remote Control Productions (German company)
remote control productions GmbH (RCP) is a Munich-based, independent and internationally operating production house for entertainment software. Under the wings of the remote control family, rcp accommodates Europe’s biggest merger of indie-games developers, a network consisting of 150 employees, spread on 14 games-companies that are located in Germany, Austria.[1] and Finland.[2] and Pakistan.[3] Along with its developer studios, rcp already produced more than 35 games for (most) diverse platforms, such as the successful and multi award-winning Kickstarter-project Son of Nor, which was developed by stillalive Studios, as well as the 2014 German Computer Games Award (GCGA) nominees Bernd das Brot und die Unmöglichen, John Woo’s Bloodstroke, Warstory - Europe in Flames, and the 2012 GCGA winner Word Wonders.[4]
 | |
| Type | GmbH |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video Game |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder | Hendrik Lesser |
| Headquarters | Munich, Germany |
Number of employees | 30+ |
| Website | http://r-control.de/ |
So far, the mobile RPG Angry Birds Epic, which was jointly developed by remote control family studio Chimera Entertainment and published in association with Rovio Entertainment, that was released in June 2014 on iOS, Windows Phone and Android, was the biggest success on an international level. Since the release, Angry Birds Epic has been downloaded more than 60 Million times.
remote control productions is founding member of the Games Bavaria Munich e. V.,[5] as well as member of the Videospielkultur e. V., which was co-founded by rcp’s managing director, IGDA-member, G.A.M.E. board member and EGDF-president[6] Hendrik Lesser.[7]
rcp already worked with partners such as ProSiebenSat.1 Digital, Rovio Entertainment, Disney, Bigpoint, Ubisoft, Ravensburger Digital, dtp Entertainment, Koch Media/Deep Silver, chillingo, DeNA, Spil Games and other companies.
History
In 2005, the production house was founded as ML Enterprises GmbH under the leadership of Hendrik Lesser and Marc Möhring. remote control productions’ focus lies on the support of developers, publishers, corporations and institutions for mediation, realisation and production of game projects, as well as financing, consulting, development and coaching of start ups and studios from the games industry.
In 2006, Hendrik Lesser founded the developer studio Chimera Entertainment along with Alexander Kehr and Christian Kluckner, which meanwhile became the biggest studio of the remote control productions developer network with more than 40 employees. In September 2008, ML Enterprises was renamed to remote control productions.[8] In the same year, remote control productions and Chimera Entertainment produced their first own game project: the real-time strategy game Windchaser (Windows).
In the meantime, remote control productions co-founded under the aggregation of the rcp developer family further studios such as Brightside Games (2010),[9] Wolpertinger Games (2010),[10] it Matters Games (2012)[11] and expanded the developer merger for the studios TG Nord (2012),[12] stillalive studios (2012)[13] and Zeitland (2012).[14]
remote control productions established with GamesInFlames also an own publishing company in the year 2010.[15] In late 2014, the subsidiary GAMIFY now! was founded,[16] which is specialized in gamification and serious games.
The Austrian developers DoubleSmith, REDOX Game Labs,[17] and the Nuremberg-based developer studio NeoBird[18] are part of the remote control productions developer family since 2014 and 2015, respectively.
In the beginning of 2016, remote control productions successfully expanded to Kotka, Finland. The experienced industry veteran and International Game Developer Association (IGDA) chairman Jyri Partanen was acquired as managing director.[19]
In May 2020 the 1st European Games BizDev Gathering[20] (EGBG), a two-day online matchmaking event organized by the joint initiative EGDF, remote control productions GmbH and Reboot, took place. From May 13th to 14th, 2020 the participants had the opportunity to pitch their projects and hold meetings via the MeetToMatch platform.
Produced Games
From 2005 till 2007, remote control productions supported Collision Studios’ developer team during the development of Red Ocean, as well as the production of Legend: Hand of God with publisher dtp entertainment, and Crashday along with publisher Atari Europe. In 2008, remote control productions produced their first big game-project with Chimera Entertainment: the real time strategy game Windchaser (Windows). Many more Chimera Entertainment productions followed. In association with Bigpoint, remote control productions and Chimera Entertainment developed the strategy game Warstory - Europe in Flames, a Microsoft Silverlight browser MMO, which takes place in the time of World War II.
Among other things, releases such as Coreplay’s Ion Assault and Brightside Games’ Zeit², one of the first Xbox Live Arcade games from Germany, as well as Chimera Entertainment’s Happy Hills (iOS) and the GCGA-winner Demolition Dash followed in 2011.[21] Moreover, remote control productions participated in the production of the first interactive audiobook, Audigent’s Raumzeit Folge 1: Der verbotene Sektor. In 2012, several Chimera Entertainment productions followed - Mission: Genesis, Skylancer and Word Wonders, which has won the GCGA in the category “Best Mobile Game Of The Year”[22] in 2013.
