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Phoenix Labs

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Not to be confused with the software developing community Phoenix Labs (software), formerly Methlabs.
Phoenix Labs
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
FoundedApril 2014; 10 years ago (2014-04)
Founder
  • Jesse Houston
  • Sean Bender
  • Robin Mayne
Headquarters
Vancouver, British Columbia
,
Canada
Number of locations
4[1] (as of 2021)
ParentForte
SubsidiariesBot School Inc.
Websitephxlabs.ca

Phoenix Labs is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company was founded in April 2014 by former Riot Games developers Jesse Houston, Sean Bender, and Robin Mayne.[2][3] The studio's first project, Dauntless, launched in open beta on Microsoft Windows in May 2018[4] and has been released on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 21, 2019 and released on Nintendo Switch on December 10.

History

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Phoenix Labs was founded in 2014 by Jesse Houston, Sean Bender, and Robin Mayne, all former developers with Riot Games.[2] The founders were joined by former Bioware, Riot Games, Capcom, and Blizzard Entertainment developers.[5] The first 23 of the studio's employees had all shipped games with Houston previously.[6]

In February 2018, Phoenix Labs opened its first US studio in San Mateo, California.[7] In February 2018, Phoenix Labs received Series B funding from tech investors including Sapphire Ventures, GGV, Next Frontier, and MTGx,[8] though they maintained independent control of the studio.[9] Throughout Dauntless' development and pre-release, the company encouraged back and forth conversations between developers and players.[10] Game designers, directors, and executives all connect with players regularly through forums and social media.[11][10] Since the game's beta release, the studio has continued to make changes based on player feedback and discussion.[11] For example, Dauntless originally featured a paid loot boxes system called "Chroma Cores," which were removed after they received negative feedback from players.[11]

In July 2018, Phoenix Labs announced that Dauntless had reached 2 million registered accounts.[12] The studio raised another round of funding in October 2018, led by Sapphire Ventures,[6] intended to help expand the live service operations of Dauntless.[13] In December 2018 Phoenix Labs launched a season pass feature called Hunt Pass, a series of challenges that promise limited-time rewards while the season lasts.[14][15]

The studio had originally promised a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launch for Dauntless in April 2019,[16] though this date was later pushed to summer 2019.[17][18] The game officially launched on consoles on September 26, 2019.[19]

Phoenix Labs acquired Bot School Inc. in August 2019 to help with Dauntless support and cross-play features.[20] Phoenix Labs were acquired themselves by Garena in January 2020. The acquirement did not affect normal operation of Phoenix Labs or Dauntless, and served to bolster Garena's international presence.[21] For Phoenix, the acquisition potentially allowed them to develop towards mobile game space.[22]

On January 29, 2020, Garena announced the acquisition of Phoenix Labs for an estimated US$150 million.[23] On December 2, 2020, Phoenix Labs announced it was opening two new offices in Los Angeles, California and Montreal, Quebec.[24]

In February 2023, Phoenix Labs re-gained its independence through a management buyout.[25] In May, the developer cut 9% of its workforce in order to focus on few releases.[26] Studio CEO and co-founder Jesse Houston and COO Jeanne-Marie Owens stepped down in September.[27] In December 2023, Phoenix Labs laid off 34 staff members across publishing, HR, IT, and shared services teams.[28]

In May 2024, more than 100 employees were laid off and multiple projects were cancelled in order to focus on supporting Dauntless and Fae Farm. Reportedly, one such game was weeks away from being released in early access. It was also reported that Phoenix Labs had been acquired by blockchain company Forte "over a year ago" in an unannounced transaction.[29][30]

Games developed

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Year Title Genre(s) Platform(s)
2019 Dauntless Action role-playing Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2023 Fae Farm Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

References

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  1. ^ "Phoenix Labs". Phxlabs.ca. Archived from the original on 2022-07-31. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  2. ^ a b "League of Legends vets form Phoenix Labs". GamesIndustry.biz. 27 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-08-22. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
  3. ^ "Phoenix Labs' lessons learned from League of Legends". GamesIndustry.biz. 3 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  4. ^ Cox, Matt (2018-05-25). "Dauntless invites everyone to slay some poor animals in its open beta". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  5. ^ "Former BioWare, Riot, Capcom, Solstice, Blizzard Devs Announce 'Dauntless'". Game Rant. 2016-12-01. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  6. ^ a b "Phoenix Labs on walking the line between Dauntless and reckless". GamesIndustry.biz. 22 October 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  7. ^ "Phoenix Labs Raises Series B Financing from Sapphire Ventures, GGV, Ridge, Signia, Next Frontier and MTGX". 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  8. ^ Palumbo, Alessio (2018-02-15). "Dauntless Developer Raises Series B Financing Round To Build Upon The Game's Foundation". Wccftech. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  9. ^ "If loot boxes are free-to-play's present, what will be the future?". GamesIndustry.biz. 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  10. ^ a b "Phoenix Labs' Jesse Houston: 'Community involvement' is the beating heart of Dauntless". GameDaily.biz. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  11. ^ a b c "Dauntless: Making a different kind of monster hunting game". VentureBeat. 2018-03-10. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  12. ^ "Phoenix Labs' Dauntless hits 2 million players and readies big expansion". VentureBeat. 2018-07-17. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  13. ^ Daniel, Matt. "Dauntless dev Phoenix Labs leads financing round to secure 'a couple years of runway' | Massively Overpowered". Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  14. ^ Davenport, James (2018-12-07). "Dauntless heading to Epic Games store, aiming for crossplay across all platforms". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  15. ^ Ramée, Jordan (2019-04-26). "Monster Hunter-Like Dauntless Gets New Hunt Pass And Content Update". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  16. ^ Phillips, Tom (2018-12-07). "Monster Hunter-like Dauntless headed to consoles and mobile next year". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  17. ^ "Dauntless PS4 Release Date Delayed to Summer 2019". PlayStation LifeStyle. 2019-03-13. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  18. ^ "Dauntless console and Epic Games Store release delayed". EGMNOW.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  19. ^ Olson, Mathew (2019-09-26). "Dauntless Leaves Early Access With a New Weapon and a New Behemoth". USgamer. Archived from the original on 2019-09-27. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
  20. ^ Taylor, Haydn (August 20, 2019). "Phoenix Labs acquires Bot School Inc". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  21. ^ McAloon, Alissa (January 28, 2020). "Dauntless dev Phoenix Labs acquired by Singaporean game company Garena". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  22. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (January 28, 2020). "Dauntless developer acquired by Garena". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  23. ^ "Garena buys gaming developer Phoenix Labs, sources say for over $203.7m". The Straits Times. 2020-01-29. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  24. ^ "New Games and Beyond: A Multi-Studio Future for Phoenix Labs". Phoenix Labs. 2020-12-02. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  25. ^ Dealess, Marie (2023-02-03). "Phoenix Labs regains independence after management buyout". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 2023-05-04. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  26. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (2023-05-01). "Dauntless developer Phoenix Labs lays off 9% of studio". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  27. ^ Batchelor, James (2023-09-12). "Phoenix Labs CEO and COO step down". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  28. ^ Nightingale, Ed (2023-12-04). "Fae Farm developer Phoenix Labs lays off 34 staff". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  29. ^ Francis, Bryant (May 16, 2024). "Phoenix Labs lays off staff, cancels games in major restructuring". www.gamedeveloper.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  30. ^ LeBlanc, Wesley (2023-09-08). "Fae Farm, Dauntless Studio Phoenix Labs Lays Off Staff, Cancels In-Development Games". Game Informer. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
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