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Motion Twin

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Motion Twin
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded2001; 24 years ago (2001)
Headquarters
Bordeaux
,
France
ProductsDead Cells, Die2Nite
Number of employees
8[1]
Websitemotiontwin.com

Motion Twin is a French independent video game developer based in Bordeaux. Best known for developing the critically acclaimed Dead Cells, it initially specialized in online video games and has most recently worked on roguelite games. The company is a worker cooperative enterprise.

History

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Motion Twin was founded in 2001 as a private limited company in France.[2] In 2004, they became a worker cooperative with equal salary and decision-making power between its members.[3][4] The name Motion Twin refers to an animation technique, called motion tween, and the red star in the logo was chosen due to its revolutionary connotations.[5]

In the studio's early years, it made web-based games for its social gaming platform Twinoid. Motion Twin initially gained notice through the release of games such as Hammerfest, My Brute, Mush, Die2Nite, and AlphaBounce. By 2009, Motion Twin had 10 million registered users and 15 games.[6]

As the market for web games dried up, it attempted to move into mobile games, with little success. By this point, Motion Twin had briefly considered disbanding.[7]

Left with one "last chance" for the studio, Motion Twin developed Dead Cells.[7] It was made as the developers' "passion project" and "something hardcore, ultra-niche, with pixel art and ridiculous difficulty" that they thought would be a potential risk for gaining player interest.[8] Motion Twin initially attempted to make a follow-up to tower defense game Die2Nite, but most of the game mechanics were ultimately stripped out to focus on action-based combat.[9]

Dead Cells was released to Steam Early Access in May 2017[8] and macOS and Linux on June 26, 2018.[10] It was released on Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch August 7.[11] An iOS version was released on August 28, 2019, and an Android version was released on June 3, 2020.[12][13]

About a year from its early access release, Dead Cells sold over 730,000 units,[14] and exceeded 850,000 units just prior to its full release.[citation needed] By May 2019, within ten months of its full release, Dead Cells had accumulated sales of two million units.[15] In March 2021, Dead Cells had sold 5 million copies.[16] It reached 10 million copies sold in 2023.[17]

In 2019, Motion Twin assisted in the establishment of Evil Empire to take over development and support of Dead Cells, allowing other Motion Twin developers to start on their next project.[18][19] Evil Empire is run by Steve Filby, Motion Twin's former head of marketing, and is not a cooperative, since the company wanted to scale beyond ten employees. Motion Twin continues to maintain creative control over Evil Empire's work on Dead Cells.[20][21]

The game's first paid expansion, Dead Cells: The Bad Seed, was released on February 11, 2020.[22] A second paid DLC expansion, Dead Cells: Fatal Falls, was released on January 26, 2021.[23] The game's third paid expansion titled Dead Cells: The Queen and the Sea was released on January 7, 2022.[24] A fourth paid expansion, Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania, was released on March 6, 2023.[25] There have also been over 30 free updates since the game's initial release.[26]

On December 7, 2023, Motion Twin announced its next game, Windblown, debuting a trailer at The Game Awards 2023. The game is characterized as a fast-paced isometric action game.[27]

On February 9, 2024, Motion Twin announced it would stop creating new content for Dead Cells, and Evil Empire would be moving on to new projects.[28] In April 2024, it was revealed that Evil Empire's next game is The Rogue Prince of Persia. It released into Early Access in May.[29]

Games

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  • Poulpi (2001)
  • Frutiparc (2004)
  • Dinoparc (2005)
  • Socratomancie (2005)
  • Hammerfest (2006)
  • Pioupiouz (2006)
  • Miniville (2007)
  • AlphaBounce (2007)
  • CafeJeux (2007)
  • DinoRPG (2007)
  • Hordes / Die2Nite (2008)
  • SkyWar (2009)
  • Intrusion (2009)
  • Kingdom (2009)
  • My Brute (2009)
  • Fever (2010)
  • Kube (2010)
  • Snake (2010)
  • Naturalchimie 2 (2010)
  • CroqueMotel (2011)
  • Odyssey (2011)
  • La Bourinette (2011)
  • Mush (2012)
  • Galaxy55 (2012)
  • Teacher Story (2013)
  • Uppercup Football (2014)
  • Rockfaller Journey (2015)
  • Monster Hotel (2015)
  • Dead Cells (2018)
  • Windblown (TBA)

