This War of Mine
Documents about This War of Mine
Annual Report 11 Bit Studios S.A. for 2020
In 2020, 11 bit studios S.A. achieved its strongest financial performance to date, characterized by record-breaking revenues of 87.1 million PLN and a net profit of 37.36 million PLN, representing a 57.5% year-over-year increase.
- 11 bit studios achieved record financial performance in 2020 with 87.1 million PLN in revenue and a 57.5% year-over-year increase in net profit to 37.36 million PLN.
- The company maintains a debt-free balance sheet with 107.7 million PLN in liquid assets, enabling full self-financing for its current development and publishing pipeline.
- Core franchises Frostpunk and This War of Mine remain the primary revenue drivers, while the publishing division grew to account for 29% of total annual revenue.
Depiction of War in Games: Can You Do Better?
Video games frequently reduce the experience of war to a cycle of hyper-violent, high-intensity combat that fails to capture the intricate reality of military operations.
- Military training simulators like Bohemia Interactive’s VBS series demonstrate that war involves hundreds of non-kinetic tasks—such as using turn signals in convoys—that are essential to operations but rarely represented in commercial first-person shooters.
- Game developers can move beyond narrow, combat-focused narratives by adopting a 'pyramid of conflict' structure, where global, local, and personal feuds overlap to create complex, shifting alliances similar to those found in 'Game of Thrones' or 'The Witcher 3'.
- Modern warfare often involves 'unlawful combatants' who blend into civilian populations, creating scenarios where soldiers must make split-second, high-stakes moral decisions under the rules of engagement rather than simply identifying and shooting enemies.
11 bit studios S.A. Financial Results Q1 2020 — Investor Letter
11 bit studios S.A. achieved its second-best quarterly performance in company history during the first quarter of 2020, driven by robust sales of its internal IP and publishing portfolio.
- 11 bit studios achieved record-breaking Q1 2020 financial results with PLN 30.52 million in revenue, a 114.3% year-on-year increase, and a net profit of PLN 14.51 million, up 226.9%.
- The Frostpunk franchise surpassed PLN 100 million in cumulative revenue during Q1 2020, officially overtaking This War of Mine as the studio’s highest-earning title.
- The company’s total financial assets exceeded PLN 100 million for the first time, bolstered by strong operating cash flows of PLN 24.3 million.
Climate Crisis and Video Games
Video games possess a unique capacity to model complex systems, making them an ideal medium for exploring the climate crisis.
- Video games are uniquely positioned to model the systemic nature of the climate crisis, allowing players to navigate complex political challenges and structural dependencies that traditional media struggles to convey.
- Modern commercial titles like Civilization VI: Gathering Storm effectively simulate the game theory problem of global cooperation, forcing players to balance individual factional gains against the collective necessity of emission reductions.
- Games such as Fate of the World utilize actual scientific models to teach players about the interconnectedness of climate issues, moving the medium beyond entertainment into the realm of educational simulation.
Quarterly Report of 11 bit studios S.A. for Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
During the first nine months of 2019, 11 bit studios S.A. transitioned into a phase of operational scaling and long-term investment following the high-performance benchmark set by major 2018 releases.
- 11 bit studios reported revenue of PLN 49.43 million for the first nine months of 2019, a 17.09% year-on-year decrease driven by the high base effect of 2018 releases.
- Net profit declined to PLN 10.02 million from PLN 28.52 million in 2018, impacted by increased operating expenses, depreciation, and PLN 6.2 million in non-cash provisions for an incentive scheme.
- Operating cash flow remained resilient at PLN 36.63 million, marking a 5.48% year-on-year increase despite a net cash flow deficit caused by intensified capital investment.
Why Make Games? Lessons from Frostpunk and This War Of Mine
Meaningful game design centers on the creation of interactive experiences that prioritize emotional depth, social values, and complex moral decision-making over traditional mechanics like leveling systems or conventional reward loops.
- 11 bit studios shifted its development philosophy from mechanics-focused design to 'meaningful games' after scrapping a project called Shelter, concluding that games must convey a message and evoke strong emotions to align with the studio's DNA.
- The studio prioritizes 'mood' as the primary binding agent between gameplay, art, and music, rather than focusing on any single element as the most important component of the experience.
