Wellington, New Zealand – 11 February 2022 – Leading games publisher PikPok® today announced the acquisition of Wizard Fun Factory, an independent video game development studio based in Medellín, Colombia. Known for crafting high-quality immersive experiences across mobile, web, and VR/AR, Wizard has collaborated in recent years with PikPok on updates and technology ports of the publisher’s top-rated games.
The new Medellín location will become PikPok’s first studio based outside of their 190-person studio in Wellington, New Zealand, cementing a new status as an international publisher of top-quality games across mobile, desktop, and console. Adopting the PikPok brand, the new studio will be supporting the development of both new and legacy PikPok game IPs, and is expected to grow well beyond the current staff of 20.
“Our engagement with the Colombian games industry has spanned many years covering conferences, mentoring, and outsourcing. It has been a delight to see the passionate local talent evolve their craft and success so much over time,” said Mario Wynands, CEO of PikPok. “Wizard has been a great development partner demonstrating huge potential and, with Medellín as a centre for the Colombian tech industry, we have a fantastic, complementary opportunity to rapidly scale our business.”
“Our continuing collaboration with PikPok has been transformative, and we are excited for this next phase in our partnership,” said Natalia Alvarez, co-founder and Production Manager at Wizard. “Having access to the depth of knowledge and experience is an inspiration for us to level up our capabilities, while sharing a new perspective and voice to the PikPok family.“
PikPok’s diverse portfolio of games have delighted consumers since 1997 with their pick-up-and-play gameplay, high-quality art, and immersive audio design which provide rich game experiences. PikPok has released multiple critically and commercially successful games including Rival Stars® Horse Racing, Into the Dead® and Into the Dead 2, Super Monsters Ate My Condo™, Shatter® and more, which have been recognized with BAFTA, DICE Award, IMGA, and Pocket Gamer nominations, as well as included on App Store and Google Play ‘Best of Year’ lists.
About PikPok
PikPok is a leading publisher of fun and quality games across mobile, tablet, and desktop. Delighting players with compelling gameplay, evocative art, and immersive audio design, PikPok’s portfolio of original developed properties have been downloaded nearly half a billion times worldwide. Counted among PikPok’s multiple critically and commercially successful games are the Into the Dead® franchise, Rival Stars® Horse Racing, Agent Intercept™, Shatter® and the BAFTA nominated Super Monsters Ate My Condo™.
About Wizard
Founded by four friends from EAFIT university in 2005, Wizard Fun Factory is one of Medellín’s oldest development studios, having created games and interactive experiences for clients throughout the Americas, Europe, and Southern Hemisphere. Wizard’s success is attributable to their hands-on approach in designing innovative solutions for their clients across a wide variety of markets.