Housemarque is a Video Game development company founded in 1995 as the result of a merger between two Finnish studios, Bloodhouse and Terramarque. Based in Helsinki, Finland, they are one of the oldest game studios in the country. They got their start developing games for various systems, but only truly broke out with the release of Super Stardust HD on the PlayStation 3. Since then they have been developing games for several platforms, but are best known for working with Sony Interactive Entertainment. In June 2021, they became a first-party studio to Sony.
The company's games feature a variety of settings and styles, but a good number of them like to emphasize scoring in some manner, and the company is especially known for their love for Shoot 'Em Up and arcade-style games. Aside from Super Stardust, they are also known for the PlayStation 4 launch title Resogun, Dead Nation and the very well-received Nex Machina, considered one of their finest games to date.
Despite critical acclaim that many of their games enjoyed, they also tend to sell rather poorly, a situation the studio is painfully aware of. This led them to announce in 2018 that for the time being they were abandoning the arcade shooter genre to focus on a larger, triple-A title with a partner. In June 2020, they revealed their long-awaited next project, Returnal, to be published by their long-time partners Sony. A critical and commercial success, Returnal was followed by Sony announcing that they have acquired Housemarque into their organization; at the time of the acquisition, Housemarque was the 13th studio of Sony, and its first acquisition since 2019's Insomniac Games.
They are close friends with fellow Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment, and the two constantly exchange compliments and praises to each other's games on social media.
Video games developed by Housemarque:
- Super Stardust series
- Super Stardust (1996)
- Super Stardust HD (2007)
- Super Stardust Portable (2008)
- Super Stardust Delta (2012)
- Super Stardust Ultra VR (2016)
- Alien Incident (1996)
- The Reap (1997)
- Supreme Snowboarding (1999)
- Transworld Snowboarding (2002)
- Floboarding (2003)
- Gizmondo Motocross 2005 (2005)
- Golf: Tee It Up! (2008)
- Dead Nation (2010)
- Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition (2014)
- Outland (2011)
- Furmins (2012)
- Resogun (2013)
- Alienation (2016)
- Nex Machina (2017)
- Matterfall (2017)
- Returnal (2021)
Tropes that apply to Housemarque and its games:
- Bullet Hell: With their focus being on arcade Shoot 'Em Up, most of Housemarque's games has bullet hell sequences.
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Cult Classic: Housemarque games don't tend to sell particularly well due to their niche audience, but they are very well-received and held in high regard by arcade shooter enthusiasts. - Everything Trying to Kill You: Their most well-known games features endless waves of hostile aliens, machines and other threats with the one goal of destroying the player.
- Excuse Plot: The majority of their games only have a basic premise to justify the action. Seems to be averted with Returnal which features a fully-voiced protagonist and a mystery surrounding the setting.
- Nintendo Hard: A staple of their games.
- Scenery Porn: Many of their games like Super Stardust HD, Resogun, Alienation, Nex Machina, and Returnal are like this, featuring colorful explosions and dense special effects.
- Space Fighter: Featured in Super Stardust HD and Resogun.
