Playtonic Games is a ready-made interactive leisure and entertainment software development, and a video publisher company located in Staffordshire, England, created in August, 2014. It is composed of former Rare, Ltd. alumni who left their former jobs to have the freedom to create the game that fans have been waiting for: a true successor to the original Banjo-Kazooie games, which is now known as Yooka-Laylee.
History[]
Playtonic Games was incorporated on Tuesday, August 12, 2014.
Playtonic Games first revealed their company on Tuesday, February 10, 2015.[1]
- On April 30th, 2015, Playtonic Games revealed their first game: Yooka-Laylee.[2]
- On April 11th, 2017, Playtonic Games released Yooka-Laylee simultaneously for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Steam.
- On December 14th, 2017, Yooka-Laylee was released for the Nintendo Switch.
On June 7th, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair was announced.
Playtonic Games announced their publishing division: Playtonic Friends on February 12th, 2021.
Games[]
- Yooka-Laylee (2017)
- Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (2019)
List of Staff[]
Current Staff[]
- Chris Sutherland (Project Director, Software Engineer)
- Gavin Price (Managing Director, Creative Lead)
- Steve Mayles (Character Art Director)
- Jens Restemeier (Technical Director, Software Engineer)
- Steven Hurst (Environment Art Director)
- Mark Stevenson (Technical Art Director)
- Dean Wilson (Creative Art Director)
- Kevin Bayliss (Graphic Artist)
- Ross Bullimore (Designer)
- Dan Murdoch (Audio Designer)
- Gary Talbot (Technical Animator)
- Hamish Lockwood (Designer)
- Simon Gerges (Senior Software Engineer)
- Lee Jackson (QA Tester)
- Gary Richards (Design Team)
- Justin Cook (Designer)
- Matt Griffin (Audio Designer)
- Chris Woods (Operations Manager)
- James Lawrence (Engineer)
- Karl Roe (Software Engineer)
- Joseph Douthwaite (Software Engineer)
- Daley Johnson (Junior Designer [Ex-Community Manager])
- Harry Robinson (Designer)
- Ed Bryan (Character Designer)
- George Williams (Software Engineer)
- Steph Darrah (Business Development Manager)
- Tegan Murdoch (Communications Manager & Digital Marketer)
Playtonic Friends Staff[]
- Andy Wilson (Producer)
- Steph Darrah (Business Development Manager)
- Tegan Murdoch (Communications Manager & Digital Marketer)
Freelance Contributors[]
- Grant Kirkhope (Composer)
- David Wise (Composer)
- Steve Burke (Composer)
- Phil Tossell (Software Engineer)
Former Staff[]
- Karn Bianco (Programmer)
- Becky Lavender (Programmer)
- Andy Robinson (Writer, Web Editor, Voice Actor)
- Dave Rose (Artist)
- Catarina Barros (Engineer)
- Damien Sparkes (Environment Artist)
- Anthea Van Leeuwen (Environment Artist)
- Duncan Treadgold (Engineer)
- Josué Candela (Gameplay Designer)
Gallery[]
Employees[]
Chris Sutherland: Project Director & Software Engineer
Gavin Price: Managing Director & Creative Lead
Steve Mayles: Character Art Director
Jens Restemeier: Technical Director & Software Engineer
Steven Hurst: Environment Art Director
Mark Stevenson: Technical Art Director
Dean Wilson: Creative Art Director
Kevin Bayliss: Character Artist
Ross Bullimore: Designer
Dan Murdoch: Audio Designer
Gary Talbot: Animator
Hamish Lockwood: Designer
Simon Gerges: Senior Software Engineer
Lee Jackson: QA Tester
Gary Richards: Designer
Andy Wilson: Producer
Justin Cook: Designer
Grant Kirkhope: Composer
David Wise: Composer
Steve Burke: Composer
Phil Tossell: Software Engineer
Matt Griffin: Audio Designer
Chris Woods: Operations Manager
James Lawrence: Senior Software Generalist
Josué Candela: Gameplay Engineer
Daley "Kong" Johnson: Engagement director
Tegan Murdoch: Communications Manager
Former Staff[]
Karn Bianco: Retired Incredible Engineer
Becky Lavender: Retired Incredible Engineer
Andy Robinson: Retired writer & Comms director
Catarina Barros: Retired software engineer
Dave Rose: Retired Artist
Damien Sparkes: Environment Artist
Anthea Van Leeuwen: Environment Artist
Old Logos[]
Old Logo Ideas
Trivia[]
- In 2012 before Playtonic Games was formed, Ex-Rare members tried to get back together once already. However, everyone was working on other projects, and ultimately failed in the end.[3]
- Playtonic is a play on the words Platonic, meaning "intimate and affectionate but not sexual," and Play, referring to the fact they are video game producers.