Along with stillalive studios, remote control productions was able to successfully complete a Kickstarter campaign for the game Son of Nor in May 2013.[23] As a result, more than 150,000 Dollars have been funded. In April 2015, the game was released for PC, Mac and Linux on Steam. In June 2014, remote control productions released the Angry Birds game Angry Birds Epic in co-production with developer Chimera Entertainment and partner Rovio Entertainment.[24] The mobile RPG, which is based on the popular “Angry Birds” brand, emerged into a global mega hit and has been downloaded more than 50 Million times.[25]
The Hidden object game Mystery of Neuschwanstein, developed by Chimera Entertainment and funded by the FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, followed in February 2015[26]
| Year | Game | Platform | Genre | Team | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Red Ocean | PC | Ego-Shooter | Collision Studios | Anaconda |
| 2008 | Windchaser | PC | Strategy-RPG | Chimera Entertainment | dtp interactive |
| 2009 | Wiesn Fever | iOS | Puzzle | Chimera Entertainment | - |
| 2009 | Farm Fever | iOS | Puzzle | Chimera Entertainment | - |
| 2009 | Ion Assault | XBLA | Shooter | Chimera Entertainment | RTL Interactive |
| 2009 | Gehirntraining mit Dr. Kawashima | PC, Mac | Puzzle | Chimera Entertainment | - |
| 2010 | Memory (HD) | iOS | Puzzle | Chimera Entertainment | Ravensburger Digital |
| 2010 | Warstory - Europe in Flames | Browser | Strategy-MMO | Chimera Entertainment | Bigpoint |
| 2010 | Greed: Black Border | PC | Hack’n’Slash | ClockStone | Headup Games |
| 2011 | Zeit² | PC, XBLA | Shooter | Brightside Game | Ubisoft |
| 2011 | Demolition Dash | Android, iOS | Jump'n'run | Chimera Entertainment | Dreamfab |
| 2011 | Happy Hills | iOS | Physical Puzzle | Chimera Entertainment | Dreamfab |
| 2012 | Skylancer - Battle for Horizon | Browser | Strategy-MMO | Chimera Entertainment | Pro7Games |
| 2011 | Bridge Constructor | Android, iOS, PC | Physical Puzzle | ClockStone | Headup Games |
| 2012 | Word Wonders - The Tower of Babel | iOS | Word-Puzzle | Chimera Entertainment | Dreamfab |
| 2012 | Sara’s Cooking Class | Android, iOS | Cooking-App | Chimera Entertainment | Spil Games |
| 2012 | Towers & Dungeons | iOS | Towerbuilder | Chimera Entertainment | Ravensburger Digital |
| 2012 | Mission: Genesis | Browser | Strategy-MMO | Chimera Entertainment | dtp interactive |
| 2012 | Happy Hills | Android | Physical Puzzle | Chimera Entertainment | The9 |
| 2013 | Rally the World | Android, Browser, iOS | Racer | Brightside Games | Aperto/VW |
| 2013 | Warstory Europe | Browser | Strategy-MMO | Chimera Entertainment | RNTS |
| 2013 | My Dolphin Show | Android, iOS | Arcade | itMatters Games | Spil Games |
| 2013 | Sheep Shack | iOS | Action-Puzzle | Brightside Games | Just A Game |
| 2013 | Hoppetee! | iOS, Android | Jump'n'run | Chimera Entertainment | Brigit Stock Verlag |
| 2013 | Sidekick Cycle | iOS, Android | Downhill Racer | itMatters Games | GGI |
| 2013 | Little Islands | iOS | Puzzle | Chimera Entertainment | GamesInFlames |
| 2013 | Happy Hills 2 | iOS | Physical Puzzle | Chimera Entertainment | Dreamfab / Thumbstar |
| 2013 | MS COPAKTIV | iOS, Android | App | Chimera Entertainment / Zeitland | TEVA GmbH |
| 2014 | John Woo’s Bloodstroke | iOS, Android | Action | Chimera Entertainment / Wolpertinger Games | Moonshark / Chillingo |
| 2014 | Aloha Paradise Hotel | Browser | Business simulation game | TG Nord | GamesInFlames |
| 2014 | netwars — The Butterfly Attack — Episode 1 | iOS, Android | Interactive Graphic Novel | Chimera Entertainment | Filmtank / Bastei Luebbe |
| 2014 | Crash! UFO | iOS, Android | Endless Runner | Chimera Entertainment | DeNA |
| 2014 | Angry Birds Epic | iOS, Windows Phone, Android | RPG | Chimera Entertainment | Rovio Entertainment |
| 2014 | GTS Driver | Browser | Racer | it Matters Games | Porsche |
| 2014 | ONE TEVA (internal) | iOS, Android | App | Chimera Entertainment / Zeitland | TEVA GmbH |
| 2014 | ratiopharm Gute Reise | iOS, Android | Health App | TG Nord | TEVA GmbH |
| 2014 | Bernd das Brot und die Unmöglichen | PC | Adventure | Chimera Entertainment | deepsilver / Bumm Game |
| 2014 | Aktiv mit MS | iOS, Android | Health App | Zeitland / Wolpertinger Games | TEVA GmbH |
| 2014 | Firewater | iOS, Android | Endless Runner | Doublesmith | B! |
| 2015 | DogHotel | iOS, Android | Simulation | it Matters Games | Tivola |
| 2015 | Mystery of Neuschwanstein | Android, iOS, PC | Hidden Object Adventure | Chimera Entertainment | Astragon |
