Saber Porto

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Saber Porto
FormerlyBigmoon Entertainment (2008-2019)
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded2008; 13 years ago
FounderPaulo J. Gomes
Headquarters
Porto
,
Portugal
Area served
Worldwide
ParentSaber Interactive
Websitehttp://www.bigmoonstudios.com

Saber Porto (formerly Bigmoon Entertainment),[1][2] is a Portuguese video game developer, based in Porto, Portugal, with offices in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

Bigmoon was founded in 2008 by Paulo J. Gomes (a.k.a. Paulo J. Games) to create video games for PC and consoles, and animation films and series for television.

Before focusing entirely on game development, the company started as Bigmoon Animation Studios,[3] producing animation series such as TIC TAC TALES[3][4][5] and PIKABOO.[3]

Over the years, Bigmoon left the animation department and started to dedicate exclusively to video games, participating in game projects related to different genres: RPGs, action, adventure, strategy, FPSs, horror, fantasy, simulation, etc. However, the company received more recognition for being involved in racing games, like the WRC series, MotoGP13, FlatOut4: Total Insanity, and, more recently, Dakar 18.

On 18 October 2019, it was announced that Bigmoon Entertainment was acquired by Saber Interactive, then became Saber Interactive Porto.[6][7][8]

History[]

Early Times[]

Bigmoon started in 2008 as Bigmoon Animation Studios, developing TV animation series for kids. The first Bigmoon production was TIC TAC TALES, a TV animation series with 39 episodes, created by Paulo J. Gomes and broadcast by RTP,[9] RTP AFRICA, RTP INTERNACIONAL, and distributed in Europe by Panini Media in 2010, 2011, and 2012. During 2009, Bigmoon Animation Studios produced TV animation musicals for Canal Panda and distributed them on DVD by Info capital, with the title PIKABOO.[10]

After the release of TIC TAC TALES, a second company started operating: Bigmoon Interactive Studios, developing the game version of the series TIC TAC TALES, with the title D-TEAM: The kidnapping of Professor Zig.[11] With the economic crisis, RTP canceled the additional 26 episodes production for TIC TAC TALES and the animation studio was shut down, moving the existing staff to Bigmoon Interactive Studios and focusing all the operations only in videogames.

In 2012, Bigmoon Interactive Studios then started working to Milestone (WRC 3 and WRC – THE GAME) and for the German Game Publisher, bitComposer, working in the game North & South – The Game. After the success of both partnerships, Milestone contracted Bigmoon to create Motorcycles for MotoGP 13, while bitComposer contracted the Portuguese company to work on the tactical game Jagged Alliance: Back in Action,[12] and OG Games reached to Bigmoon to develop My Health Club for mobile. In January 2013, when Bigmoon was finishing Jagged Alliance: Back in Action for Linux and Mac, a contract was signed with Head Up games to develop a new PC / Action RPG game: Trapped Dead: Lockdown.[13] By then, Bigmoon was already with more than 20 employees and started working on The Dark Eye: Demonicon port for PlayStation 3, and Space Empires V remaster for PC. During Gamescom 2013, bitComposer also hired Bigmoon to fix the multiple issues from Games Distillery's Citadels, that was released in July 2013.

After completing the multiple fixes on Citadels, bitComposer licensed Monday Night Combat from Uber Entertainment and contracted Bigmoon to develop the sequel: Monday Night Combat 2 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

In December 2014, Bigmoon Interactive Studios received the information that its main publisher partner, bitComposer, entered insolvency,[14][15] canceling the ongoing projects. This event lead Bigmoon Interactive Studios to cancel all games in development and to raise an additional investment in the United Kingdom. Both companies, Bigmoon Interactive, and Bigmoon Animation were extinct, becoming a developer and publisher Bigmoon Entertainment in March 2015.

Already as Bigmoon Entertainment, the French publisher BigBen Interactive (now Nacon), contracted Bigmoon through the studio Kylotonn to help this studio develop WRC 5, following the experience of creating vehicles for Milestone.