- In This War of Mine, the team utilized a community-focused perspective rather than individual character tracking to force players to consider the survival of a group, using chaotic combat and moral dilemmas to reflect the reality of war.
Interim Financial Report: Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018
The first nine months of 2018 marked a period of unprecedented financial expansion and strategic transformation for 11 bit studios S.A., characterized by a fivefold increase in revenue to PLN 59.62 million.
- 11 bit studios achieved a 422.9% year-on-year revenue surge to PLN 59.62 million for the first nine months of 2018, resulting in a net profit of PLN 28.52 million compared to a net loss in 2017.
- The launch of Frostpunk was the primary growth driver, recouping its PLN 12 million development cost in days and generating over PLN 40 million in revenue by the end of Q3.
- The company maintains a strong financial position with cash reserves and short-term assets exceeding PLN 61.67 million and a high operating margin of 59.1%.
Half-Year Report of 11 bit studios S.A. for H1 2018
The first half of 2018 marked a transformative period for 11 bit studios S.A., characterized by record-breaking financial performance and a strategic shift toward larger-scale game production.
- 11 bit studios achieved a record-breaking H1 2018 with PLN 45.7 million in revenue, a 427% year-on-year increase, and a net profit of PLN 24.9 million.
- The launch of Frostpunk was the primary growth driver, recouping its PLN 10-12 million development costs within 66 hours of its April release.
- The company maintains a strong balance sheet with over PLN 51 million in cash, allowing for self-funded operations and future development without external debt.
Quarterly Report of 11 Bit Studios S.A.: Q1 2018
The first quarter of 2018 represented a transitional period for 11 bit studios S.A., characterized by a strategic pivot from the lifecycle of previous titles toward the highly anticipated launch of Frostpunk.
- Frostpunk recouped its PLN 12 million development and marketing budget in less than three days, selling over 250,000 copies within 66 hours of its April 2018 release.
- 11 bit studios reported a net loss of PLN 0.98 million on revenues of PLN 2.24 million for Q1 2018, attributed to the aging of 'This War of Mine' and reduced promotional spending.
- The company maintains a strong financial position with total assets of PLN 46.85 million and cash and equivalents exceeding PLN 26 million.
Annual Report 11 bit Studios S.A. for 2017
In 2017, 11 bit studios S.A. underwent a strategic transition, focusing on its core multiplatform video game production and publishing business.
- 11 bit studios reported 19.15 million PLN in annual revenue and 3.42 million PLN in net profit for 2017, reflecting a decline due to the aging of 'This War of Mine' and the postponement of 'Frostpunk' to 2018.
- The company incurred 3.4 million PLN in currency exchange losses caused by the strengthening of the Polish złoty against the USD, though it maintained a strong liquidity position with over 31 million PLN in cash and zero bank debt.
- The firm divested its subsidiary Games Republic Limited in April 2017 to focus exclusively on its internal 'meaningful entertainment' development model and its growing publishing division.
Politics in Games - All Media is Political - Extra Credits
The core thesis posits that politics are an inseparable component of all media, including video games, because creative works are inherently products of the human experience, cultural context, and the specific time periods in which they are produced.
- All creative media, including video games, are inherently political because they are products of the human experience and the specific cultural and temporal contexts of their creators.
- Design choices in games—such as the selection of enemy archetypes or the mechanics of strategy games—often inadvertently reflect and reinforce contemporary societal ideologies and political realities.
- Media consumption has measurable real-world impacts, as evidenced by studies showing that narratives can alter public perceptions on sensitive topics like the efficacy of torture or forensic evidence.
Annual Report of 11 bit studios S.A. for 2016
In 2016, 11 bit studios S.A. achieved its strongest historical financial performance, characterized by a 16.6% increase in consolidated revenue to 27.02 million PLN and a net profit of 12.93 million PLN.
- 11 bit studios achieved record financial performance in 2016 with 27.02 million PLN in consolidated revenue—a 16.6% increase—and a net profit of 12.93 million PLN, driven by the sustained monetization of This War of Mine.
- The company is highly export-dependent, generating 98.6% of its revenue outside Poland, with the United States accounting for 77.8% of sales and China emerging as the second-largest market.
- R&D investment doubled to 5.4 million PLN in 2016 to fund the development of the high-budget title Frostpunk, the creation of a second internal development team, and the expansion of the publishing division.