tinyBuild

tinyBuild was founded in 2011 by Alex Nichiporchik (Latvian: Aleksandrs Ņičiporčiks) and Tom Brien.^[3][4] Nichiporchik came from Latvia and had been a professional Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos player in the early 2000s, which made him enough money to drop out of high school and pursue a career in video game journalism.^[5] While an employee of Spil Games in the Netherlands in 2010, he became interested in Flash games. He came across Super Meat Boy, which led to him to want to get into the business. Nichiporchik discovered No Time to Explain, a Flash game by Tom Brien, which he thought could be as successful as Super Meat Boy. Nichiporchik and Brien established tinyBuild in 2011 as a developer to expand No Time to Explain into a commercial release. The company headquarters were based in the Netherlands with Nichiporchik until both relocated to Seattle later on.^[3]

tinyBuild launched a crowdfunding campaign for the game via Kickstarter and raised US$26,000 from a $7,000 target.^[3] tinyBuild had agreed with the Russian publisher Buka Entertainment that the latter would publish retail versions of No Time to Explain in Russia, get the game released on Steam, and grant tinyBuild $24,500 in royalties in advance. However, Buka Entertainment failed to communicate with tinyBuild until stating that it was forced to cancel the project, withholding the royalties.^[6][7] As No Time to Explain could not be launched via Steam, tinyBuild released it independently. The game recouped its development cost but did not turn a significant profit. tinyBuild went into hiatus for nearly a year thereafter until Steam introduced the Greenlight process for game approval. No Time to Explain became one of the first games to be greenlit for Steam in 2013 and had a successful release on the platform. Nichiporchik stated this experience burnt out tinyBuild, which was no longer interested in pursuing development but did not want to waste the newfound success. The company invested in, co-developed, and published the game SpeedRunners, which led to more developers pitching their games to tinyBuild, incrementally turning the company into a publisher.^[3] To expand its publishing operations, it hired the video game journalist Mike Rose in December 2014.^[8]

tinyBuild obtained $3.75 million in seed funding from Makers Fund in April 2018, followed by $15 million in series A funding from an undisclosed investor in February 2019.^[9] The company established its first internal studio, HakJak Studios, with Guts and Glory developer Jed "HakJak" Steen in Boise, Idaho, in March 2020.^[10] Nichiporchik believed that indie game publishers like tinyBuild would have to move away from "transactional relationships"—wherein the developer and publisher would work on one game and then move on—and instead build long-term relationships with the developers.^[11] At this time, tinyBuild had 150 employees.^[12] tinyBuild acquired the development team behind Hello Neighbor from Dynamic Pixels in July 2020 for an undisclosed sum to establish the studio Eerie Guest Studios in Hilversum. The company invested more than US$15 million into the Hello Neighbor franchise.^[13] tinyBuild invested US$3 million into Hologryph, the team behind the Hello Neighbor multi-player spin-off, Secret Neighbor in November 2020.^[14] In February 2021, tinyBuild acquired three studios it had previously worked with: We're Five Games, Hungry Couch, and Moon Moose.^[15]

tinyBuild announced in February 2021 that it was to pursue an initial public offering on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol "TBLD". At the time, Nichiporchik owned 61.1% of the company, while the Chinese company NetEase owned 14.3%.^[4] The company's shares began trading on March 9, 2021, with an initial market capitalization of £340 million.^[16]

tinyBuild acquired the studio Animal in August 2021 for $10.2 million; Animal had been working on publishing their upcoming game Rawmen through tinyBuild.^[17]

tinyBuild acquired Versus Evil and Red Cerberus in November 2021.^[18]

The company acquired the intellectual property rights to the bulk of Bossa Studios' games including Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread, for US$3 million in August 2022. In 2022, it acquired Konfa Games during the development of Despot's Game.^[19][20]

In April 2022, tinyBuild acquired DeMagic Games, the studio developing Hello Neighbor: Nicky's Diaries at the time, for $1.52 million.^[21][22]

In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent war, tinyBuild effectively relocated more than 100 people.^[23][24]

In December 2022, tinyBuild acquired Scythe Studios, the developer of Happy's Humble Burger Farm.^[23]

In March 2023, tinyBuild acquired NotGames, the studio behind Not For Broadcast, for an upfront cash payment of $1.5 million, plus up to $4.2 million in earn-out subject to financial targets.^[25][23]

