Proletariat (company)

Proletariat, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded by Seth Sivak and former Zynga industry veterans in 2012.[2] The company was acquired by Blizzard Entertainment in 2022. Proletariat, Inc. has developed multiple independent games and launched its best-known game, Spellbreak in September, 2020.

Proletariat, Inc.
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded2012; 10 years ago in Boston, Massachusetts
FounderSeth Sivak
HeadquartersBoston, Massachusetts
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Seth Sivak (CEO)
ProductsSpellbreak
Number of employees
120+ (2021[1])
ParentBlizzard Entertainment (2022-present)
Websitewww.proletariat.com

History

After Zynga closed its Boston studio in October 2012, Seth Sivak and four other former developers at Boston Zynga formed a new independent studio, Proletariat Inc.[2]

The company's first major release was World Zombination, a horde-based real-time strategy mobile game. The studio raised $6 million from venture investors to finish the game. Development of the game started in April 2013. The game was ultimately released in February 2015 for Android and iOS.[3]

In 2019, Proletariat Inc. announced the completion of $20 million in Series C funding from investors including Spark Capital, FirstMark Capital and Take-Two Interactive to grow and expand its development team.[4] Alongside funding, Take-Two Interactive's head of corporate development and independent publishing, Michael Worosz, joined Proletariat's board of directors in 2019.[5]

Proletariat moved from mobile games to PC titles with fast-paced arena game Streamline, full live streaming integration that allowed Viewers to interact with and control what is displayed on the screen on Twitch, it was released by Proletariat in 2016.[6] The company then developed Spellbreak, a free-to-play multiplayer action spelling game released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2020.[7]

In June 2022, Proletariat, Inc. announced that the company will end development of Spellbreak and shut down the game servers in 2023.[8] The next day, Blizzard Entertainment announced they had entered into an agreement to acquire Proletariat, Inc., and the studio will be assigned to work on World of Warcraft, beginning with the upcoming ninth expansion, Dragonflight.[9]

Games developed
Year Title Note
2015 World Zombination
2016 Streamline
2017 StreamLegends
2020 Spellbreak
2022 World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Co-developed with Blizzard Entertainment

References
  1. ""As an independent studio we have been working hard to build games that distribute themselves." – Enchanting a community with Spellbreak". MCVUK. February 8, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  2. Lien, Tracey (2013-02-26). "Former Zynga Boston developers launch new studio to go after 'core tablet market'". Polygon. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  3. Takahshi, Dean (February 17, 2015). "Proletariat readies Thursday launch of mobile game World Zombination". VentureBeat. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  4. "Proletariat Inc. closes out a $20 million investment round". GameDaily.biz. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  5. Inc, Proletariat. "Proletariat Inc. Completes $20 Million Series C Financing Round". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2022-07-03. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. Batchelor, James (November 20, 2022). "Twitch: "We're almost ready to go full-blown Hunger Games"". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  7. "Spellbreak's four-year incantation for streamable, shareable sorcery". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  8. "Spellbreak Development Ends, Server Shutdown Announced". Comic Book.com. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  9. "Blizzard plans to acquire Spellbreak studio Proletariat to bolster World of Warcraft". VentureBeat. 2022-06-29. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
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