What Fishing Cactus does

Fishing Cactus is an independent video game development studio headquartered in Mons, Wallonia, Belgium, founded in 2004 and operating with approximately 38 employees. The company develops and publishes its own games across PC (Steam, GOG, Humble), consoles (Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox), and VR platforms (Meta Quest, PSVR2), and runs a dedicated Serious Games division delivering custom educational and training games for healthcare, industrial, government, and corporate clients. Its catalog includes the Typing Chronicles franchise (Epistory, Nanotale, Outshine), the VR sports titles co-developed with Decathlon (Sports Camp, Badminton Time VR, Tennis on Court VR), the B2B Location Based Entertainment shooter Swarms, and narrative and strategy titles such as Gloomy Eyes, Corsairs, Samurai Academy, and Shift Quantum. Technical foundation rests on a proprietary multi-platform engine called Mojito, with demonstrated capability across iOS, Android, PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Wii, and 3DS, and early specialization in Microsoft Kinect-based serious games.

The company monetizes through four parallel streams: (1) self-published game sales across digital storefronts; (2) work-for-hire game development and co-development for other studios and brands; (3) Tax Shelter co-productions leveraging Belgium's video game tax incentive for shared-risk financing across Europe and Canada; and (4) Serious Games professional services plus targeted consulting in AI, performance optimization, porting, UI/UX, and 3D Art. Named enterprise clients include Erasme Hospital/ULB, GSK, Dassault Aviation, Decathlon, Technobel, Child Focus, Fédération des Maisons de la laïcité, RTBF, and Mundaneum. Partnerships span Decathlon (core sports co-development), Exiin (Ary and the Secret of Seasons), and regional public funders Wallimage and Creative Wallonia. The company is privately held, founder-operated, with no institutional funding disclosed.

Name

Fishing Cactus

Legal name

Fishing Cactus sa

Website

https://fishingcactus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fishing Cactus is an independent Belgian game studio in Mons that develops and self-publishes multi-platform games (PC, console, VR) and delivers work-for-hire development, Tax Shelter co-productions, and a Serious Games division serving enterprise, healthcare, education, and government clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Game Development & Publishing

NAICS

Software Publishers (51321)

SIC

Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy/4X/Management Game Studios (MPAFAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

PC & Console Game Distribution Platforms (BPAMAKAA)

Keywords

• Indie game development
• Serious games
• VR game development
• Work for hire
• Multi-platform games

Headquarters

HQ city

Mons

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Work for Hire / Contract Development: Developing games for other studios and companies as contracted developers, treating client projects as their own with opportunity to participate in creative process
2. Tax Shelter / Co-productions: Leveraging Belgium's Tax Shelter tax incentive program to offer competitive financing for co-productions across Europe and Canada
3. Game Publishing: Publishing and selling their own developed games across PC, console, and VR platforms
4. Serious Games / Gamification Development: Developing tailor-made serious games and gamification solutions for companies and public bodies in education, medical, and industrial fields
5. Consulting Services: Providing consulting services in specific fields including AI, performances, exotic platform porting, UI/UX, 3D Art
6. Porting Services: Porting successful PC games to consoles using Unreal, Unity and HTML5 development with console devkits

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Fishing Cactus develops and publishes original video games across PC, consoles (Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox), and VR platforms (Meta Quest, PSVR2), offering titles such as Epistory - Typing Chronicles, Sports Camp, Samurai Academy, and Badminton Time VR. The studio also operates as a B2B services provider offering work-for-hire game development, serious games for healthcare/education/industrial training, console porting, AI and UI/UX consulting, and Belgium Tax Shelter co-productions.

Product overview

Fishing Cactus is a Belgian game development studio based in Mons, Wallonia, with approximately 38 employees. The company operates as both a game developer creating original titles and a service provider offering development, porting, and consulting services. Their product portfolio spans multiple genres including party games (Sports Camp, Samurai Academy), VR sports simulations (Badminton Time VR, Tennis on Court, Swarms), narrative puzzle games (Gloomy Eyes), real-time strategy (Corsairs), typing-based educational games (Epistory, Nanotale, Outshine), and programming puzzle games (Algo Bot, Shift Quantum). They also maintain a Serious Games division delivering educational and training games for medical, industrial, and corporate clients. The company offers services including full game development (work for hire), tax shelter co-productions leveraging Belgium's tax incentive program, console porting (Unreal, Unity, HTML5), specialized consulting (AI, performance, UI/UX, 3D Art), and custom serious games development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mojito: Internal game development engine used by Fishing Cactus for game development.
• Fishing Cactus Serious Gaming