In the same year, Maximum Games contracted Bigmoon to develop the PS4 and Xbox One port from the PC game Lichdom: Battlemage,[16] using CryEngine 3. In June 2015, while Bigmoon was developing the console version for Lichdom, Maximum games also hired Bigmoon to complete and port the PC game Alekhine's Gun[16][17] to PS4 and Xbox One. After WRC 5, Kylotonn hired Bigmoon to create fantasy vehicles to FlatOut 4: Total Insanity.

Recent Years[]

In 2016, Bigmoon Entertainment released Alekhine's Gun and Lichdom: Battlemage, and started a new contract with Astragon Entertainment to develop Police Simulator 18, later renamed to Police Simulator: Patrol Duty.[8]

Bigmoon then started working with Camel 101 on the survival-horror game Syndrome[18][19] and individually in the classic RPG Demons Age,[20][21] both internal titles for self-publishing on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Bigmoon released its first self-publishing title Syndrome[22] in September 2017 and later Demons Age in December 2017.

By the end of 2016, Paulo J. Gomes wanted to bring a new game genre to the industry, creating the Rally Raid racing subgenre. He decided to secure the exclusive rights to develop and publish his own version of the Dakar Rally, organized by Amaury Sport Organization. In 2017, Paulo entered into an agreement with Koch Media to proceed with Dakar 18.[23] The game involved all the resources of the studio and was the biggest Portuguese investment in videogame development,[24] being released for PS4, Xbox One and PC in September 2018.[25]

In 2019, Bigmoon started working with Saber Interactive to port Call of Cthulhu[26] for Nintendo Switch and finished Police Simulator: Patrol Duty, that was released by Astragon in June 2019.

After the success of Call of Cthulhu's development, Saber Interactive and Bigmoon Entertainment entered into an acquisition agreement, completed in October 2019.[6][7][16]

Saber Interactive acquired Bigmoon Entertainment and rebranded to Saber Interactive Porto (Saber Porto).

Bigmoon Animation Films and Series[]

Year Title Notes
2009 Pikaboo - Animation Musical DVD
2010 Tic Tac Tales - TV Animation Series 39 Episodes
2011 D-Team - TV Animation Film Canceled

Bigmoon Games and collaborations[]

Year Title Platform(s) Publisher Notes
2012 North & South: The Game PC, Win8, IOS, Android bitComposer Entertainment Remaster
2012 WRC3: FIA World Rally Championship PS3, Xbox 360 Milestone 3D Art
2013 WRC Shakedown PC, Xbox 360, PS3 Milestone 3D Art
2013 MotoGP 13 PS3, Xbox 360 Milestone 3D Art
2013 Jagged Alliance: Back in Action Mac, Linux bitComposer Entertainment Port
2015 Trapped Dead: Lockdown PC Head Up games Full Game
2015 WRC 5 PS4, Xbox One Kylotonn, Bigben Interactive 3D Art
2016 Lichdom: Battlemage PS4, Xbox One Maximum Games Port
2016 Alekhine’s Gun PS4, Xbox One Maximum Games Port
2017 Neighbors from Hell PC, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS THQ Nordic Remaster
2017 Neighbors from Hell: On Vacation iOS, Android, macOS THQ Nordic Remaster
2017 FlatOut 4: Total Insanity PS4, Xbox One Kylotonn, Bigben Interactive, Strategy First 3D Art
2017 Syndrome PS4, Xbox One, PC Bigmoon Entertainment Full Game
2017 Demons Age PS4, Xbox One, PC Bigmoon Entertainment Full Game
2018 Dakar 18 PC, PS4, Xbox One Bigmoon Entertainment, Koch Media Full Game
2019 Dakar 18: Ari Vatanen returns to Dakar PC, PS4, Xbox One Bigmoon Entertainment, Koch Media Extra Content
2019 Dakar 18: Desafío Ruta 40 Rally PC, PS4, Xbox One Bigmoon Entertainment, Koch Media DLC
2019 Dakar Series: Desafío Inca Rally PC, PS4, Xbox One Bigmoon Entertainment, Koch Media DLC
2019 Police Simulator: Patrol Duty PC Astragon Entertainment Full Game
2019 Call of Cthulhu Nintendo Switch Saber Interactive, Focus Home Port

