London, United Kingdom, 18th March, 2024
We are excited to announce that the Reef Creative Group recently acquired a 70% stake in the development studio Bitmap Bureau. Reef Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Reef Creative Group, will work as an operative team providing support for future Bitmap Bureau titles.
Based in Southampton, Bitmap Bureau was founded in 2016 by industry veterans Matthew Cope and Mike Tucker. Over the years, Bitmap Bureau have been on a mission to deliver high-quality titles capable of running natively on retro consoles and modern consoles alike, with popular releases such as Xeno Crisis, Battle Axe and Final Vendetta. Their talented team of designers, programmers, artists and musicians are dedicated to preserving and continuing the fine art of retro game development, with a commitment to authenticity that spans from the painstaking coding process all the way to the physical packaging.
“Reef are currently deep into development on some unannounced projects with Bitmap Bureau and through working on these together, we’ve developed a wonderful partnership founded on shared values. We are delighted to have them as part of our group and look forward to this collaboration continuing to flourish in the near future.” - Gareth Dain, Group Managing Director, Reef Creative Group
Reef Entertainment are best known for Terminator: Resistance, a first-person shooter released in 2019 and developed by Teyon. The game has garnered very strong reviews on Steam, with a dedicated fanbase built thanks to its exciting gameplay and original story set in the iconic Terminator franchise. The success of Terminator: Resistance has pushed Reef Entertainment to new commercial heights.
Reef Entertainment and Bitmap Bureau have developed an amazing chemistry working together for almost 2 years and have recognised that their range of skills will complement each other in a more formal partnership within the Reef Creative Group. Bitmap Bureau are already developing two new titles with Reef Entertainment to be announced soon.
“Working as part of the Reef Creative Group gives us access to the funding, administration and publishing support we need to expand, study and concentrate on making the best retro titles out there for gamers everywhere. Our combined knowledge and expertise will allow us to make higher-quality games and retro physical collections than ever before. Stay tuned for the exciting projects we’re working on…we’ll be back with more news soon!” - Matt Cope, Technical Director, Bitmap Bureau.
This is the first of several strategic acquisitions for the Reef Creative Group, who are aiming to become one of the leading developers and publishers based in the European market by 2030.
ABOUT REEF ENTERTAINMENT
Reef Entertainment is a UK-based developer and publisher of video games, offering a full range of services from funding to final release. Reef are best known for Terminator: Resistance, a first-person shooter released in 2019, the success of which has pushed the company to new commercial heights. Reef currently have multiple new game projects in development, as well as offering publishing and distribution services to a variety of valued partners.
For more information, visit: www.reef-entertainment.com
ABOUT BITMAP BUREAU
Founded in 2016 by industry veterans, Bitmap Bureau is a game development studio based in Southampton, specialising in producing 2D video games for modern consoles that also run on original retro hardware. Bitmap Bureau are truly passionate about retro games and are dedicated to creating new titles that hark back to gaming’s golden era through 2D graphics, authentic packaging and a traditional hands-on approach to coding and development.
For more information, visit: www.bitmapbureau.com
ABOUT Reef Creative Group
The Reef Creative Group is a UK-based investment company with a strong presence in the European market built through our successful publishing, development and distribution businesses. The group was formed in 2022 with the goal of acquiring development studios. Through our established businesses, we can provide stable funding and access to centres of excellence in publishing, marketing and administration, as well as an established route to market, helping developers reach new levels of success.
For more information, visit: www.reefcreativegroup.com