ankama legal notice: "75 boulevard d'Armentières BP 60403 59057 ROUBAIX Cedex 1 – France". Retrieved on 31 July 2016.
  2. "WAVEN is a free-to-play multiplayer tactical RPG with unique colorful graphics". www.waven-game.com. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  3. ""WAVEN EARLY ACCESS IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE ON PC AND MAC " - Games Press". www.gamespress.com. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  4. Sylfaen (24 November 2006). "Dofus a deux ans: interview de Lichen, Tot et Thomas". Dofus-JeuxOnLine..
  5. Didier Pasamonik (24 April 2006). "L'incroyable saga de Dofus, un « manga-like » français". Actua BD. Retrieved 1 May 2019..
  6. "Dofus Mag: c'est fini..." [Dofus Mag: it's over...] (in French). 27 November 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  7. Thomas Cusseau (1 January 2014). "Ankama: le bon, la brute ou le truand ?". Gamekult..
  8. Emmanuel Forsans (10 January 2014). "Ankama lance Wakfu en Asie du Sud-Est et ouvre un bureau à Singapour pour soutenir son développement à l'international". Agence française pour le jeu vidéo. Retrieved 19 May 2017..
  9. "Ankama Studio". Société.com. Retrieved 20 May 2017..
  10. Fabrice Leduc (3 January 2011). "Hitman, Soil et Ecchi: Ankama s'ancre dans le manga". Yozone. Retrieved 20 May 2017..
  11. "Animés du studio Ankama Japan". Animeka. Retrieved 20 May 2017..
  12. "Ankama implante son premier studio nord-américain dans le Grand Montréal". Montréal International. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2017..
  13. Emmanuel Forsans (16 September 2013). "Ankama ouvre un studio au Canada". Agence française pour le jeu vidéo. Retrieved 19 May 2017..
  14. Yukishiro (10 January 2014). "Ankama ouvre un bureau à Singapour". Gamekult. Retrieved 19 May 2017..
  15. Emmanuel Forsans (10 January 2014). "Ankama lance Wakfu en Asie du Sud-Est et ouvre un bureau à Singapour pour soutenir son développement à l'international". Agence française pour le jeu vidéo. Retrieved 19 May 2017..
  16. Shauni Chan (13 January 2014). "Ankama débarque à Singapour". Gamehope. Retrieved 19 May 2017..
  17. "Le studio de jeux vidéo Ankama à la conquête du monde grâce à Netflix". TF1 Info (in French). 15 September 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2022..
  18. N. B. (8 March 2016). "Nouveau long-métrage d'animation pour Ankama". Les Échos. Retrieved 19 May 2017..
  19. Dan Pearson (22 March 2016). "Keywords Studios expands to Philippines". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 20 May 2017..
  20. James Batchelor (22 March 2016). "Ankama Asia is Keywords' latest acquisition". Develop. Retrieved 20 May 2017..
  21. "Company overview of Ankama Asia Pte Ltd". Bloomberg. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017..
  22. "Ankama ouvre un studio au Japon". Livres Hebdo. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019..
  23. "Les 50 Entreprises les plus rentables de France". Libération (in French): 24. 16 December 2019.
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