Finnish game developer Kukouri Mobile Entertainment has officially ended all game-related operations.
As part of this transition, the company has sold the intellectual property rights for its games Pixel Worlds and Tiny Troopers to fellow Finnish studio Social First, which is now working on Nexus Station, the spiritual successor to Pixel Worlds. The game launched in early access on mobile in December 2024.
“Kukouri has been gradually stepping away from game development for several years,” said CEO Petri Piipari. “Unfortunately, Pixel Worlds has not been commercially viable for some time, and with the only active Tiny Troopers game being licensed to an external publisher and developer, we made the difficult decision to shut down all game operations.”
A Natural Choice
Social First CEO and founder Kim Soares shared that he and several members of his team had previously worked on Pixel Worlds and Tiny Troopers at Kukouri.
“When Kukouri approached us about acquiring the rights to these games, the decision was an easy one,” Soares said.
He emphasized that the acquisition would not affect the development of Nexus Station, which continues to grow with input from its early community, many of whom are longtime Pixel Worlds players. “Securing these IPs was important to us, as they represent the legacy of many of our team members,” he added.
“Pixel Worlds had one of the most incredible online communities I’ve seen in my 25-year career in game development,” Soares continued. “We truly hope to see that community come together again in Nexus Station.”
Source: https://www.pocketgamer.biz/kukouri-mobile-shuts-down-game-operations-sells-ips-to-social-first/
As part of this transition, the company has sold the intellectual property rights for its games Pixel Worlds and Tiny Troopers to fellow Finnish studio Social First, which is now working on Nexus Station, the spiritual successor to Pixel Worlds. The game launched in early access on mobile in December 2024.
“Kukouri has been gradually stepping away from game development for several years,” said CEO Petri Piipari. “Unfortunately, Pixel Worlds has not been commercially viable for some time, and with the only active Tiny Troopers game being licensed to an external publisher and developer, we made the difficult decision to shut down all game operations.”
A Natural Choice
Social First CEO and founder Kim Soares shared that he and several members of his team had previously worked on Pixel Worlds and Tiny Troopers at Kukouri.
“When Kukouri approached us about acquiring the rights to these games, the decision was an easy one,” Soares said.
He emphasized that the acquisition would not affect the development of Nexus Station, which continues to grow with input from its early community, many of whom are longtime Pixel Worlds players. “Securing these IPs was important to us, as they represent the legacy of many of our team members,” he added.
“Pixel Worlds had one of the most incredible online communities I’ve seen in my 25-year career in game development,” Soares continued. “We truly hope to see that community come together again in Nexus Station.”
Source: https://www.pocketgamer.biz/kukouri-mobile-shuts-down-game-operations-sells-ips-to-social-first/
