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Daedalic Entertainment

Video game developer · Germany · Active

Daedalic Entertainment

Founded in 2007

30
games developed
71
games published
1
in development
95
employees

History of Daedalic Entertainment

Daedalic Entertainment was founded on 1 March 2007 in a small Hamburg office. Its founders were Carsten Fichtelmann, previously marketing director at the German publisher DTP Entertainment, and creative director Jan 'Poki' Müller-Michaelis, now Jan Baumann. Its first game, the adventure Edna & Harvey: The Breakout, came out on 5 June 2008; it grew out of Müller-Michaelis's university thesis and won several major awards.

Daedalic made its name with point-and-click adventure games. After 1½ Knights – In Search of the Ravishing Princess Herzelinde came The Whispered World (2009), A New Beginning (2010), a game about climate change, Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes (2011) and Deponia (2012), which also won awards and continued in Chaos on Deponia (2012) and Goodbye Deponia (2013). The company was named studio of the year at the German Developer Awards in 2009 and 2013.

In May 2014 the German publisher Bastei Lübbe bought a 51% stake in Daedalic, which opened a second studio in Düsseldorf that July, Daedalic Entertainment Studio West. Games from this period include The Dark Eye: Blackguards (2014), Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth (2017) and State of Mind (2018). There were layoffs in 2016, and in February 2018 a third studio, Daedalic Entertainment Bavaria, opened in Munich. That same year Bastei Lübbe, facing serious financial trouble, began considering selling its stake. In early 2021 the Düsseldorf and Munich studios went into liquidation.

Nacon announced in February 2022 that it was buying Daedalic, and the deal was confirmed that April. The last game Daedalic developed in-house was The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (2023), which was poorly received and performed badly. In June 2023 Daedalic shut down its development division, and it now works only as a publisher, still based in Hamburg.

Milestones

  1. 2007

    Carsten Fichtelmann and Jan Müller-Michaelis found Daedalic in Hamburg.

  2. 2008

    Edna & Harvey: The Breakout, its first game.

  3. 2009

    The Whispered World.

  4. 2012

    Deponia.

  5. 2014

    Bastei Lübbe buys a 51% stake.

  6. 2022

    Nacon buys Daedalic.

  7. 2023

    The Lord of the Rings: Gollum; the development division closes.

In development

Announced games with a future release date.

  • Surviving Deponia

    Surviving Deponia

    PC

    Planned for 2026

Its best-known games

Every game it has developed (30)

2023

  • The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Series X|S, PS4, PC, PS5

2019

  • Edna & Harvey: The Breakout - 10th Anniversary Edition PS4, PC, XONE, Switch
  • A Year of Rain PC

2018

  • State of Mind PS4, Linux, PC, Mac

2017

2016

  • Blackguards: Definitive Edition PS4, XONE
  • Silence PS4, Linux, PC, Mac
  • Deponia Doomsday PS4, Linux, PC, Mac

2015

  • Anna's Quest PS4, Linux, PC, Mac
  • Fire Linux, PC, Mac
  • Blackguards 2 PS4, PC, Mac, XONE

2014

  • The Whispered World: Special Edition Linux, PC, iOS, Mac
  • 1954 Alcatraz PC
  • Blackguards PC, Mac

2013

  • Goodbye Deponia PS4, Linux, PC, Mac
  • The Dark Eye: Memoria Series X|S, PS4, PC, Mac
  • The Night of the Rabbit PS4, Linux, PC, PS5

2012

  • A New Beginning: Final Cut PC
  • Chaos on Deponia PS4, Linux, PC, Mac
  • Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes PS4, Linux, PC, iOS
  • Deponia PS4, Linux, PC, iOS
  • The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav Series X|S, PS4, Linux, PC

2011

  • A New Beginning PC

2010

  • Winterfest PC

2009

  • The Whispered World PC, Mac

2008

  • Edna & Harvey: The Breakout Linux, PC, iOS, Mac
  • 1 1/2 Ritter: Auf der Suche nach der hinreissenden Herzelinde PC

Games it has published without developing them (71)

  • ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal 2002
  • Cultures: 8th Wonder of the World 2003
  • Full Pipe 2006
  • Tale of a Hero 2008
  • The Hidden Continent: Column of the Maya 2010
  • Face Noir 2013
  • Journey of a Roach 2013
  • Gomo 2013
  • The Last Tinker: City of Colors 2014
  • Munin 2014
  • Randal's Monday 2014
  • Decay: The Mare 2015
  • Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today 2015
  • Shooting Stars! 2015
  • Bounty Train 2015
  • Stasis 2015
  • Skyhill 2015
  • Valhalla Hills 2015
  • Caravan 2016
  • Crazy Machines 3 2016
  • Oh My Gore! 2016
  • Candle 2016
  • Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun 2016
  • Holy Potatoes! We're in Space?! 2017
  • Relaxing VR Games: Mahjong 2017
  • Leaves: The Journey 2017
  • Leaves: The Return 2017
  • The Franz Kafka Videogame 2017
  • Holy Potatoes! What the Hell?! 2017
  • Holy Potatoes! A Spy Story?! 2018
  • Intruders: Hide and Seek 2019
  • CryoFall 2019
  • The Great Perhaps 2019
  • Unrailed! 2019
  • Felix the Reaper 2019
  • The Suicide of Rachel Foster 2020
  • Iron Danger 2020
  • Iratus: Lord of the Dead 2020
  • Partisans 1941 2020
  • Witch It 2020
  • Warpips 2021
  • Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Aiko’s Choice 2021
  • Hidden Deep 2022
  • Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes 2022
  • Godlike Burger 2022
  • Velone 2022
  • Wildcat Gun Machine 2022
  • Children of Silentown 2023
  • Barotrauma 2023
  • Life of Delta 2023
  • Rough Justice: '84 2023
  • Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter 2023
  • Fling to the Finish 2024
  • Inkulinati 2024
  • Reveil 2024
  • Capes 2024
  • Shift 87 2024
  • Edge of Sanity 2024
  • Potion Tycoon 2024
  • Glitchpunk 2024
  • Wild Woods 2024
  • Into the Emberlands 2025
  • Once Upon a Puppet 2025
  • Yield! Fall of Rome 2025
  • Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown 2026
  • Bloodgrounds 2026
  • Leaves 3 2026
  • Sherman Commander 2026
  • The Occultist 2026
  • Magin: The Rat Project Stories 2026
  • Woodo 2026