Media Molecule

Media Molecule Ltd.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
PredecessorLionhead Studios
Founded4 January 2006; 18 years ago (2006-01-04)[5]
Founders
Headquarters
Guildford, Surrey
,
England
Key people
  • John Beech (creative director)
  • David Smith (technical director)
  • Siobhan Reddy (studio director)
Products
Financial data
RevenueDecrease £10.5 million[6] (2019)
Decrease £1.1 million[6] (2019)
Decrease £1.1 million[6] (2019)
Total assetsIncrease £71.2 million[6] (2019)
Total equityIncrease £36.0 million[6] (2019)
Number of employees
135 (2023)
ParentPlayStation Studios (2010–present)
Websitemediamolecule.com

Media Molecule Ltd. is a British video game developer based in Guildford, Surrey. Founded in 2006 by Mark Healey, Alex Evans, David Smith, and Kareem Ettouney,[a] Sony Computer Entertainment acquired the firm in 2010. It became part of SCE Worldwide Studios (now PlayStation Studios). The company is best known for developing the LittleBigPlanet series, 2013's Tearaway, and 2020's Dreams for PlayStation consoles.

Before the company's formation, the co-founders, led by Healey, developed Rag Doll Kung Fu, whilst working at Lionhead Studios. They left Lionhead in 2005 and presented an early precursor of LittleBigPlanet to Sony. Sony was interested, so in January 2006 they secured their funding from Sony for six months and Media Molecule was incorporated. The studio signed a deal with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in June. This allowed Media Molecule to create LittleBigPlanet for the PlayStation 3, with Sony owning the intellectual property. Soon after, LittleBigPlanet began production; it was released in October 2008 to critical acclaim. Sony acquired Media Molecule for an undisclosed sum two years later.

In 2011, the developer released a sequel, LittleBigPlanet 2. LittleBigPlanet spawned a series of games developed by other studios, often in collaboration with Media Molecule. The studio developed 2013's Tearaway and its extended remake, Tearaway Unfolded. In 2016, they opened a small studio in Brighton, East Sussex. Dreams was released in February 2020. The studio has won numerous awards, including Studio of the Year from the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards. Media Molecule's philosophy is to have as few employees as achievable.

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