Bigmoon Games canceled[]

Year Title Platform(s) Publisher Notes
2011 D-TEAM: The kidnapping of Professor Zig PC, Wii, iOS, Android Infocapital Full Game
2012 My Health Club iOS, Android OG Games Full Game
2014 Monday Night Combat 2 PC, PS4, Xbox One bitComposer, Uber Entertainment Full Game
2014 The Dark Eye: Demonicon PS3 Kalypso Media Port
2014 Space Empires V PC Strategy First Remaster

References[]

  1. ^ "Bigmoon Entertainment". GameCompanies. Retrieved 2021-10-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "BigMoon Entertainment, Ltd". MobyGames. Retrieved 2021-10-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b c Pereira, Elsa (2010-11-01). ""Big Moon": animação infantil de Gaia a pensar no Mundo". Jornal de Notícias. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  4. ^ "RTP2 aposta em animação portuguesa". Diário de Notícias. 2010-09-15. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  5. ^ "Programação infantil com os olhos postos além-fronteiras". Público. 2010-09-15. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  6. ^ a b Loureiro, Jorge (2019-10-19). "Estúdio português Big Moon Entertainment foi comprado pela Saber". Eurogamer Portugal. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  7. ^ a b Lemos, Luís (2019-10-19). "Bigmoon Entertainment do Porto adquirida pela Saber Interactive". PróximoNível. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  8. ^ a b Wilson, Jason (2019-10-18). "Saber Interactive buys Bigmoon Entertainment, announces two new projects". GamesBeat. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  9. ^ "Tic Tac Tales". RTP. Retrieved 2021-10-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "Pikaboo Musical: Menino". Fnac. Retrieved 2021-10-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Soares, Jorge (2012-01-27). "Imagens de D-TEAM: The kidnapping of Professor Zig". Eurogamer Portugal. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  12. ^ "Jagged Alliance: Back in Action". IGN. Retrieved 2021-10-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Trapped Dead: Lockdown". GamePressure. Retrieved 2021-10-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ Staff, MCV (2014-12-16). "BitComposer files for insolvency". MCV / DEVELOP. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  15. ^ Nutt, Christian (2014-12-16). "Publisher Bitcomposer files for bankruptcy". Game Developer. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  16. ^ a b c Partleton, Kayleigh (2019-10-21). "Saber Interactive snaps up Dakar 18 developer Bigmoon Entertainment". PC Games Insider. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  17. ^ "Alekhine's Gun". Gamespedition. Retrieved 2021-10-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ Loureiro, Jorge (2015-09-30). "Syndrome, um Survival Horror feito por portugueses". Eurogamer Portugal. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  19. ^ Mota, Ricardo (2016-10-22). "Syndrome: terror "made in" Portugal". Observador. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  20. ^ Loureiro, Jorge (2015-07-30). "Demons Age anunciado para PC, PS4 e Xbox One". Eurogamer Portugal. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  21. ^ Silvestre, Daniel (2015-08-01). "Demons Age da Bigmoon Entertainment é o próximo RPG feito em Portugal". PróximoNível. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  22. ^ Galvão, Bruno (2017-10-06). "Jogo Português Syndrome já disponível". Eurogamer Portugal. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  23. ^ Galvão, Bruno (2018-09-25). "DAKAR 18 da Portuguesa Bigmoon chega às lojas". Eurogamer Portugal. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  24. ^ Parreira, Rui (2018-08-28). "Recriação de Dakar em videojogo custou três milhões de euros a estúdio português". Sapo Tek. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  25. ^ Gonçalves, Aníbal (2018-07-03). "Bigmoon Entertainment anuncia data de lançamento de DAKAR 18". IGN Portugal. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  26. ^ Lopez, Azario (2019-04-12). "Partnership Confirms 'Call of Cthulhu' and 'Vampyr' Switch Release Along With 2 New Ambitious Titles". noisy pixel. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
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