Mediatonic

Mediatonic is a British video game developer founded in 2005 by Dave Bailey and Paul Croft, based in London. The studio spent fifteen years building a catalog of mobile, browser, and licensed games before Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout became one of the biggest surprise launches in gaming history in August 2020. Epic Games acquired Mediatonic in March 2021. After Fall Guys transitioned to free-to-play under Epic, the game’s momentum declined, and Epic sold Fall Guys back to Mediatonic in 2024 as part of broader restructuring across the company.

Before Fall Guys

Mediatonic spent its first fifteen years building games across mobile, browser, and licensed properties without achieving mainstream recognition. Their catalog included Gears Pop, a mobile strategy game based on the Gears of War franchise published by Xbox Game Studios, and several Adventure Time games published through third parties. The studio developed competence across multiple genres and platforms during this period, which informed the design flexibility that went into Fall Guys.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout released in August 2020, published by Devolver Digital, and became an immediate cultural phenomenon. A battle royale built around obstacle courses, physics-based chaos, and up to 60 players competing through rounds of increasingly absurd challenges, it sold over 11 million copies in its first week and was one of the most-played PlayStation Plus titles in the service’s history. The game’s colorful aesthetic, accessibility, and endless crossover costume collaborations with major franchises including Sonic, Godzilla, and dozens of others kept it culturally relevant through its early seasons.

Epic Acquisition and Free-to-Play Transition

Epic Games acquired Mediatonic in March 2021 for an undisclosed amount, integrating Fall Guys into its live service portfolio alongside Fortnite. In June 2022, Fall Guys transitioned from a paid game to a free-to-play model, moving from Steam to the Epic Games Store as its primary PC platform and simultaneously launching on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The transition brought a significant new player influx but also controversy over the removal of the original Steam version and the shift toward a more aggressive cosmetic monetization model. Player counts declined substantially from the 2020 peak as the game competed in a crowded free-to-play market.

Return to Mediatonic

In 2024, as part of Epic’s broader restructuring and layoffs across its gaming divisions, Epic sold Fall Guys back to Mediatonic. The studio continues to develop and support the game independently. The transition marked one of the more unusual ownership reversals in recent gaming history, with the studio that created the game regaining control after the free-to-play experiment under Epic produced mixed results.