Big Run Studios has launched Crash Arcade, a browser-based platform featuring 32 arcade, puzzle, and strategy games. The platform aims to make game discovery and play seamless, accessible across phones, tablets, and computers without requiring app downloads.
Crash Arcade represents a new direction for the independent game developer, known for its skill-based mobile titles like Blackout Bingo. Big Run Studios plans to release a new game weekly on the platform, allowing for rapid experimentation with different genres and direct player feedback to inform future development.
Andrew Bell, CEO of Big Run Studios, stated that the studio has spent years learning how to make games that are easy to learn, rewarding to master, and encourage repeat play. “Crash Arcade gives us a completely different canvas for applying what we’ve learned,” Bell said. “We can get new games in front of players faster, remove the friction of downloading another app, and learn directly from what people actually want to play.”
The platform incorporates direct player feedback through a voting system, enabling players to influence which game concepts Big Run Studios develops next. This approach fosters a collaborative development process between the studio and its community. Bell described Crash Arcade as a combination of the team’s expertise in short-session games with inherent depth, their established free-to-play backend technology, and modern development tools.
Crash Arcade allows players to use a single profile, carrying rewards and progression across all games on the platform. A notable feature is the “Crash Pad,” a customizable personal space where players can select avatars and socialize. Up to 16 players can gather in a Crash Pad to chat or play games together.
Bell emphasized the integration of expression, customization, and social interaction as a key layer for the games. He drew a parallel to the “90s basement experience” of childhood gaming, aiming to provide a similar social atmosphere for today’s youth. Many of the games are designed around simple risk-and-reward mechanics, encouraging players to decide whether to bank their score or continue playing for a potentially higher outcome.
Founded in 2019 by Andrew Bell and Buren Renick, Big Run Studios has focused on creating accessible games within familiar genres, emphasizing short play sessions and skill-based gameplay. The studio has previously developed titles such as Blackout Bingo, Big Cooking, and Word Star, attracting over 20 million players, with a particular focus on women over 30.
The studio has secured significant seed funding, raising $5.25 million in August 2020, led by Transcend Fund, following an earlier $1.4 million round led by Galaxy Interactive in March 2020. The current team consists of five core members. Bell, with over 21 years of game development experience, including roles at 2K Sports, LucasArts, Zynga, and Warner Bros., co-founded Big Run Studios with the vision of building games for underserved audiences.
Crash Arcade is available now at crasharcade.fun for players aged 16 and older, requiring sign-in to play. Big Run Studios plans to continue expanding the platform with new games and features, guided by player behavior and feedback. This move into browser-first gaming allows the studio to test new ideas and iterate on game design more efficiently, a strategy that echoes the approach of platforms like Google Play, Merak Capital Boost Indie Game Development Globally.
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