Rollingmedia Limited (trade name: Roll7) was a British video game developer based in London. Founded in 2008 by Simon Bennett, Tom Hegarty, and John Ribbins, the company initially developed educational games on a contract basis before shifting to original intellectual properties in 2012. Roll7's OlliOlli, first released in 2014 for the PlayStation Vita, became highly successful and landed the company a publishing deal. Roll7 later developed OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood (2015), Not a Hero (2015), and Laser League (2018). Since May 2015, all employees were remote workers. Roll7 became a subsidiary of Private Division since November 2021, until studio's closure in 2024.
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| Roll7 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founders |
|
| Defunct | 2024 |
| Headquarters | , England |
Key people |
|
| Products |
|
Number of employees | 55 (2023) |
| Parent | Private Division (2021–2024) |
| Website | roll7.co.uk |
History
editRoll7 was founded by friends Simon Bennett and Tom Hegarty, alongside creative director John Ribbins. They had been working together at their "youth multimedia training company" RollingSound when the British television network Channel 4 commissioned the production of a video game for its anti-knife crime season "Disarming Britain". They decided to produce games under a sister venture to RollingSound, establishing Roll7 in 2008.[1][2][3] Their game for Channel 4, titled Dead Ends, was released on 25 June 2008.[2] Roll7 continued creating educational games on a contract basis.[4] One such project was Focus Pocus, a game for children with ADHD, which Neurocog Solutions released for NeuroSky's MindWave headset in February 2012.[5] The studio expressed its desire to develop original intellectual properties but devised that it needed to save up funds first.[4] An iOS game, Gets to the Exit, was released in July 2012.[1] Although receiving favourable reviews, it was a commercial failure.[4]
With the intent of creating games for consoles and personal computers, Roll7 began developing several prototype games in 2012.[4] They met with James Mardsen, the manager of the indie game studio FutureLab, in July that year. Mardsen advised them to discuss these prototypes with Shahid Ahmad, a senior business development manager for Sony. At the time, Ribbins was working on an iOS prototype of a skateboarding game titled OlliOlliOlli, which he pitched to Ahmad upon Hegarty's request.[1][4] After playing the game for roughly half an hour, Ahmad requested the game be brought to Sony's PlayStation Vita platform. While developing the game, Roll7 consisted of five people. The company released it as OlliOlli for the PlayStation Vita in January 2014. The game became a surprise success and won the BAFTA award for the best sports game in March 2015. This success led to a publishing deal with Devolver Digital and the eventual release of a sequel, OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood, in March 2015. During this time, the team grew to seven members. Another Roll7 game, Not a Hero, was published by Devolver Digital in May that year. This project was largely developed by five freelancers who worked remotely. Bennett described this process as "thoroughly enjoyable" and, consequently, Roll7 shut down its Deptford offices in late May 2015 and shifted all company operations to remote work.[1]
Also in 2015, Roll7 began working with the publisher 505 Games on a game that would be "much bigger" than Roll7's forgone games and supported by the UK Games Fund.[6] This was later announced as Laser League and released in May 2018.[7] In August of that year, Roll7 transferred all development duties for Laser League to 505 Games, citing that it had to take a break from game development.[8]
The studio released RunMe, a free puzzle video game largely developed by Ribbins, in April 2020.[9] In July of that year, Roll7 signed with Private Division for a "flow state" game.[10] The two companies announced OlliOlli World in April 2021, expecting to release it later that year.[11] In November, Private Division's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, acquired Roll7 and made it part of the publishing label.[12] Being part of Private Division allowed the studio to stop seeking publishers for each project as it could stick to one partner with similar values.[13]
In May 2024, Bloomberg reported that Take-Two plans to close Roll7.[14] Later that month, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick denied the studio's closure.[15] Roll7 was eventually confirmed to be shut down after Take-Two selling Private Division to an undisclosed buyer in November 2024.[16]
Operations
editRoll7 operated with via work from home with a few work days in its London offices per month and regular employee meetups elsewhere. The studio claimed to provide a "no-crunch culture" and encouraged employees not to work overtime. As of February 2023, Roll7 employed 55 people.[13]
Games developed
edit| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Dead Ends | Windows | Channel 4 |
| 2009 | Invaders Reloaded | Roll7 | |
| Thinky Thunky Party! | |||
| 2010 | Zombie Pop! | macOS, Windows | |
| Man.Up | |||
| 2011 | Focus Pocus | Android, iOS, macOS, Windows | Neurocog Solutions |
| 2012 | Gets to the Exit | Android, iOS | Roll7 |
| 2013 | OlliOlli | Android, Linux, macOS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows, Xbox One | Roll7, Devolver Digital, Curve Digital |
| 2015 | OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood | Android, Linux, macOS, Nintendo Switch. PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Windows, Xbox One | Roll7, Devolver Digital, Team17 |
| Not a Hero | Android, Linux, macOS, Nintendo Switch. PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One | Devolver Digital, Team17 | |
| 2018 | Laser League | PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One | 505 Games |
| 2020 | RunMe | Windows | Roll7 |
| 2022 | OlliOlli World | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Private Division |
| Rollerdrome | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Weedon, Paul (5 May 2015). "A Conversation with Roll7, the Indie Studio Thrashing Gaming's Big Boys". Vice. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ a b Dowell, Ben (26 June 2008). "Jon Snow stars in computer game for Disarming Britain season". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Holmes, Jonathan (28 March 2014). "Mind-controlled games, knife crime, and more with Roll7's John Ribbins". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Calvin, Alex (13 November 2014). "Roll7 – Rolling With The Times". MCV/Develop. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Takahashi, Dean (23 February 2012). "NeuroSky launches Focus Pocus learning app that kids can control with their minds". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Calvin, Alex (7 July 2016). "OlliOlli studio Roll7 signs with 505 Games for new 'much bigger' project". MCV/Develop. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Kato, Matthew (26 April 2018). "Laser League Coming In May". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Calvin, Alex (29 August 2018). "Roll7 taking break from game development after handing Laser League development to 505". PC Games Insider. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Robinson, Martin (16 April 2020). "OlliOlli devs Roll7 just released a whole new game for free". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Valentine, Rebekah (29 July 2020). "Private Division signs publishing deals with Moon Studios, League of Geeks, and Roll7". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Robinson, Martin (14 April 2021). "OlliOlli World brings the superlative skate series into vivid 3D". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ Robinson, Andy (15 November 2021). "Take-Two has acquired OlliOlli dev Roll7". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ a b Horti, Samuel (February 2023). "Studio Profile: Roll7". Edge. No. 380. Future Publishing. pp. 94–97.
- ^ Schreier, Jason (1 May 2024). "Take-Two Interactive Shuts Down Two Game Studios". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ Valentine, Rebekah (16 May 2024). "Take-Two CEO on Intercept, Roll7: 'We Didn't Shutter Those Studios'". IGN. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Batchelor, James (6 November 2024). "Zelnick on Private Division sale: "Those projects were smaller, we're in the business of big hits"". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 6 November 2024.