In June 2023, in its H1 2023 financial report, tinyBuild said it had underperformed. The company blamed lower revenue from platform deals due to decreased investment in non-AAA titles, and the shortfall of its subsidiaries Versus Evil and Red Cerberus (which it acquired in 2021). tinyBuild said it would be moving away from third-party publishing and focusing more on own-IP. Following the report, the company's shares fell 78.8%.^[26][27] The company's overall stocks had declined 92.86% since 2021.^[26]

On December 5, 2023 tinyBuild announced it had resolved a legal dispute with Versus Evil for $3.5 million plus legal costs. Versus Evil filed suit alleging tinyBuild breached the acquisition agreement by failing to make timely capital contributions since 2022, withholding required funds, and not providing the promised level of material support. Steve Escalante, general manager of Versus Evil, separately claimed that $3 million in shares and options had not been paid. Following the settlement, Escalante left Versus Evil.^[28]

In the same period, tinyBuild lowered its revenue forecasts for FY 2023, citing weaker-than-expected trading in October and Q4. Several major contracts anticipated had failed to materialize before the end of 2023 and were delayed indefinitely, the company also said. CEO Alex Nichiporchik additionally attributed the challenges to weak demand for video games and a reversal of market dynamics. Stronger demand during the 2020-2022 pandemic period had previously benefited tinyBuild.^[28]

Later on that same day, tinyBuild laid off between 10%-30% of its staff per studio and shuttered three subsidiaries in the following weeks, citing continued financial challenges and lackluster financial results.^[29][30] The first 2 shuttered subsidiaries were HakJak Studios and We're Five Games.^[29] NotGames was sold to an unknown buyer, with tinyBuild retaining the game's intellectual property rights.^[25]

Later that same month, Atari invested $2 million in tinyBuild in exchange for a 7.5% stake in the company.^[31] A day after, on December 22, 2023, Versus Evil was shut down.^[32] In January 2024, tinyBuild nearly ran out of cash but secured $12.3 million in emergency funding from investors.^[33][34][25] Following this, tinyBuild closed Moon Moose, the developer of Cartel Tycoon, in February 2024, and shut down DeMagic Games, the developer of Hello Neighbor: Nicky's Diaries, in March 2024.^[25] In April 2024, tinyBuild sold the intellectual property rights to Totally Reliable Delivery Service to Atari, followed by the sale of the Surgeon Simulator intellectual property rights in June 2024.^[35][36] In April 2025, tinyBuild sold Red Cerberus to TestFly for an initial price of $1.5 million, which was later reduced to $1.1 million after standard post-completion adjustments.^[37][38]

In 2025, tinyBuild became once again profitable with a positive adjusted EBITDA and stronger operating cash flow.^[38] In that same year, tinyBuild had nearly 200 employees, excluding those at Red Cerberus.^[38]

In June 2026, Griffin Gaming Partners bought a 3.24% equity stake in tinyBuild.^[39]

