Premium mobile games made in Germany
It all started with a promotional game for BMW MINI and Sony Ericsson. In 2004, the K700i, the first 3D-capable mobile phone for the mass market, was to be introduced, and the Swedish-Japanese mobile phone manufacturer was desperately looking for 3D games to be able to demonstrate the performance capabilities of their new phone. After founders Michael Schade and Christian Lohr and a small team developed the BMW MINI Challenge as the world’s first 3D mobile game outside of Japan for Sony Ericsson, the marketing division of Sony Ericsson licensed five more 3D mobile games from the small Hamburg-based development studio for pre-installation on a variety of mobile phone models worldwide.
From the depths of space
Without any prior knowledge in the field of developing games or mobile applications, that much more talent and commitment as well as over ten years of experience in the field of 3D animation and solid training in programming, Fishlabs immediately succeeded in placing themselves at the pinnacle of the mobile developer scene. With titles such as Robot Alliance, the world’s first mobile phone first-person shooter, and Motoraver, likewise the mobile world premiere of a 3D racing game with open level design and multiplayer ghost racing, Fishlabs came out of nowhere – there’s a reason the anglerfish, who lurks in the deep ocean and lures his prey with his lantern, adorns the Fishlabs logo.
Success – the wages of toil
But the development of games takes more than just talent, ambition, and of course, excellent qualifications. Above all, it is the effort you make and the love of detail you put into the project that ultimately make the difference between an average game and a great one. Just this last bit of polish and high reliability is the reason Fishlabs has worked successfully for years with Nokia and Sony Ericsson, as well as advertising customers such as Volkswagen and Barclaycard. That dedication is reflected in all our productions and makes them so popular with mobile gamers all over the planet. Furthermore, a fantastic Metacritic Score of 90 for Galaxy on Fire 2™, as well as a very good 14th place in Development 100′s list of the world’s best game studios, give solid proof of the fact that the critics enjoy our products just as much. And as if that wasn’t enough, Fishlabs has also been given the “Best Studio” award at the renowned German Game Developer Awards 2011.
Everyone in the same boat
The core team at Fishlabs has worked together for years and today has grown to 50 employees at the Hamburg location. Personality and what an employee brings along from his or her background counts for more at Fishlabs than their qualifications, and the team works closely together right from the beginning on every project. That forms bonds and keeps communication channels short, even if there are heated debates on how to make the game even better. Ultimately, it is precisely that which makes our team so strong. We just want to make the best game possible within the given parameters. Everything else will take care of itself.
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Sony Ericsson is a trademark or registered trademark of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, “Java” is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc., „BREW“ is a trademark of Qualcomm Inc.