Private company

THQ Nordic Mobile

Logo: HandyGames™, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

German video game developer

THQ Nordic Mobile GmbH (formerly HandyGames) is a German video game developer and publisher based in Giebelstadt. In July 2018, the company was acquired by THQ Nordic.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

2000Founded1

THQ Nordic Mobile GmbH (formerly HandyGames) is a German video game developer and publisher based in Giebelstadt. In July 2018, the company was acquired by THQ Nordic.2

Corporate structure

THQ Nordic Mobile is part of a group headed by Embracer Group. 54 entities, 19 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The company was founded in 2000 by brothers Christopher and Markus Kassulke along with Udo Bausewein. In 2006, HandyGames released its first free, ad-funded game and began the gradual transition to a largely ad-funded business model. Since 2010, all new HandyGames mobile titles are either free or freemium. By 2014 HandyGames had 150,000 app downloads per month and more than 100 million downloads in total. They have developed all the Townsmen games.

In 2012, HandyGames expanded onto other platforms like PC or Smart TVs. In January 2014 and 2015, the company were main sponsors for the "HandyGames Charity Day" in Würzburg, which aimed to raise funds for cancer research. On both occasions the event was able to raise roughly 50000 Euros.

HandyGames was one of the first companies to launch games for wearable technology in 2014. The games are compatible with Android Wear devices, including the Moto 360 by Motorola, the Huawei Watch, the Sony SmartWatch and the LG G Watch.

The company began developing VR (virtual reality) games 2015 and released titles like "Hidden Temple – VR Adventure". They can be played in 360° mode or in VR using one of the supported head-mounted displays like Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, or Google Cardboard.

Simultaneously, HandyGames began developing games for the Eighth generation of video game consoles like the PlayStation 4, Xbox One or later the Nintendo Switch.

On 9 July 2018, THQ Nordic announced that it had acquired HandyGames and all of its intellectual property. THQ Nordic said that the studio management and all employees remain with the company.

Townsmen Expeditions (working title), which will mark the most recent entry in the Townsmen IP, received €150,000 development funding from Creative Europe. As of 2020, HandyGames employs 60 people.

In May 2021, Embracer Group announced the acquisition of Massive Miniteam by HandyGames, which will be fully integrated within the HandyGames organization, under the operative group THQ Nordic.

Read the full text

In August 2026, THQ Nordic announced the rebrand of HandyGames into THQ Nordic Mobile. Under this new name the company will focus on bringing console games into mobile devices. At the same time, THQ Nordic Mobile’s internal development team in Giebelstadt, Germany will continue its operations under the new name HandyGames Studios, focusing on original game development and supporting THQ Nordic Mobile ports.

From Wikipedia’s article on THQ Nordic Mobile, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • Townsmen

Listed on Wikidata.1

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 2000Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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