D-Pad Studio

What D-Pad Studio does

D-Pad Studio AS is a privately held Norwegian indie game studio founded in 2011 and registered on Askøy island outside Bergen, operating with a core team of seven (art direction, programming, design, social media, and contracted composition). The studio develops story-based games for major gaming platforms, with its technical foundation rooted in hand-crafted pixel art, custom pixel-art assets, and original or licensed music — no proprietary engine or AI tooling is disclosed.

Its core products are Owlboy (released November 1, 2016, after approximately eight years of development; an open-world flying platform adventure priced at $24.99 on PC and Nintendo Switch), Savant - Ascent (a fast-paced vertical shooter released August 2013, set in EDM artist Savant's universe, priced at $1.99), and Vikings On Trampolines (an in-development co-op action platformer/brawler for solo or up to four players). An updated title, Savant - Ascent REMIX, was released in 2023 and got a limited physical Nintendo Switch edition via Super Rare Games in March 2024 (4,000 units) and a digital Switch release on December 5, 2024. Owlboy's design features companion recruitment, dungeon exploration, and boss battles; Vikings On Trampolines introduces multi-mode co-op with trampoline-based combat against balloon-themed enemies.

The commercial model is direct-to-consumer via digital storefronts (Steam, GOG, Humble Store, Indie Box, App Store, Google Play Store, Nintendo eShop) with one-time/pay-as-you-go purchase pricing, supplemented by limited physical collector editions and Owlboy-branded merchandise on Bonfire. Marketing relies on a community-led motion: a quarterly newsletter, Discord, and active presence across Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and Tumblr, plus appearances at Day of the Devs, GDC, Nordic Game Conference, BitSummit, MagiCon, and Gamescom. The studio is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, and recorded awards include the Norwegian Game Awards 2010 GOTY for Owlboy, Yoyogames GOTY 2013 for Savant - Ascent, and Gullstikka 2014 Norwegian Game of the Year.

Name

D-Pad Studio

Legal name

D-Pad Studio AS

Website

https://dpadstudio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

D-Pad Studio is a Norwegian indie game studio founded in 2011, developing story-based pixel-art games for major platforms. It sells direct-to-consumer via Steam, GOG, Humble, App Store, Google Play, and Nintendo eShop, with flagship title Owlboy and supporting releases in the Savant franchise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ask

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Game Sales (Digital): One-time purchase revenue from selling games directly through digital distribution platforms including Steam, GOG, Humble Store, App Store, and Google Play Store. Owlboy priced at $24.99, Savant - Ascent at $1.99.
2. Physical Game Editions: Limited physical editions of games sold through partnership with Super Rare Games. Includes collector's items with trading cards, stickers, and illustrated manuals. Savant - Ascent REMIX physical edition limited to 4,000 units.
3. Merchandise Sales: Branded merchandise including Owlboy T-shirts sold through Bonfire.com store. Limited-time designs released periodically with newsletters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

D-Pad Studio is an independent game studio that designs, develops, and publishes story-based video games for PC, mobile, and Nintendo Switch platforms. Their flagship offering is Owlboy, an open-world flying platform adventure featuring hand-crafted pixel art, alongside other titles including the fast-paced shooter Savant - Ascent and its REMIX edition. Games are sold as one-time perpetual licenses through major digital storefronts, with limited physical editions distributed through partner publishers.

Product overview

D-Pad Studio is an independent Norwegian game developer offering a portfolio of four distinct games across multiple platforms. The flagship title Owlboy is an acclaimed story-based flying platform adventure with pixel art aesthetics. Savant - Ascent and its sequel Savant - Ascent REMIX are fast-paced shooters set in an EDM universe. Vikings On Trampolines is an upcoming co-op action brawler featuring Vikings using trampolines as weapons. Games are distributed digitally through Steam, GOG, Humble Store, App Store, and Play Store, with physical releases through partners like Super Rare Games.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Owlboy: Flagship title - story-based flying platform adventure game released in 2016
• Vikings On Trampolines
• Savant - Ascent

Products and services

• Owlboy An open-world flying platform adventure game with hand-crafted pixel art visuals, where players control Otus, a mute owl, exploring monster-infested ruins while recruiting friends to serve as gunners. Features exploration, dungeon navigation, and challenging boss battles. Priced at $24.99 on PC.
• Savant - Ascent A fast-paced vertical shooter set in the musical universe of EDM artist Savant, where players fight through tower levels while jumping between elevators and collecting CDs for additional music tracks. Includes four levels, two bosses, and endless and time attack modes. Priced at $1.99 across PC and mobile.
• Savant - Ascent REMIX An updated version of Savant - Ascent featuring enhanced gameplay. Available in physical format for Nintendo Switch via Super Rare Games (limited to 4000 units) with trading cards, sticker, and fully illustrated manual, alongside a digital release on Nintendo eShop.

Quantifiable outcome

• Owlboy nominated for IGF Excellence in Visual Arts at GDC 2010
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Super Rare GamescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 March 2024D-Pad Studio partnered with Super Rare Games to release Savant - Ascent REMIX in physical format for Nintendo Switch. The limited edition (4,000 units) features Super Rare's trademark trading cards, stickers, and a fully illustrated manual with tips and game information. Available starting March 26th, 2024.
• Savant (Aleksander)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEDM artist Savant composed original music for both Savant - Ascent and Vikings On Trampolines. The Savant - Ascent game is set in Savant's musical universe, featuring the alchemist character from his albums. Savant also serves as composer and sound designer for Vikings On Trampolines.
• Jonathan GeerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerComposer Jonathan Geer created the original soundtrack for Owlboy. He worked as part of the core development team from the project's inception.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• WayForward Technologies: Long-established indie studio producing 2D platformers and pixel-art titles across many franchises; broader portfolio but overlapping indie premium platformer space with D-Pad.
• Thunderful Group / Image & Form: Developer/publisher of the SteamWorld series of pixel-art indie games; comparable in 2D pixel-art aesthetic and indie premium model, with a broader publishing/holding role.

Direct peers

• Moon Studios: Developer of Ori and the Blind Forest/Will of the Wisps, premium story-driven platformers with strong critical reception; directly comparable as a premium indie platformer studio.
• Thunder Lotus Games: Developer of Jotun and Spiritfarer, a small indie studio focused on premium narrative-driven action games; comparable in team size, premium pricing, and cross-platform indie positioning.
• Supergiant Games: Developer of Bastion, Hades, and Transistor—small-team, premium-priced, story-rich indie games across PC and consoles; highly comparable in product positioning and team scale.
• Yacht Club Games: Small independent studio behind Shovel Knight, a pixel-art platformer with strong critical acclaim and a similar small-team, premium-pricing, multi-platform distribution model to D-Pad Studio.
• Drinkbox Studios: Developer of Guacamelee and Nobody Saves the World, premium indie pixel-art action-platformers with strong narrative and cross-platform releases on PC, Switch, and consoles.
• Cellar Door Games: Developer of Rogue Legacy and Rogue Legacy 2, indie pixel-art action-platformers with strong critical reception and a similar small-team premium release model.
• Team Cherry: Developer of Hollow Knight, a pixel-art metroidvania/platformer with similar indie scale, hand-crafted art, and community-driven marketing ethos to D-Pad's Owlboy.
• Matt Thorson / EXOK Games: Developer of Celeste, a story-driven pixel-art platformer; closely comparable to D-Pad's Owlboy in genre, art style, narrative focus, and indie solo/small-team scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DPadStudio
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/DPadStudioOfficial
• Facebookfacebook.com/DPadStudio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/d-pad-studio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 D-Pad Studio