Ghost Ship Games
Ghost Ship Games is a Copenhagen-based Danish game studio (founded 2016) best known for developing the co-op FPS franchise Deep Rock Galactic, with 10M+ players and 4M+ copies sold across Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersCopenhagen, Denmark
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Ghost Ship Games does
Ghost Ship Games is a Copenhagen-based Danish game development studio founded in April 2016 by six veteran game developers from the Danish games industry. The studio's core franchise is Deep Rock Galactic, a 1-4 player cooperative FPS featuring fully destructible environments, procedurally-generated cave systems, and deep progression built on a proprietary engine layered over Unreal. Since its February 2018 Early Access launch on Steam, the franchise has expanded to Xbox and PlayStation, reached a 1.0 release in May 2020, transitioned to a seasonal content model in November 2021, and broadened into spin-off titles including Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core (Early Access 2025) and Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor on mobile. The studio reports more than 10 million players served and more than 4 million copies sold, and achieved profitability within three years of founding.
Ghost Ship Games firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ghost Ship Games
- Legal name
- Ghost Ship Games
- Website
- https://ghostship.dk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Ghost Ship Games is a Copenhagen-based Danish game studio (founded 2016) best known for developing the co-op FPS franchise Deep Rock Galactic, with 10M+ players and 4M+ copies sold across Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ghost Ship Games industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Video Game Development
- akta.pro primary industry
- Indie Game Studios (MPAFAAAC)
Keywords
Where Ghost Ship Games is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Copenhagen
- HQ country
- Denmark
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Ghost Ship Games business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Game Sales (Deep Rock Galactic): Deep Rock Galactic is sold as a one-time purchase on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. The game launched in Early Access in February 2018 and reached its 1.0 release in May 2020. Revenue is generated from initial game purchases across all platforms.
- Seasonal Content / DLC: Deep Rock Galactic generates post-launch revenue through seasonal content updates, with the seasonal model launching in November 2021. Players may purchase new seasons or seasonal content.
- Publishing Revenue: Ghost Ship Games publishes third-party titles (Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, Guntouchables, SpellRogue, DarkSwarm, FLASK, Dinolords) through Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile app stores, earning revenue from sales of published games.
- Mobile Game Sales: Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is available on Android and Apple app stores, generating revenue from mobile game sales.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard game purchase |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Ghost Ship Games product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ghost Ship Games is a Copenhagen-based game development studio that develops and publishes co-op video games, with its flagship franchise Deep Rock Galactic (a 1-4 player co-op FPS featuring 100% destructible environments, procedurally-generated caves, and dwarven sci-fi theming) available on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile platforms. The studio also operates Ghost Ship Publishing, a publishing arm that supports independent developers in bringing their games (such as Guntouchables, Dinolords, SpellRogue, DarkSwarm, and FLASK) to market.
Product overview
Ghost Ship Games is a Copenhagen-based Danish game development studio founded in spring 2016. The company operates as both a game developer and publisher. Their primary product portfolio consists of the Deep Rock Galactic franchise, which includes the core co-op FPS Deep Rock Galactic (with over 10 million players served and 4+ million copies sold), the upcoming roguelite spin-off Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core (launching in Early Access), and the single-player auto-shooter Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. Additionally, Ghost Ship Games runs a publishing operation supporting independent developers, publishing titles including Guntouchables, Dinolords, SpellRogue, DarkSwarm, and FLASK. The company follows an open development philosophy, engaging with their community from early stages and iterating quickly with a small team of 54 people.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Deep Rock Galactic: 1-4 player co-op FPS featuring badass space Dwarves, 100% destructible environments, procedurally-generated caves, deep progression, and endless hordes of alien monsters.
- Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core
- Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
- Ghost Ship Publishing
Products and services
- Deep Rock Galactic A 1-4 player co-op FPS featuring space dwarves, 100% destructible environments, procedurally-generated caves, deep progression, and endless alien monsters. The studio's flagship franchise with over 10 million players served and more than 4 million copies sold across PC (Steam), Xbox, and PlayStation platforms.
- Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core A 1-4 player co-op FPS action roguelite spin-off featuring sci-fi dwarves, alien horrors, and procedurally-generated caves. Players join dwarven Reclaimers to reestablish control over lost deep mining operations on Hoxxes IV. Emphasizes combat over the mining-focused gameplay of the mainline title.
- Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
Quantifiable outcome
- Deep Rock Galactic reached 1 million players in May 2020 (1.0 release), 2 million by January 2021, 3 million by June 2022, and 10 million+ total players across all platforms.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Ghost Ship Games
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Ghost Ship Games technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Ghost Ship Games partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Coffee Stain PublishingcoreCoffee Stain joined as the publisher for Deep Rock Galactic in February 2017, providing publishing support including marketing, distribution, and operational guidance as the game entered Early Access. Coffee Stain was later acquired by Embracer Group, which then acquired Ghost Ship Games directly in July 2021.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Ghost Ship Games competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Arrowhead Game Studios: Swedish indie studio behind the Helldivers and Magicka franchises, with a co-op focus and similar publishing relationship under the Embracer family. Most directly comparable peer in scope, philosophy, and genre.
- Fatshark: Stockholm-based developer of Warhammer: Vermintide and Darktide, owned by Tencent. Closely comparable as a European indie studio focused on premium co-op PvE FPS experiences with roguelike elements.
- 10 Chambers: Swedish co-op FPS developer of GTFO, founded by industry veterans. Comparable in team size, Stockholm/Nordic peer positioning, and focus on hardcore co-op PvE shooter experiences.
- Coffee Stain Publishing: Swedish indie publisher and former Ghost Ship publisher, also under Embracer. Highly comparable publishing arm focused on indie PC games with Early Access and live service expertise.
- Klei Entertainment: Canadian indie developer of Don't Starve and Mark of the Ninja, known for long-lived games with deep systems and seasonal content. Comparable as a mid-size indie studio with evergreen franchises and a no-crunch culture.
- Warhorse Studios: Czech indie studio behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance, owned by Embracer. Comparable as a mid-size European indie studio with a single major successful franchise, owned by the same parent company.
- Iron Gate Studio: Swedish developer of Valheim, a co-op survival crafting hit that exploded on Steam Early Access. Comparable as a small Nordic indie studio that leveraged Steam Early Access and community engagement to scale a co-op game into a 10M+ seller.
Broad incumbents
- Psyonix: Developer of Rocket League, acquired by Epic Games. Comparable as a studio whose co-op/competitive multiplayer game became a long-running live-service franchise with seasonal updates and cross-platform play.
- Devolver Digital: Indie games publisher with a portfolio that includes many co-op and multiplayer indie titles. Comparable as a publishing partner for indie developers, though at much greater scale and as a publisher rather than developer.
Emerging players
- Torn Banner Studios: Canadian indie developer of Chivalry and Chivalry 2. Comparable as a small studio focused on competitive multiplayer experiences with a long tail of community-driven content, though Chivalry is competitive rather than co-op PvE.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Ghost Ship Games social profiles
Digital presenceGhost Ship Games financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ghost Ship Games leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Ghost Ship Games funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ghost Ship Games M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ghost Ship Games
What does Ghost Ship Games do?
Ghost Ship Games is a Copenhagen-based game development studio that develops and publishes co-op video games, with its flagship franchise Deep Rock Galactic (a 1-4 player co-op FPS featuring 100% destructible environments, procedurally-generated caves, and dwarven sci-fi theming) available on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile platforms. The studio also operates Ghost Ship Publishing, a publishing arm that supports independent developers in bringing their games (such as Guntouchables, Dinolords, SpellRogue, DarkSwarm, and FLASK) to market.
Is Ghost Ship Games a public or private company?
Ghost Ship Games is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Ghost Ship Games founded?
Ghost Ship Games was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Ghost Ship Games based?
Ghost Ship Games is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the Europe region.
How does Ghost Ship Games make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Game Sales (Deep Rock Galactic) is the primary driver. The others are seasonal Content / DLC, publishing Revenue and mobile Game Sales.
Who are Ghost Ship Games's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Arrowhead Game Studios, Fatshark, 10 Chambers, Coffee Stain Publishing, Klei Entertainment, Warhorse Studios and Iron Gate Studio. Broad incumbents are Psyonix and Devolver Digital. Torn Banner Studios is listed as an emerging player.
Does Ghost Ship Games have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ghost Ship Games.
What industry is Ghost Ship Games in?
Ghost Ship Games's product category is Video Game Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAAAC, Indie Game Studios.