Owlchemy Labs
Owlchemy Labs is a video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in 2010 by Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduate Alex Schwartz.[1] Owlchemy is best known for its virtual reality video game Job Simulator. In May 2017, the studio was acquired by Google.[2][3]
Subsidiary | |
Industry | Video games |
Founded | 2010 | in Boston, Massachusetts, US
Founder | Alex Schwartz |
Headquarters | , US |
Key people |
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Products | |
Parent | |
Website | owlchemylabs |
Games developed
- Super Ramen BROTHers – iOS (2010)
- AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!: For the Awesome (with Dejobaan Games) – Windows (2011)
- Smuggle Truck – Windows, Mac OS X (2011)
- Snuggle Truck – iOS (2011), Nokia N9, BlackBerry PlayBook, Windows (2012)
- Jack Lumber – Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (2013)
- Dyscourse – Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (2015)
- Job Simulator – Windows, PlayStation 4 (2016)
- Rick and Morty Simulator: Virtual Rick-ality – Windows (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift), PlayStation VR (2017)
- Vacation Simulator – Windows (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift) (released April 9, 2019), PlayStation VR (released June 18, 2019)
Snuggle Truck controversy
Owlchemy originally developed a game called Smuggle Truck with a premise of smuggling immigrants into the US. The game was inspired by Owlchemy developer Yilmaz Kiymaz's experience as a Turkish citizen attempting to stay in the US after graduating. Apple rejected the game for its App Store due to the controversial subject matter. Owlchemy retitled the project Snuggle Truck and changed the premise to taking fuzzy animals to the zoo. The rebranded game was accepted into the app store.[4]
References
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Interactive Media & Game Development - People
- Grubb, Jeff (May 10, 2017). "Google bags Job Simulator studio Owlchemy Labs in VR's latest exit". Venture Beat. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- Roberston, Adi (May 10, 2017). "Google just acquired one of the most successful VR game studios". The Verge. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
- "Smuggle Truck rejection" on Joystiq
External links
- Official website
Media related to Owlchemy Labs at Wikimedia Commons