Following the success of Dead Cells, Motion Twin abandoned its web-based offerings.[30] With the end of Adobe Flash Player support on January 1, 2021, those games would be rendered unplayable. In order to keep the games online, a group of hobbyist set up Eternal-Twin (with Motion Twin's consent), which aims to re-create as many games as possible without using Adobe Flash Player. Thus, those who still want to play after Flash Player's end of life will be able to do so.[31] Motion Twin has also made the source code for many of its game available to the public under a creative commons license.[32]

Studios Founded by Former Employees

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Software products

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Nicolas Cannasse, a former developer at Motion Twin, has been responsible for the creation of freeware and open source compilers and multimedia technologies, many of which build on the Adobe Flash platform.

His published products include:[citation needed]

  • MTASC - fast ActionScript 2 compiler
  • Haxe - multi-platform language similar to ActionScript 3
  • NekoVM - VM-based runtime and language

Programming and development

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The company, although known to the public for its browser games in flash, is at the origin of various tools and programming languages which it uses for its own developments, and which it makes available under a free license.[36] Under the impetus of one of its co-founders, Nicolas Canasse, the Bordeaux company is, for example, at the origin of the MTASC compiler, or Motion Twin ActionScript 2 Compiler, the first free ActionScript 2.0 compilers.[37]

Haxe, a technology considered to be the successor to the MTASC compiler, also invented and developed by Motion Twin, is a cross-platform language that makes it possible, from a single standardized language, to compile the same source file by targeting different platforms such as JavaScript, Flash, NekoVM, PHP or C++. This language was the subject of a book, Professional Haxe and Neko, by Franco Ponticelli and L. McColl-Sylveste, released in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons.[38]

Motion Twin has also developed its own virtual machine, called Neko. Neko is both a high-level, dynamically typed programming language whose source files, once compiled, can be run on the NekoVM virtual machine. The company is also the initiator of various libraries for the OCaml and PHP programming languages, such as the SPOD library, which allows persistence within a PHP environment.[39]

