Kwalee

Kwalee is an independent UK video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in May 2011 by David Darling CBE, who founded Codemasters and is hailed as one of the 'founding fathers' of the UK games industry.[1] The company makes and publishes hypercasual games for iOS and Android devices, including the iPhone and iPad. The company is based in Leamington Spa[2] in the County of Warwickshire. Kwalee is one of several companies that make up the Leamington Spa video gaming cluster, sometimes known as Silicon Spa.

Kwalee
Private
IndustryVideo games
FoundedLeamington Spa, United Kingdom (2011)
FounderDavid Darling
Headquarters
Leamington Spa
,
United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products
  • Draw It
  • Drop & Smash!
  • Go Fish!
  • Jetpack Jump
  • Looper!
  • OverTake
  • Plank!
  • Rocket Sky!
  • Looper!
Number of employees
70+
Websitekwalee.com

Kwalee employs over 70 technical, marketing, publishing and administrative staff in its Leamington Spa offices.[3] Andrew Graham, the designer of the Micro Machines series works for the company as Gameplay Guru, while COO Jason Falcus previously worked on hit titles such as NBA Jam.[4]

As of early 2020, Kwalee's games have achieved over 300 million downloads worldwide.[5]

The Kwalee name

Kwalee is the Australian Aboriginal for “wait for me”. It was the name of David Darling's grandfather's sailing boat which David sailed on frequently in his youth. David's grandfather was a TV engineer who taught him electronics. The name Kwalee is thus a homage to the grandfather who started David on his career.[6]

Third-Party Publishing

In 2019, Kwalee launched the publishing side of its business.[7] This dedicated team works with third-party developers to help their games reach a wider audience by signing and publishing them under the Kwalee brand.

Successes of the Kwalee publishing department include Rocket Sky! from developer DP Space AG, which has been a number one app in 11 countries including the United Kingdom, France and Australia[8] and OverTake, a 2020 driving title that has been the number one iOS game in countries including the United Kingdom, Australia and more.[9]

'Creative Wednesdays' and Profit Sharing

Kwalee offers a unique opportunity to all of its employees in the form of its 'Creative Wednesdays', where any member of staff is encouraged to pitch ideas for games on a weekly basis.[10] Some of these ideas are then made by Kwalee's internal development and launched to the world. Kwalee state that they "rely on them [the ideas] to power our internal development."[11]

Alongside 'Creative Wednesdays', Kwalee are known for championing the idea that all employees should be rewarded for the success of the games it creates, via a profit sharing scheme.[12] In just over one year, the scheme paid out over £1 million to its employees, with "a base amount that goes to everyone no matter the role, which is added to based on how closely the work of the individual has related to the success and profit of particular games".[13]

Published titles
Year Name Genre Platform Sources
2020 OverTake Racing iOS and Android [14]
2019 Off the Rails 3D Arcade iOS and Android [15]
2019 Crazy Shopping Arcade iOS and Android [16]
2019 Drop & Smash Arcade iOS and Android [17]
2019 Rocket Sky! Arcade iOS and Android [18]
2019 Shootout 3D Puzzle iOS and Android [19]
2019 Jetpack Jump Sports iOS and Android [20]
2019 Draw It Arcade iOS and Android [21]
2018 Go Fish Sports iOS and Android [22]
2018 PLANK! Arcade iOS and Android [23]
2018 Looper! Music iOS and Android [24]
2018 Skiddy Car Racing iOS and Android [25]
2018 SPILLZ Puzzle iOS and Android [26]
2017 TENS! Puzzle iOS and Android [27]
2012 Farm Fighters Arcade iOS and Android [28]
2012 Pussy Flip Puzzle iOS and Android [29]
2012 Gobang Social Puzzle iOS and Android [30]

Awards

In 2012 Kwalee was named in the Startups 100 awards as one of the UK's most innovative, inspiring and ground-breaking new companies.[31] In 2019, its game Shootout 3D was awarded a TIGA award for 'Best Puzzle Game'.[32]

Notable staff
  • David Darling - CEO - previously founder of Codemasters [33]
  • Jason Falcus - COO - previously COO Iguana Entertainment [34]
  • Jim Darling - Chairman - previously Chairman of Codemasters.[35]
  • Andrew Graham - Gameplay Guru - designer of the Micro Machines video games.[36]
  • Simon Platt - Head of Development - previously Head of QA.[37]
  • Simon Prytherch - Head of Publishing - previously CEO of Lightning Fish Games [38]

References
  1. "Leamington Festival Celebrates the Making of Silicon Spa". Warwickshire County Council. 14 May 2013.
  2. "Kwalee's David Darling on the new challenge of making games and apps for iOS | interview". PocketGamer.biz. 2011-09-14. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  3. Hughes, Ian (20 February 2020). "Million pound plus bonus payout for staff at Leamington firm". Leamington Observer.
  4. Crookes, David (26 August 2014). "Games Developers Jason Falcus and David Darling to Reunite at Kwalee". The Independent.
  5. "Kwalee". Giant Bomb. 28 February 2020.
  6. "The Story of the Kwalee Brand | blog". Kwalee.com. 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  7. Clayton, Natalie; Writer, Staff. ""Hyper-casual isn't a phase, it's a culture shock for the whole mobile industry"". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  8. "Rocket Sky! -". Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  9. "OverTake -". Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  10. "One in a Million: Mobile Gaming Company Pays Out Over £1 Million (GBP) in Staff Bonuses in Just Over a Year". Gamasutra. 19 February 2020.
  11. Blake, Vikki (19 February 2020). "Kwalee has allocated £1m in staff bonuses this year". MCV Develop.
  12. Pratt, Louron (25 February 2020). "Kwalee's profit sharing scheme has paid £1 million to 73 staff since 2018". Employee Benefits.
  13. Taylor, Haydn (27 February 2020). "Kwalee and the power of profit sharing". Gamesindustry.biz.
  14. "OverTake App Store Preview". Apple App Store.
  15. "Off the Rails 3D". Kwalee.
  16. "Crazy Shopping -". Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  17. "Drop & Smash". Kwalee.
  18. "Rocket Sky!". Kwalee.
  19. "Shootout 3D". Kwalee.
  20. "Jetpack Jump". Kwalee.
  21. "Draw It". Kwalee.
  22. "Go Fish". Kwalee.
  23. "PLANK! -". Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  24. "Looper". Kwalee.
  25. "Skiddy Car". Kwalee.
  26. "Spillz". Kwalee.
  27. "Tens". Kwalee.
  28. "Kwalee announce Farm Fighters for release in 2012; news". iPhonelife.com. 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  29. Usher, Anthony (2012-07-28). "Codemasters co-founder David Darling working on Pussy Flip for iOS | news". PocketGamer.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  30. "Press Releases - Kwalee launch game in Asia and Asia Pacific". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  31. "Startups 100 2012 - Kwalee". Retrieved 2012-07-13.
  32. "TIGA 2019 Winners". TIGA.
  33. Brown, Graeme (2011-09-16). "Codemasters co-founder David Darling sets up iPhone app business". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  34. Falcus, Jason. "Jason Falcus LinkedIn". LinkedIn.
  35. Chapple, Craig (2011-09-29). "Jim Darling joins son David at Kwalee | news". Develop-online.net. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  36. Hussain, Tamoor (2012-02-02). "News: Codies founder hires Micro Machines designer for start-up studio". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  37. "News: Driving Success With Creative Freedom" (PDF). kwalee.com. 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  38. Blake, Vikki (9 January 2020). "Simon Prytherch joins Kwalee as its new head of publishing". MCV Develop.
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