Firefly Studios

Firefly Studios Limited (also stylized as FireFly Studios) is a British video game developer based in London. Formed in August 1999 by Simon Bradbury, David Lester, and Eric Ouellette, the company focuses on historic real-time strategy games for the PC and Macintosh systems. They are best known for their Stronghold series of games.[2] In June 2021, the studio was acquired by Devolver Digital.

Firefly Studios Limited
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedAugust 1999 (1999-08)
Founders
  • Simon Bradbury
  • David Lester
  • Eric Ouellette
Headquarters
London
,
England
Key people
  • Simon Bradbury
  • Eric Ouellette
ProductsStronghold series
Number of employees
39[1] (2022)
ParentDevolver Digital (2021–present)
Websitefireflyworlds.com

History

Firefly Studios was established in August 1999 by Simon Bradbury, David Lester, and Eric Ouellette,[3] who met while working at Impressions Games.[4] The studio released its first game, Stronghold, in 2001, to critical and commercial success.[5]

The later Stronghold releases, Stronghold 2 (2005), and Stronghold Legends (2006), both received poor reviews and were given Metacritic scores of 63 percent[6] and 57 percent respectively.[7] The last of the series, Stronghold: Crusader Extreme (2008), received an average score of 40 percent on Metacritic.[8] Around this time, the studio began a collaboration with Firaxis Games that produced CivCity: Rome, a game that received poor reviews and was the last Firefly game published by Take-Two Interactive.[9]

In 2008, Firefly announced that they would be working on Stronghold 3 followed by Crusader II because of demand from fans. The studio later canceled the release of the planned Dungeon Hero game. In 2009, when asked if they had any other unannounced games in development besides Dungeon Hero and Stronghold Kingdoms, the studio responded that they still had one more game in development.[10][11] A subsequent newsletter stated that the studio had "something very big in the pipeline" which would be revealed in 2010.[12]

Stronghold 3 was officially announced on 14 May 2010 by SouthPeak Games, and was released in October 2011.[13] The game received some criticism on gaming sites for game bugs. Fans pointed to various issues, including the difficulty involved with building walls and the absence of a kingmaker.

More recent games included Stronghold Crusader II, the sequel to their 2002 game Stronghold: Crusader. The lead designer at Firefly Studios, Simon Bradbury, stated that the title was "our favorite game, it’s our fans’ favorite game and it’s the game we have been waiting to put into production for several long years now."[14] The title was initially scheduled for release in early 2013[15] but due to delays was not released until 23 September 2014.[16]

Despite the uneven success of some of its games, the studio continues to develop new games and has sold over seven million copies to date. The Stronghold Kingdoms series retains a following with over eight million registered players.[17]

The publisher Devolver Digital acquired Firefly Studios on 24 June 2021. While Devolver Digital had not published any Firefly Studios games, the studio had previously worked with Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group, both co-founded by Devolver's founders.[18]

Recent activities

Dungeon Hero had been in development for several years and was scheduled for release in 2009 on both PC and Xbox 360 systems. The game was originally going to be published by Gamecock Media Group, but after that company was bought out by SouthPeak Games in October 2008, a legal dispute on the subject of ownership of the game stopped its release. Dungeon Hero is currently without a publisher, despite SouthPeak publishing every other Gamecock title due for release. Firefly Studios has announced that the title is on hold, and several planned release dates have passed without release. The lack of clarity on the issue has fueled speculation that the game may be published as a vaporware title in the future.

Stronghold: Warlords, initially announced by Firefly Studios as Stronghold: Next, was released on 9 March 2021.

Stronghold: Definitive Edition has been announced by Firefly Studios and is being released on November 7th 2023.

Games
YearGame
2001Stronghold
2002Stronghold: Crusader
2003Space Colony
2005Stronghold 2
2006CivCity: Rome
2006Stronghold Legends
CancelledDungeon Hero
2008Stronghold: Crusader Extreme
2009Stronghold Kingdoms
2011Stronghold 3
2012Stronghold HD
2012Stronghold: Crusader HD
2012Space Colony HD
2014Stronghold Crusader II
2015Space Colony: Steam Edition
2016Wonky Tower[19]
2016Stronghold Legends: Steam Edition
2017Stronghold 2: Steam Edition
2017Stronghold Kingdoms: Mobile Edition
2017MetaMorph: Dungeon Creatures[20]
2021Stronghold: Warlords
2021Romans: Age of Caesar[21]
2023Stronghold: Definitive Edition

References
  1. "Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022" (PDF). Devolver Digital. 3 May 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  2. Guglielmo, Samuel (19 November 2019). "Sam Speaks With Firefly Studios About Stronghold: Warlords". TechRaptor. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  3. Walker, Trey (March 23, 2001). "Q&A: Stronghold". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  4. "About us: Strategy gaming since 1999". Firefly Studios. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  5. "Stronghold PC". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  6. "Stronghold 2 PC". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  7. "Stronghold Legends PC". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  8. "Stronghold Crusader Extreme PC". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  9. "CivCity: Rome PC". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  10. "stronghold kingdoms interview". Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
  11. Wesley Yin-Poole (12 May 2008). "Stronghold 3 and Crusader 2 coming at some point". VideoGamer. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  12. "Firefly Newsletter - Issue #2". Firefly Studios. 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-05-04. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  13. SouthPeak Games Staff (May 13, 2010). "SouthPeak Games Acquires Rights to Publish Firefly Studios' Stronghold 3". SouthPeak Games. Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  14. Rainier (30 August 2012). "'Stronghold Crusader 2' Announced". Worth Playing. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  15. "News: Firefly Studios announces Stronghold: Crusader II for PC in late 2013 - Strategy Informer". Archived from the original on 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  16. "Stronghold Crusader Factsheet". Firefly Studios. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  17. "Stronghold: Warlords Adds Map Pack and DLC Campaign". Game Press. 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  18. "Devolver Digital, Inc. | AIM Admission Document | November 2021" (PDF). Devolver Digital. November 4, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  19. "Wonky Tower | Firefly Studios". www.fireflyworlds.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-14. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  20. "MetaMorph : Dungeon Creatures". Steam. Archived from the original on 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  21. "Romans - Open Beta Now Live - Firefly Studios". 7 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
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