Nolla Games
Nolla Games is a Helsinki-based bootstrapped indie studio founded in 2017, developing the roguelite title Noita on a proprietary pixel-based physics engine (the "Falling Everything Engine"). The studio sells Noita as a premium one-time purchase across Steam, GOG, Humble Store, and itch.io.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersHelsinki, Finland
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Nolla Games does
Nolla Games Oy is a Helsinki-based independent game studio founded in 2017 by Petri Purho, Olli Harjola, and Arvi Teikari — three developers with prior indie shipping credits. The studio operates as a bootstrapped entity with no external funding and a small core team, retaining full ownership of its intellectual property and engine technology.
The studio's sole commercial product is Noita, a roguelite game whose defining technical feature is the proprietary "Falling Everything Engine," a per-pixel physics simulation in which every individual pixel of the game world — including terrain, fluids, and entities — interacts via realistic material physics. This simulation-driven design enables emergent gameplay outcomes that distinguish Noita from tile-based or sprite-based roguelites. The title entered Steam Early Access on September 24, 2019 and reached its 1.0 release on October 15, 2020, accumulating an "Overwhelmingly Positive" Steam review aggregate and receiving industry recognition including Independent Games Festival nominations in 2019 and a Game Developers Choice Award nomination in 2020.
Nolla monetizes Noita via a one-time premium purchase with no in-game transactions, subscriptions, or live-service mechanics. Distribution is direct-to-consumer across multiple third-party storefronts — Steam, GOG, Humble Store, and itch.io — with Steam Workshop support enabling community-created content. The studio has not announced additional products, ports to new platforms, or expansion of headcount, indicating a single-asset operating posture.
Nolla Games firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Nolla Games
- Legal name
- Nolla Games Oy
- Website
- https://nollagames.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Nolla Games is a Helsinki-based bootstrapped indie studio founded in 2017, developing the roguelite title Noita on a proprietary pixel-based physics engine (the "Falling Everything Engine"). The studio sells Noita as a premium one-time purchase across Steam, GOG, Humble Store, and itch.io.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Nolla Games industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Indie Video Games
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (51321)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Game Engines (General-Purpose & Real-Time 3D) (MPAFAFAA)
Keywords
Where Nolla Games is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Helsinki
- HQ country
- Finland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Nolla Games business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Game Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of Noita through digital distribution platforms. One-time purchase model with no in-game transactions.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Nolla Games product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Nolla Games develops and publishes indie video games, with its primary product being Noita, a magical action rogue-lite in which every pixel in the game world is physically simulated. The studio uses its proprietary Falling Everything Engine to deliver per-pixel physics, procedurally generated worlds, and a player-driven spell creation system.
Product overview
Nolla Games is a small indie game studio based in Helsinki, Finland, founded by three developers: Petri Purho (creator of Crayon Physics Deluxe), Olli Harjola (creator of The Swapper), and Arvi Teikari (creator of Baba Is You). The company operates as a single-product studio focused on Noita, a magical action rogue-lite game where every pixel is physically simulated. Noita is built using Nolla Games' proprietary in-house Falling Everything Engine. The game is available across multiple distribution platforms including Steam, Humble Store, itch.io, and GOG, with the 1.0 release having launched on October 15, 2020.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Noita Noita is a magical action rogue-lite video game where every pixel in the world is physically simulated. Players fight, explore, melt, burn, freeze, and evaporate their way through a procedurally generated world using spells they create themselves; death is permanent. It is sold directly to individual gamers via Steam, GOG, Humble Store, and itch.io.
Companies that use Nolla Games
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Nolla Games technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature1 record
Nolla Games partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Nolla Games competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Klei Entertainment: Mid-size Canadian indie studio behind Don't Starve, Mark of the Ninja, and Oxygen Not Included. Comparable as a small-to-mid indie developer with proprietary engines, survival/simulaton-adjacent gameplay, and multi-platform distribution — broader portfolio than Nolla but similar indie DNA.
- Image & Form: Swedish indie studio behind the SteamWorld series, a multi-title indie IP with PC and console releases. Comparable as a small Nordic indie studio shipping quality action/titles via digital storefronts with strong critical reception.
Direct peers
- Mossmouth: Solo/small-team indie developer of Spelunky and Spelunky 2, genre-defining roguelikes. Comparable in indie scale, single-author/IP focus, and foundational influence on the modern roguelite genre.
- Yacht Club Games: Small indie studio behind Shovel Knight with proprietary tech and a multi-platform PC/console distribution strategy. Comparable in small team, custom-built engine, and high-quality single-IP focus.
- Dodge Roll: Indie studio behind Enter the Gungeon, a bullet-hell roguelite on PC and consoles. Comparable as a small studio specializing in a single roguelite IP with high replayability and strong critical reception.
- Motion Twin: French worker-cooperative indie studio behind Dead Cells, a critically acclaimed action roguelite on PC and consoles. Closely comparable in team size, single-product focus, and roguelite genre targeting, with similarly strong critical reception and Steam-led distribution.
- Supergiant Games: Small indie studio behind Hades, Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre. Highly comparable as a small team shipping deeply crafted action/roguelite titles on PC with strong word-of-mouth-driven sales and award nominations.
- Subset Games: Two-person indie studio behind FTL: Faster Than Light and Into the Breach — procedurally generated strategy games with roguelike elements. Comparable in small founding team, single-product focus, and PC-first distribution with strong critical reception.
- Team Cherry: Three-person Australian indie studio behind Hollow Knight, a critically acclaimed action-exploration title on PC and Switch. Highly comparable in tiny team size, single-IP focus, and award-recognized quality on indie digital storefronts.
- Cellar Door Games: Indie studio behind Rogue Legacy and Rogue Legacy 2, focused entirely on roguelite/roguelike action titles on PC and consoles. Comparable in niche specialization, small team, and roguelite-only product strategy.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Nolla Games social profiles
Digital presenceNolla Games financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Nolla Games leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Nolla Games funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Nolla Games M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Nolla Games
What does Nolla Games do?
Nolla Games develops and publishes indie video games, with its primary product being Noita, a magical action rogue-lite in which every pixel in the game world is physically simulated. The studio uses its proprietary Falling Everything Engine to deliver per-pixel physics, procedurally generated worlds, and a player-driven spell creation system.
Is Nolla Games a public or private company?
Nolla Games is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Nolla Games founded?
Nolla Games was founded in 2017.
Where is Nolla Games based?
Nolla Games is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, in the Europe region.
How does Nolla Games make money?
One revenue line is on record: game Sales.
Who are Nolla Games's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Klei Entertainment and Image & Form. Direct peers are Mossmouth, Yacht Club Games, Dodge Roll, Motion Twin, Supergiant Games, Subset Games, Team Cherry and Cellar Door Games.
Does Nolla Games have an API?
No public API is recorded for Nolla Games.
What industry is Nolla Games in?
Nolla Games's product category is Indie Video Games. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAFAA, Game Engines (General-Purpose & Real-Time 3D). Its NAICS code is 51321.