Balor Games
| Formerly | Humble Games (2020-2026) |
|---|---|
| Type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | May 14, 2020 |
| Parent | Ziff Davis (2020-2026) Good Games Group (2026-present) |
Balor Games is an American video game publisher. Formerly known as Humble Games, it originated from publishing services run by Humble Bundle that started in 2017, and was founded as its own publishing division in 2020.
In July 2024, Humble Bundle's owner Ziff Davis restructured the division and laid off all of its staff. In 2026, Good Games Group, founded by former Humble Games heads, acquired the Humble Games label and rebranded it as Balor Games.
History
[edit]
In February 2017, Humble Bundle announced that it would begin to offer publisher services to developers across multiple platforms, including computer, console, and mobile devices, building upon its existing suite of services. Such games, such as A Hat in Time, were given a "Presented by Humble Bundle" label. Humble Bundle's lead for the publishing effort, John Polson, said that developers are able to pick and choose a selection of options that Humble Bundle can offer, recognizing that few publishing models are able to meet the vastly different needs of developers.[1][2] Humble rebranded its publishing division as Humble Games in May 2020.[3]
In June 2020, Humble Bundle announced a Black Game Developer Fund to provide funding, production and marketing support via Humble Games to black game developers.[4][5] On July 23, 2024, Humble Games laid off its 36-person staff.[6] Humble stated that it was restructuring with the intent to continue operations amidst statements by former staff members that the company had been shut down.[7][8] Steve Horowitz, president of parent company Ziff Davis, told staff it had tried to sell Humble Games on two occasions, citing long delays and rising costs, before deciding on layoffs. Remaining projects would be completed by a third-party company called The Powell Group. Former employees criticized Ziff Davis, a media company, for not understanding how to properly run a game publisher.[9]
Former Humble Games heads, Alan Patmore and Mark Nash, established Good Games Group in 2024.[10] On 5 March 2026, the company acquired Ziff Davis' publishing business and founded a publishing label, Balor Games. This deal included the back catalog of titles published under the Humble Games label.[11][12]
Works
[edit]| Year | Title[13] | Developer | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | A Hat in Time | Gears for Breakfast | Self-published on PC | [14] |
| 2018 | Aegis Defenders | GUTS Department | ||
| Wizard of Legend | Contingent 99 | |||
| Wandersong | Greg Lobanov, A Shell in the Pit | |||
| 2019 | Slay the Spire | Mega Crit Games | Early access in 2017, fully released in 2019 | |
| The Occupation | White Paper Games | |||
| Staxel | Plukit | |||
| Forager | HopFrog | |||
| Void Bastards | Blue Manchu | |||
| Crying Suns | Alt Shift | |||
| Supraland | Supra Games | Self-published on PC | ||
| 2020 | One Step From Eden | Thomas Moon Kang | ||
| Wildfire | Sneaky Bastards | |||
| Fae Tactics | Endless Fluff Games | |||
| Popup Dungeon | Triple B Titles | |||
| Floor 13: Deep State | Oversight Productions | |||
| Ikenfell | Happy Ray Games | |||
| Ring of Pain | Simon Boxer, Twice Different | |||
| Carto | Sunhead Games | |||
| Project Wingman | Sector D2 | |||
| 2021 | The Wild at Heart | Moonlight Kids | ||
| Dodgeball Academia | Pocket Trap | |||
| Into the Pit | Nullpointer Games | |||
| Flynn: Son of Crimson | Studio Thunderhorse | |||
| Unsighted | Studio Pixel Punk | |||
| Unpacking | Witch Beam | |||
| Next Space Rebels | Studio Floris Kaayk | |||
| Archvale | idoz & phops | |||
| 2022 | Supraland Six Inches Under | Supra Games | ||
| Chinatown Detective Agency | General Interactive Co. | Co-published by WhisperGames on PC | ||
| Temtem | Crema | Early access in January 2020, fully released on September 6, 2022 | ||
| Moonscars | Black Mermaid | |||
| Midnight Fight Express | Jacob Dzwinel | |||
| Prodeus | Bounding Box Software | Early access in November 2020 on PC, fully released on September 22, 2022 | ||
| Ghost Song | Old Moon | |||
| Infinite Guitars | Nikko Nikko | |||
| SIGNALIS | rose-engine | Co-published by PLAYISM on PC and Nintendo Switch | ||
| 2023 | Protodroid Delta | Adam Kareem | ||
| Infinite Guitars | Nikko Nikko | |||
| Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical | Summerfall Studios | |||
| Mineko's Night Market | Meowza Games | |||
| Temtem: Showdown | Crema | |||
| The Iron Oath | Curious Panda Games | Version 1.0 released | ||
| Coral Island | Stairway Games | Early access in October 2022 on PC, fully released in November 2023 | ||
| While the Iron's Hot | Bontemps Games | |||
| 2024 | Hauntii | Moonloop Games | ||
| It's Only Money | Usual Suspects Studios | |||
| Rolling Hills | Catch & Release | |||
| Bushiden | Pixel Arc Studios | |||
| Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus | Squid Shock Studios | Final game to be published by Humble Games | ||
| #Blud | Exit 73 Studios | |||
| On Your Tail | Memorable Games | |||
| 2025 | Lost Skies | Bossa Games | ||
| Monaco 2 | Pocketwatch Games | |||
| Wizard of Legend II | Dead Mage | |||
| 2026 | Wild Blue Skies | Chuhai Labs, Vitei Backroom | ||
| Sponge Break | Goose Byte | |||
| Town of Zoz | Studio Pixanoh | |||
| TBA | Billie Bust Up | Giddy Goat Games | ||
| Never Alone 2 | E-Line Media | |||
| Threads of Time | Riyo Games |
References
[edit]- ↑ McAloon, Alissa (February 9, 2017). "Humble Bundle is branching into multiplatform game publishing". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
- ↑ Pearson, Dan (March 9, 2017). "Humble Bundle: "The sky's the limit"". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
- ↑ McAloon, Alissa (May 14, 2020). "Humble's indie game publishing biz is now Humble Games". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
- ↑ "Humble Bundle pledges $1million fund for Black developers". NME. June 3, 2020. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ↑ "Black Game Developer Fund". June 11, 2020. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ↑ Pereira, Chris; Yang, George (July 23, 2024). "Indie Game Publisher Humble Games Reportedly Lays Off All Staff". GameSpot. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- ↑ Carter, Justin (July 23, 2024). "Update: Humble Games confirms layoffs amid 'restructuring', denies full shutdown". Game Developer. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- ↑ Blake, Vikki (July 23, 2024). "Humble Games devs told 'company is shutting down'". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on July 23, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- ↑ Grayson, Nathan (July 23, 2024). "Humble Games Lays Off All Employees, Carries On In Name Only - Aftermath". aftermath.site. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ↑ Carter, Justin (9 October 2024). "Ex-Humble Games staff form new publisher, Good Games Group". Game Developer. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (4 March 2026). "Good Games Group acquires Humble Games, rebranded to Balor Games". Gematsu. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- ↑ Kerr, Chris (3 March 2026). "Good Games Group acquires Ziff Davis' publishing business to launch Balor Games". Game Developer. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- ↑ "Published and upcoming games". Humble Games. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
- ↑ Good, Owen S. (26 July 2017). "Indie 3D platformer A Hat in Time launches this fall". Polygon. Retrieved 15 September 2026.