The gaming industry is trembling under bad news. Activision Blizzard is firing 1,900 people, the celebrated studios Epic Games and Riot Games must shrink, studios are facing closure or shutting down entirely. But in Regensburg, it seems to be the land of milk and honey for the gaming industry. CipSoft, the company behind the MMORPG Tibia, is posting record numbers and rewarding employees generously.
Here’s what’s special about CipSoft:
- CipSoft was founded in 2001 in Regensburg. Like many makers of the MMORPGs of that time, the founders came from the university, where at that time there were powerful computers and a culture of online role-playing games.
- While other studios experienced ups and downs, sometimes buying other studios and sometimes being bought themselves, CipSoft remained stable in Regensburg all these years. They did not move to Munich or Berlin but stubbornly developed the MMORPG Tibia, which performed well in Brazil, Poland, and Venezuela, and still does today.
- A special aspect: Employees are generously involved in the financial success of the studio.
Making good use of the Corona pandemic but not overly expanding
This is the situation: Since the Corona pandemic in 2020, the MMORPG has been booming.
The astonishing fact: While many international competitors were hiring like crazy during the lockdowns, then having to lay off employees when the pandemic subsided, Tibia remained stable and can even increase the number of employees now.
In May 2024, they had 100 employees in Regensburg for the first time; in the coming months, they plan to hire more.
The developers say: They never had more profit than in 2023. Compared to the previous year, they achieved an increase of 21.8% in profit, reaching 14.5 million euros.
Because employees at CipSoft are involved in revenue, they can pay out royalties of 85% of their annual salary, which corresponds to 10 additional monthly salaries.
What the boss says: Stefan Vogler, founder and managing director, says they are lucky to operate a live-service game with Tibia, backed by a loyal community. They have made smart investments at CipSoft and expanded the core team of the game by almost a third.
But with so many bad news from allied studios, the team in Regensburg finds it hard to celebrate their success.
Many MMORPGs are closing, but MMORPGs like Runescape are doing well
What’s behind it: The success of CipSoft ultimately lies in the longevity of their sandbox MMORPG and that they are developing in a niche where there are few alternatives.
Although CipSoft has also tried to start new projects in recent years, they have struggled.
The key to the profitable studio appears to be maintaining stable costs while still being able to increase revenue in recent years.
For some players in Brazil or Poland, Tibia is more than a game; it is rather a way of life. The former students in Regensburg have apparently made some good decisions over the past 23 years.
That these “Top-Down” sandbox MMORPGs are currently booming can also be seen from the fact that OldSchool Runescape and Albion Online are performing much better than other MMORPGs released in recent years, which are being shut down in droves: German MMORPG is booming: Player record on Steam, only WoW is bigger on Twitch
