What Experiment 101 does

Experiment 101 is an independent video game development studio headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, operating as a subsidiary of THQ Nordic since its November 2017 acquisition. The studio was co-founded in 2015 by Stefan Ljungqvist — a veteran of Avalanche Studios with key creative credits on the Mad Max and Just Cause open-world franchises — together with financial partner Goodbye Kansas Game Invest (now Amplifier Game Invest). The firm employs 11–50 people, placing it in the small/AA studio tier. Its business model is single-SKU game development and licensing through major platform publishers, with BIOMUTANT as the sole commercial product.

BIOMUTANT is the studio's only released title: an open-world action RPG launched on May 25, 2021 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. The game is set in an imaginative post-apocalyptic universe and combines kung-fu-style melee combat with creature encounters, traversal via mechs, paragliders, balloons, mounts, and jet skis, and faction-driven open-world exploration. Distribution is handled exclusively through the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, and PC digital storefronts (global reach), with THQ Nordic acting as publisher and rights holder. The studio has no additional disclosed products, service lines, DLC programs, or active live operations in the available data.

The company monetizes indirectly: as a THQ Nordic subsidiary, Experiment 101's economics flow through its parent via development budgets, milestone payments, and any backend participation in BIOMUTANT royalties. Pricing is set at the publisher level (standard $59.99 AAA tier at launch) and is not controlled by the studio. End customers are console and PC gamers seeking differentiated open-world action RPG experiences, particularly buyers fatigued by zombie and military shooter post-apocalyptic settings. Beyond BIOMUTANT's product website, marketing has been limited to a creator-licensing program allowing content creators to use the game's music in streams, reviews, and playthroughs.

Name

Experiment 101

Legal name

Experiment 101 AB

Website

https://experiment101.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Experiment 101 is a Stockholm-based, THQ Nordic-owned game development studio with 11-50 employees. It develops and licenses single-product open-world action RPGs for console and PC, with BIOMUTANT (2021) as its sole released title targeting console and PC gamers seeking differentiated post-apocalyptic experiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Action RPG Video Game

NAICS

Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (339930)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Serious Games & Simulation Studios (Training, Defense, Enterprise) (MPAFAAAH)

Keywords

• Open world game development
• Action RPG studio
• Post-apocalyptic video game
• Kung fu combat game
• Console and PC games

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Experiment 101 is an independent game development studio that designs, develops, and publishes the open-world action RPG BIOMUTANT for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. The product is set in an imaginative post-apocalyptic universe with kung fu-style combat, exploration using mechs, paragliders, balloons, mounts, and jet skis, and encounters with fantastic creatures and dangerous factions.

Product overview

Experiment 101 is a single-product game development studio. Their sole offering is BIOMUTANT, an open-world action RPG released on May 25th, 2021, available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. The studio was founded in 2015 and acquired by THQ Nordic in 2017.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BIOMUTANT An open-world action RPG set in an imaginative post-apocalyptic universe for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC, featuring kung fu-style combat against fantastic creatures, exploration using mechs, paragliders, balloons, mounts, and jet skis, and navigation among dangerous factions.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Regional players

• Coffee Stain Studios: Swedish developer behind Goat Simulator, Satisfactory, and Deep Rock Galactic. Comparable Swedish base, small-to-mid studio size, and multi-platform PC/console publishing relationships.
• Tarsier Studios: Swedish small-team developer (Little Nightmares, Statik). Comparable in Malmö/Stockholm regional base and small-team console game development profile.

Direct peers

• Deck13 Interactive: German studio that developed The Surge and The Surge 2, action RPGs of similar scope and budget. Comparable headcount tier, action-RPG orientation, and console/PC multi-platform release strategy.
• Haemimont Games: Bulgarian mid-size developer of Tropico, Surviving Mars, and Victoriana. Similar team-size tier, multi-platform strategy, and reliance on recurring franchises under publisher relationships.
• Spiders: French mid-size RPG developer behind GreedFall, The Technomancer, and Steelrising. Comparable in team size, AA-budget action-RPG positioning, and reliance on a single stylistic franchise per cycle.
• Larian Studios: Belgian developer of Divinity and Baldur's Gate 3. Comparable European mid-size studio focused on narrative-driven RPGs on PC and console, although significantly larger and more commercially successful than Experiment 101.
• Piranha Bytes: German mid-size studio and fellow THQ Nordic subsidiary that developed the Gothic, ELEX, and Risen open-world RPG series. Closely comparable to Experiment 101 in scale, open-world RPG focus, and parent-company relationship.
• Owlcat Games: Cypriot/Russian mid-size RPG studio behind Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Closely matches Experiment 101 in small-team RPG development, single-franchise focus, and PC/console release model.

Broad incumbents

• Guerrilla Games: Dutch studio behind Killzone and the Horizon open-world action RPG franchise. Overlaps with Experiment 101 in open-world action-RPG genre and creature-rich setting, though at much larger scope and budget.
• Avalanche Studios: Swedish open-world developer of Just Cause and MadMax — the franchises Experiment 101's founder previously led. Larger and more established, but directly comparable in Swedish base, open-world expertise, and traversal-heavy game design DNA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Experiment 101