Studios#edit

Former#edit

1. ^ "Major Shareholders". tinyBuild. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
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4. ^ a b Muirhead, Calum (February 23, 2021). "Video game developer tinyBuild plans AIM float". Proactive Investors. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
5. ^ Conditt, Jessica (November 17, 2015). "Meet the high school dropout paving the way for indie eSports". Engadget. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
6. ^ Vincent, Brittany (June 20, 2017). "TinyBuild Games CEO claims they were scammed by a Russian publisher". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
7. ^ Bishop, Samantha (July 18, 2015). "No Time to Explain sucked, tinyBuild's CEO explains why". GameZone. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
8. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (December 1, 2014). "tinyBuild hires Mike Rose". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
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10. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (March 3, 2020). "TinyBuild opening new Boise studio with Guts and Glory developer". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
11. ^ Handrahan, Matthew (June 4, 2020). "Tinybuild: Indie publishers must move beyond "transactional relationships"". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
12. ^ Blake, Vikki (March 31, 2020). "'Indie publishing is dead' says Hello Neighbor franchise co-founder". MCV/Develop. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
13. ^ Takahashi, Dean (July 16, 2020). "TinyBuild acquires Hello Neighbor devs and will invest $15 million in franchise". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
14. ^ Takahashi, Dean (November 26, 2020). "TinyBuild invests $3 million in Secret Neighbor developer Hologryph". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
15. ^ Batchelor, James (February 9, 2021). "TinyBuild acquires three studios". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
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17. ^ McAloon, Alissa (August 19, 2021). "TinyBuild to 'acquihire' Rawmen developer Animal for up to $10.2 million". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
18. ^ "TinyBuild acquires Versus Evil and Red Cerberus in $31.3m deal". GamesIndustry.biz. November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
19. ^ "Tinybuild acquires key Bossa franchises and Despot's Game dev Konfa Games". Game Developer. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
20. ^ "TinyBuild acquires Bossa Studios IPs for $3m". August 26, 2022.
21. ^ "TinyBuild, Inc acquired Demagic Games for $1.52 million". MarketScreener. April 11, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
22. ^ Giles (April 11, 2022). "TinyBuild, Inc Announce Acquihire Of Demagic Games". Directors Talk Interviews. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
23. ^ a b c "Preliminary Unaudited Results for the year ended 31 December 2022 Directorate change". Retrieved July 28, 2026.
24. ^ Nichiporchik, Alex (August 20, 2023). "543 Days of Gamedev During War". tinybuildgames. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
25. ^ a b c d e "Preliminary Unaudited Results to YE 31 Dec 2023".
26. ^ a b Obedkov, Evgeny (June 30, 2023). "tinyBuild moving away from third-party publishing as its shares plunge nearly 80% on bad H1 performance". Game World Observer. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
27. ^ Writer, Jeffrey Rousseau Staff (June 30, 2023). "TinyBuild sees stock dive after H1 2023 report says it performed "below expectations"". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
28. ^ a b Batchelor, James (December 5, 2023). "TinyBuild lowers revenue forecasts, settles legal dispute with Versus Evil". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
29. ^ a b c Ngan, Liv (December 6, 2023). "Layoffs reported at Hello Neighbor publisher TinyBuild". Eurogamer.
30. ^ Kerr, Chris (December 5, 2023). "Tinybuild is cutting jobs after an "incredibly challenging year"". Game Developer. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
31. ^ Obedkov, Evgeny (December 21, 2023). "Atari acquires 7.5% stake in tinyBuild for $2 million, sending company's stock up 70%". Game World Observer. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
32. ^ a b Stedman, Alex (December 22, 2023). "Indie Publisher Versus Evil Is Shutting Down, Entire Staff Laid Off". IGN. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
33. ^ O'Boyle, Daniel (December 5, 2023). "Game maker Tinybuild warns it could run out of cash by end of January". The Standard. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
34. ^ "TinyBuild confirms fundraise after getting investor backing | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. January 26, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
35. ^ Dealessandri, Marie (April 23, 2024). "Atari relaunches Infogrames, acquires Totally Reliable Delivery Service". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
36. ^ Forbes-Calvin, Alex (June 26, 2024). "Atari buys Surgeon Simulator from TinyBuild". pcgamesinsider.biz. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
37. ^ a b Blake, Vikki (April 3, 2025). "QA firm TestFly acquires Brazilian testing company Red Cerberus". Games Industry.biz. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
38. ^ a b c "FY 2025 results ahead of expectations".
39. ^ Forbes-Calvin, Alex (June 30, 2026). "Griffin Gaming Partners invests in TinyBuild". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
40. ^ "Preliminary Unaudited Results to YE 31 Dec 2023".
41. ^ "Preliminary Unaudited Results to YE 31 Dec 2023".
42. ^ "DUCKSIDE Steam page.". tinyBuild. April 1, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
43. ^ "DUCKSIDE early access release trailer". tinyBuild. September 24, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
44. ^ "Pigeon Simulator Coming to Gamepass and Xbox Series X S November 11th". tinyBuild. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
45. ^ "Pigeon Simulator XBOX Store page". tinyBuild, Microsoft. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
46. ^ "The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales". Gamepressure. June 16, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
47. ^ "KILL IT WITH FIRE! 2 Launch Trailer Steam, PS5, Xbox Game Pass". tinyBuild. November 25, 2025. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
48. ^ "KILL IT WITH FIRE! 2 Nintendo Switch Release Trailer Steam, PS5, Xbox Game Pass". tinyBuild. May 7, 2026. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
49. ^ Romano, Sal (January 29, 2026). "Hozy launches March 30". Gematsu. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
50. ^ "ALL WILL FALL Launch Trailer Out Now on Steam Physics Based Survival City Builder". tinyBuild. April 3, 2026. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
51. ^ Romano, Sal (April 10, 2025). "SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed announced for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
52. ^ "Graveyard Keeper 2 — Announcement trailer". tinyBuild. April 9, 2026. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
53. ^ Romano, Sal (April 9, 2026). "Graveyard Keeper II announced for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
54. ^ "Hello Neighbor 3 Devlog 1". Nikita Kolesnikov, tinyBuild. November 10, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
55. ^ Parijat, Shubhankar (November 11, 2024). "Hello Neighbor 3 Announced". GamingBolt. Retrieved August 22, 2026.

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