References

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  1. ^ "Motion Twin". motiontwin.com. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Motion-Twin et la Coopération". motion-twin.com. 19 April 2007. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011.
  3. ^ Kerr, Chris (July 26, 2018). "Dead Cells dev hopes to challenge exploitation with equal pay model". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on May 17, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  4. ^ Grayson, Nathan (July 25, 2018). "Game Studio With No Bosses Pays Everyone The Same". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 17, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  5. ^ "Motion-Twin : dossier et interview". lesjeuxvideo.com. 22 December 2008. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011.
  6. ^ "MyBrute". GamesIndustry.biz. 25 June 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b Valentine, Rebekah (4 April 2019). "Why life after Dead Cells does not mean growth". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  8. ^ a b Chan, Stephanie (19 April 2017). "Studio abandons free-to-play web and mobile games for passion project: Dead Cells". VentureBeat. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  9. ^ Macgregor, Jody (11 August 2018). "Dead Cells is a perfect example of Early Access done right". PC Gamer. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  10. ^ O'Conner, Alice (June 26, 2018). "Dead Cells loots mod support, leaps onto Mac and Linux". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  11. ^ Lao, Shannon (10 July 2018). "Roguelite action-platformer Dead Cells launches in early August on PC and consoles". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  12. ^ Statt, Nick (7 April 2020). "Dead Cells is finally making its way to Android on June 3rd". The Verge. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  13. ^ Grubb, Jeff (28 August 2019). "Dead Cells launches on iOS with multiple input modes". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  14. ^ Capel, Chris (May 1, 2018). "This metroidvania indie game has sold 730,000 units in a year". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  15. ^ Minotti, Mike (23 May 2019). "Indie hit Dead Cells sells over 2 million copies". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  16. ^ Stockdale, Henry (19 March 2021). "Dead Cells Has Now Sold 5 Million Copies Worldwide". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  17. ^ Phillips, Tom (5 June 2023). "Dead Cells passes incredible 10m sales, updates planned until at least 2025". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  18. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (24 September 2019). "Dead Cells reaches 2.4m units sold as Motion Twin establishes new label". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  19. ^ Wright, Steven (16 September 2019). "Too Big to Bail: Why Dead Cells' Creators Built an Evil Empire". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  20. ^ Klepek, Patrick (October 30, 2019). "The Ambitious Future of 'Dead Cells' Is Ditching Co-Ops For Capitalism". Vice. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  21. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (24 September 2019). "Dead Cells reaches 2.4m units sold as Motion Twin establishes new label". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  22. ^ Wakeling, Richard (29 January 2020). "Dead Cells The Bad Seed DLC Gets Release Date And New Trailer". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  23. ^ Beckhelling, Imogen (12 January 2021). "Dead Cells Fatal Fall DLC arrives later this month". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  24. ^ Thorn, Ed (6 January 2022). "Dead Cells' latest DLC The Queen And The Sea is out now". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  25. ^ Wales, Matt (8 December 2022). "Dead Cells is getting paid Castlevania DLC next year". Eurogamer. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  26. ^ Croft, Liam (5 June 2023). "Dead Cells DLC Planned Until 2025 as Game Sells 10 Million Copies". Push Square. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  27. ^ McWhertor, Michael (7 December 2023). "Dead Cells creators reveal their next game, Windblown". Polygon. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  28. ^ Allsop, Ken (9 February 2024). "One of the best roguelikes ever to grace PC is finally coming to a close". PCGamesN. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  29. ^ Wilde, Tyler (10 April 2024). "The Rogue Prince of Persia revealed: a slick 2D roguelite coming to Steam in May". PC Gamer. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  30. ^ Benard, Sébastien (12 February 2024). "Regarding Dead Cells termination". Deepnight Games. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  31. ^ "Eternaltwin". eternaltwin.org. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  32. ^ "Motion Twin". motiontwin.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  33. ^ Obedkov, Evgeny (11 October 2022). "Dune: Spice Wars developer Shiro Games raises €50 million to make new games and publish third-party titles". Game World Observer. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  34. ^ Hagues, Alana (12 February 2024). "Dead Cells Lead Designer Isn't Happy With "Abrupt" Decision To End Development". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  35. ^ Cantillon, June (29 March 2024). "Le studio bordelais Punkcake Délicieux propose ses jeux, dont Shotgun King, sur Mac". Mac4Ever (in French). Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  36. ^ Bouju, G. (2012), "Les particularités du jeu en ligne et autres pratiques apparentées", Le Jeu Pathologique, Elsevier, pp. 91–94, doi:10.1016/b978-2-294-72671-2.00018-0, ISBN 9782294726712, archived from the original on 18 July 2022, retrieved 27 June 2022
  37. ^ Stallman, Richard M. (1 March 2000), "Le droit de lire", Libres enfants du savoir numérique, Éditions de l'Éclat, pp. 23–30, doi:10.3917/ecla.blond.2000.01.0023, ISBN 9782841620432, S2CID 178413468, archived from the original on 18 July 2022, retrieved 27 June 2022
  38. ^ Cannasse, Nicolas (2008), "Using HaXe", The Essential Guide to Open Source Flash Development, Berkeley, CA: Apress, pp. 227–244, doi:10.1007/978-1-4302-0994-2_9, ISBN 978-1-4302-0993-5, archived from the original on 18 July 2022, retrieved 27 June 2022
  39. ^ "Motion-Twin". tech.motion-twin.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
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