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{{Infobox Company | company_name = Introversion Software | company_logo = IntroversionLogo.png | company_type = [[Limited company|Limited]] | foundation = 2001 | location = [[England]] | key_people = Chris Delay<br />Mark Morris<br />Thomas Arundel<br /> John Knottenbelt | industry = [[Computer and video game industry]] | num_employees = 12<ref>http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-ex-darwinia-plus/17-1954/</ref> | products = ''[[Uplink (computer game)|Uplink]]'', ''[[Darwinia (computer game)|Darwinia]]'', ''[[DEFCON (computer game)|DEFCON]]'', ''[[Subversion (computer game)|Subversion]]'' | revenue = | homepage = [http://www.introversion.co.uk/ www.introversion.co.uk] }} '''Introversion Software''' is a UK based company that originally labeled itself "The last of the bedroom [[programmer]]s" due to the team working out of their homes rather than having an office. (They finally moved into an office when working on their fourth game.) The company was founded in 2001 by three friends, Chris Delay, Mark Morris and Thomas Arundel, who met when they were undergraduates at [[Imperial College London]].<ref>[http://www.introversion.co.uk/roadmap.html Introversion Software. About us]</ref> Their first [[Video game|game]], ''[[Uplink (computer game)|Uplink]]'' was programmed and designed almost exclusively by Chris, while Mark and Tom handled marketing, materials and the other 'business' elements. Their small initial investment enabled them to buy [[CD-R]]s and [[ink cartridge|printer cartridges]]. Early copies of the game were hand-made. The company was able to fully make back their investment within a few hours of accepting orders. A large community formed, and the team, along with a new programmer Andy Bainbridge started work on two new games, ''[[Darwinia (computer game)|Darwinia]]'' and ''[[DEFCON (computer game)|DEFCON]]''. ''Darwinia'' was released to much critical acclaim and was eventually re-released over [[Steam (content delivery)|Steam]] on December 14, 2005. ''Uplink'' has also since joined ''Darwinia'' on Steam, as of summer 2006. On September 29, 2006, Introversion Software launched its third game ''[[DEFCON (computer game)|DEFCON]]''. Shortly after its release, Introversion had measured their bandwidth in terabytes for the first time. Their latest game Multiwinia is a multiplayer follow up to Darwinia and was released on September 19, 2008; sales have so far failed to live up to the example set by DEFCON. Despite this, it was well received by the community and indie gamers alike. Introversion has a relatively small but growing following and its games are considered cult classics. Both ''[[Uplink (computer game)|Uplink]]'' and ''[[Darwinia (computer game)|Darwinia]]'' have a strong [[modding]] community. ==Financial history== After a low-key launch, the critical and (relatively-speaking) commercial success of ''[[Uplink (computer game)|Uplink]]'' flushed Introversion with success. A visit to E3 2002 saw the team "rinse Β£10k in a week on speedboats and fast cars", but regret soon set in as they watched their income steadily decline, as "in the games industry, you make 75% of your total revenue for the product in the first 6 months".<ref>[http://forums.introversion.co.uk/introversion/viewtopic.php?t=615 "Becoming a proper company....,"] Tom, Introversion staff.</ref> By Christmas 2002 then-publisher [[Strategy First]] had stopped paying royalties for Uplink (they would later file a ''[[Bankruptcy in Canada|Consumer Proposal]]'' AKA ''[[Chapter 13, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing]]'', but were then acquired by Silverstar Holdings in Spring 2005); even with the cashflow from direct sales Introversion ran out of money in Summer 2003.<ref>[http://forums.introversion.co.uk/introversion/viewtopic.php?t=615 "Becoming a proper company....,"] Tom, Introversion staff.</ref> The company hovered on the edge of bankruptcy, with the team selling most of their worldly goods, as their second project and only hope for funds -- ''[[Darwinia (computer game)|Darwinia]]'' -- "slipped relentlessly".<ref>[http://forums.introversion.co.uk/introversion/viewtopic.php?t=615 "Becoming a proper company....,"] Tom, Introversion staff.</ref> ''Darwinia'' was eventually released in March 2005, but despite a strong opening weekend and a superb critical reception sales soon slipped too low to sustain the company (a fact now put down partly to the "optimistic" AAA price point). Within six months the developers were back on UK government benefits until November, when they contacted [[Valve Corporation]] "on a whim" <ref name="introversion-gibiz-interview">{{cite web|url=http://steamreview.org/posts/introversiongibiz/|title=Introversion talk Steam|work=The Steam Review|date=15 July 2006|accessdate=2007-04-12}}</ref> to try and set up a [[digital distribution]] deal on their [[Steam (content delivery)|Steam]] platform. Valve responded enthusiastically and following a 14 December 2005 online launch digital sales (which exposed the game to a new, global audience) kept the company going through to the release of their third game, ''[[DEFCON (computer game)|DEFCON]]''. On 15 September 2006, the day ''[[DEFCON (computer game)|DEFCON]]'' pre-orders were made available, Introversion spent their last Β£1500. Fortuitously the game "did much much better than [they] ever imagined" and funds for at least the forthcoming twelve months quickly rolled in to replace it. Now financially secure, the company place their eventual success largely at Valve's feet: "Steam has made Introversion a commercial success", Tom Arundel is quoted.<ref name="steammadeusrich">{{cite news|last=Hyman|first=Paul|title=State of the Industry: Digital Distribution|pages=14|work=[[Game Developer]]|publisher=[[CMP Group]]|date=March 2007|accessdate=2007-04-12}}</ref> ==Games== *''[[Uplink (computer game)|Uplink]]'' (2001) *''[[Darwinia (computer game)|Darwinia]]'' (2005) *''[[DEFCON (computer game)|DEFCON]]'' (2006) *''[[Multiwinia]]'' (2008)<ref>"'Last of the Bedroom Programmers' Announce Multiwinia on PC" from Introversion's press release [http://forums.introversion.co.uk/introversion/viewtopic.php?t=647 Introversion Announces Multiwinia], 27 February 2007, 2:57 p.m.</ref><ref>[http://forums.introversion.co.uk/introversion/viewtopic.php?t=1064 "'Welcome to Paradise' Announce official name"]</ref> *''[[Darwinia (computer game)#Darwinia.2B|Darwinia+]]'' (2010) <ref>[http://www.introversion.co.uk/darwiniaplus "Darwinia+ - Development Blog"]</ref> *''[[Subversion (computer game)|Subversion]]'' (TBA)<ref>[http://forums.introversion.co.uk/introversion/viewtopic.php?p=100735 The Next Game]</ref> *''Chronometer'' (TBA)<ref>[http://forums.introversion.co.uk/introversion/viewtopic.php?t=1592 Introversion Blog]</ref> *''[[Prison Architect]]'' (TBA) == References == {{refs|2}} == External links == * [http://www.introversion.co.uk/ Introversion Software's Web Site] {{Introversion Software}} [[Category:Companies established in 2001]] [[Category:Video game companies of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Video game developers]] [[de:Introversion Software]] [[fr:Introversion Software]] [[it:Introversion Software]] [[ru:Introversion Software]] [[sv:Introversion Software]]
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