| 2015 | Son of Nor | PC, Mac, Linux | RPG | stillalive studios | Viva Media |
| 2015 | Impossible Super Ninja | iOS, Android | Action / Arcade | Doublesmith | Thumbspire |
| 2015 | Lemming Dynasty | ios, Android | Endless Runner | Rockodile Games | Rockodile Games |
| 2015 | Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax | PC | Action shooter | Dreamloop Games | Dreamloop Games |
| 2016 | CatHotel | iOS, Android | Simulation | it Matters Games | Tivola |
| 2016 | Bus Simulator 2016 | Mac, PC | Simulation | stillalive studios | Astragon |
| 2017 | Angry Birds Evolution | iOS, Android | RPG | Chimera Entertainment | Rovio |
| 2017 | Safe Way Forward | iOS, Android | Casual | Rockodile Games | Neste Oyj |
| 2018 | Bus Simulator 2018 | PC, PS4, Xbox one | Simulation | stillalive studios | Astragon |
| 2019 | Rescue HQ - the Tycoon | PC | Simulation | stillalive studios | Aerosoft GmbH |
| 2019 | Horse Club | iOS, Android | Kids Game | zeitland media & games | Schleich |
| 2020 | Drone Swarm | PC | Space SciFi Strategy | stillalive studios | Astragon |
References
- "remote control productions home". r-control.de. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "remote control productions expands into Finland". www.gamasutra.com. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- Partleton, Kayleigh; Writer, Staff. "Remote Control Productions welcomes Frag Games and Giant Gun Games to its roster". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
- "GCGA Winner 2012". Deutscher Entwicklerpreis, Homepage (in German). Archived from the original on 2015-09-10.
- "Games Bavaria Munich e.V. vertritt jetzt Games-Branche der Metropolregion München". alpha-omegagaming.de. 2015-03-02. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "Hendrik Lesser neuer Vorstand im Europa-Entwicklerverband". Gamesbusiness.de. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "Vorstand". game-bundesverband.de. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "Renamed and Reloaded: Aus ML Enterprises wird RCP – remote control productions – remote control productions GmbH". www.pressebox.de. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "Brightside Games sees the light of day". gamesindustry.biz. 2010-07-08. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "Wolpertinger Games – About". wolpertingergames.com. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "5 neue Start-ups: Seolista, It Matters Games, Dolphin Secure, Loupus, mentio". deutsche-startups.de. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "remote control productions expands developer network with shareholding in TG Nord". develop-online.net. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- Polus, Chris. "History of Son of Nor – Part 5 – stillalive studios". stillalive-studios.com. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "Zeitland und remote control productions wachsen zusammen!". zeitland.com. Zeitland. 2012-06-03. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "GAMESINFLAMES startet mit mehr als 40 Jahren Branchenerfahrung". OpenPR.de. 2010-10-18. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- Gollert, Knut. "gamify-now.de | Kunden-Magnet. Mitarbeiter-Boost". Gamify now!. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "remote control productions nimmt Double Smith und REDOX Game Labs in Familie auf". 2014-09-30. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "Entwickler NeoBird wird Mitglied der rcp Familie". 2015-01-14. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "Remote Control Productions opens Finland office". www.develop-online.net. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- "European Games BizDev Gathering". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
- "Winners 2011". deutscherentwicklerpreis.de. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- "Winners 2013". Deutscher Computerspielpreis, Homepage. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- "Crowdfunding-Talk mit Hendrik Lesser (Son of Nor)". gumpelmaier.net. 2014-05-14. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- "Der heimliche Angry-Birds-Entwickler aus Deutschland – Gründerszene". gruenderszene.de. 2015-02-12. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- "Angry Birds Epic: 50 million downloads | rcp jobs". rcp jobs. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- Achim Fehrenbach. "Games-Förderung: Wie cool ist Bayern als Kulisse?". Die Zeit. Hamburg.