Products and services

• Sports Camp A party game featuring 35 sports activities from sheep roping to hovercraft racing, designed for family fun and multiplayer challenges on Nintendo Switch.
• Samurai Academy (Paws of Fury) Frantic samurai versus ninja battles featuring adorable animal fighters mastering martial arts in a comedic party game across PC, PS5, Xbox, and Switch.
• Swarms Over-the-top futuristic 8-player multiplayer VR co-op shooter designed specifically for Location Based Entertainment VR centers.
• Badminton Time VR VR badminton sports simulation game with competitive multiplayer modes and superpowers, developed with Decathlon, available on Meta Quest 3 and PSVR2.
• Tennis on Court VR tennis simulator featuring physics developed with top players, online multiplayer modes, available on Meta Quest and PSVR2.
• Gloomy Eyes Narrative puzzle adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic world where a zombie and human search for light and love, available on Steam, Switch, PS5, Xbox.
• Corsairs - Battle for the Caribbean Real-time strategy game of high-seas piracy where players captain crews, engage in trade and combat across the Caribbean, available on Steam.
• Nanotale - Typing Chronicles Typing adventure game where a young archivist catalogs mysteries in a dying world, spiritual successor to Epistory, available on Steam.
• Outshine High-energy arcade typing game where players type words to defeat enemies and rank to the top, available on Steam and GOG.
• Epistory - Typing Chronicles Atmospheric 3D action/adventure typing game with papercraft art style, featuring a writer seeking inspiration, available on Steam, GOG, and Humble Bundle.
• Algo Bot Programming puzzle game where players use algorithm skills to command a service droid in a pan-galactic ship crisis, available on Steam.
• Shift Quantum Brain-busting platformer using SHIFTING mechanic to twist environment and invert space around players, available on Steam, Switch, PS4, Xbox One.
• Ary and the Secret of Seasons Adventure game featuring Ary navigating between seasons in the world of Valdi, co-produced with Exiin studio.
• Work for Hire Game Development Full-service game development capability for PC, console, and VR games across various genres and styles, including work-for-hire projects where Fishing Cactus treats client games as their own.
• Tax Shelter / Co-productions Co-production and financing services leveraging Belgium's Tax Shelter tax incentive program for video games, offering competitive financing for co-productions across Europe and Canada.
• Console Porting Services Console porting services for PC games using Unreal, Unity, and HTML5 development expertise with console devkits.
• Key Area Development / Consulting Specialized consulting in AI, performance optimization, exotic platform porting, UI/UX, and 3D Art for other game studios.
• Serious Games Development Custom educational and training games combining creativity, pedagogy, and game development for corporate, healthcare, public sector, and educational clients.
• R.O.G.E.R Therapeutic serious game developed with neuro psychologists from Erasme hospital to assist in diagnosing brain-damaged patients, using Kinect technology.

Quantifiable outcome

• Epistory - Overwhelmingly Positive - 95%
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DecathloncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose collaboration with Decathlon on sports-related games including Sports Camp (35 sports activities), Badminton Time VR, and Tennis on Court VR. Decathlon collaboration enables realistic physics and sports simulation expertise.
• ExiincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production with Brussels game studio Exiin for 'Ary and the Secret of Seasons' adventure game.
• Dassault AviationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorked on industrial real-time 3D simulations for aerospace applications.
• SolidarisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on R.O.G.E.R. therapeutic serious game for cognitive assessment.
• Erasme Hospital (ULB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with neuro psychologists from Erasme hospital in Brussels on R.O.G.E.R. therapeutic game for brain-damaged patient assessment.
• Les films de la mémoireminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-media collaboration for Waterloo game project.
• dogstudiominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-media collaboration for Waterloo game project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Amplitude Studios: French strategy and 4X game studio (Humankind, Endless series). Direct genre peer for Fishing Cactus's Corsairs real-time strategy title, both being European PC-first strategy developers.
• Don't Nod: French narrative adventure game studio (Life is Strange, Tell Me Why). Direct peer for Fishing Cactus's narrative puzzle work such as Gloomy Eyes, both being European studios publishing narrative-driven original IP.
• Asobo Studio: French independent studio of comparable size with multi-platform and VR expertise (Microsoft Flight Simulator, Plague Tale). Comparable as a similarly-sized European indie with strong VR/multi-platform delivery and original IP plus B2B work.
• The Game Bakers: French independent multi-platform studio (Furi, Haven). Comparable as a similarly-sized European indie publishing original IP across PC, console, and mobile with a small team and work-for-hire expertise.
• Vertigo Games: Netherlands-based VR game developer and publisher (After the Fall, Arizona Sunshine). Directly comparable as a European VR specialist with both consumer and location-based VR products, mirroring Fishing Cactus's Swarms LBE franchise.
• Kuju Entertainment: UK-based games and serious games developer with dedicated serious-games and VR divisions serving enterprise and government clients. Closest comparable to Fishing Cactus's Serious Games division serving healthcare, education, and corporate customers.
• Limbic Entertainment: German strategy and management game studio (Tropico series, Railway Empire). Direct genre peer for Fishing Cactus's Corsairs strategy title, both European strategy developers publishing on PC.
• nDreams: UK-based VR-native game studio and publisher with experience across Meta Quest and PSVR2. Directly comparable for Fishing Cactus's VR focus across Badminton Time VR, Tennis on Court, and the Swarms LBE franchise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fishingcactus
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/FishingCactusGames
• Facebookfacebook.com/fishingcactus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fishing-cactus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Fishing Cactus