History
The studio was founded in 2000. It is one of the oldest studios in the Gameloft group, alongside Gameloft Montreal and Gameloft Bucharest, which were also founded in 2000 (excluding Gameloft's headquarters, established in 1999 in Paris). [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
While Gameloft Barcelona now has more than 240 employees, the studio started with less 50 employees, and had 150 in 2016. [6] [7] [8]
Its first standalone title was Diamond Rush, released in 2006 on Java ME and BlackBerry. Diamond Rush stands out for its blend of 2D platforming and puzzle mechanics, as well as its archaeological adventure feel. It is cited as one of the most notable mobile titles of the pre-smartphone era. The player controls an explorer whose objective is to collect diamonds across various environments (Southeast Asian temples, European castles, icy caves), avoiding traps and enemies. [9] [10] [11] [12]
In 2007, the studio released its second project, Rise of Lost Empires, in which the player leads a medieval kingdom, manages resources, recruits units, and progresses through a story-driven campaign inspired by PC strategy games. Upon release, the game received favorable reviews, praised for its ambition and production quality on mobile platforms, despite criticism regarding imprecise controls and certain technical limitations. [13] [14] [15]
The studio increased its staff in 2007 and 2008 given the increase in the number of games from Gameloft Barcelona in the following years.
In 2008, the studio released puzzle game Diamond Twister, which achieved significant success and led to sequel, Diamond Twister 2. That same year, Gameloft Barcelona completed development of Zombie Infection, which also attracted a substantial player base and later received a sequel, Zombie Infection 2 (developed by Gameloft Shanghai). It was also in 2008 that the studio released Hero of Sparta, and of which Gameloft Barcelona will release a sequel, Hero of Sparta 2, in 2010. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
In 2011, the studio released Six-Guns , an open-world western action game, which was at the time their most ambitious game. [21] They also released two adaptations of Ubisoft games for mobile phones at the same time: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and James Cameron's Avatar [22] [23] [24]
In 2013, Gameloft Barcelona released Despicable Me: Minion Rush , launched as a free-to-play title. The game became a commercial success, surpassing one billion downloads, and continues to receive updates. [25] In the same year, the studio released Asphalt 8: Airborne , part of Gameloft's flagship Asphalt franchise, taking over the franchise from Gameloft Montreal. The game was also a major success, achieving over 500 million sales, becoming the highest-rated Spanish-made game of all time on Metacritic, with an average score of 91 out of 100. [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]
Between 2015 and 2019, while the Gameloft group experienced significant financial and structural difficulties, the Barcelona studio was not affected by mass layoffs, unlike several other studios within the group. During this period, Gameloft's other Spanish studio, Gameloft Madrid, closed. [31] [32] [33] [34] [35]
In 2018, the studio released Asphalt 9: Legends , which, like previous entries in the series, was commercially successful. The game was ported to Nintendo Switch in 2019 and, following a strategic shift by Gameloft toward computer and console platforms, was later released on computer and Xbox consoles, before arriving on PlayStation 5 in 2024. To mark the franchise’s 20th anniversary, the game was renamed Asphalt Legends. [36] [32]
In 2023, the studio released Disney Speedstorm , a computer and console racing game inspired by Mario Kart , combining gameplay elements from the Asphalt Gameloft series with Disney and Pixar-themed tracks and characters. [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]
In 2026, the studio gradually begins recruiting for an "AAA premium game" which will be dedicated to the PC and console platforms (like most new Gameloft games). Gameloft Barcelona continues to release updates for Asphalt Legends and Disney Speedstorm in parallel. Updates for the Despicable me : Minions Rush game (created by Gameloft Barcelona in 2013) also continue, but now Gamleoft Ukraine (Gameloft Kharkiv and Gameloft Lviv). [42] [43] [44] [17] [45]
