Big City Lab

What Big City Lab does

Big City Lab is a privately held game development studio founded in 2018 that operates two divisions: a casual games studio and an indie games studio. The casual division has produced multiple franchises of hidden-object, time-management, and adventure titles — including six entries in the Alice's Wonderland series, three in the Ellie's Farm series, two in the Elven Rivers series, and standalone titles such as Detective Olivia: The Cult of Whisperers, Cheshire's Wonderland: Dire Adventure, White Rabbit's Wonderland: Way Back Home, and Dragon Tale: Magic Awakens. All casual titles are published through BigFishGames, the studio's core channel partner since inception, under what appears to be a marketplace revenue-share arrangement.

The indie division is developing Welcome to Goodland, a story-driven economic strategy game with management and moral-choice mechanics inspired by the television series Breaking Bad and Ozark. Welcome to Goodland was planned for release on Steam in 2023, marking the studio's first direct-to-consumer marketplace title. The studio is fully remote, with team members distributed between Armenia and London, and operates under a dual legal structure: Big City Lab LLC (US jurisdiction) and AK23 LTD (UK/Commonwealth jurisdiction) for production and copyright purposes. Co-founders Andrey and Denis come from professional finance backgrounds, which has informed the studio's choice of game mechanics and settings. No external institutional investment has been disclosed.

Revenue is generated through two streams: marketplace commissions from BigFishGames publishing of casual titles, and planned one-time license sales on Steam for indie titles. The studio serves two distinct end-consumer segments — casual gamers on BigFishGames and indie gamers on Steam — and is privately held with founder-controlled ownership.

Name

Big City Lab

Legal name

Big City Lab LLC

Website

https://bigcitylab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Big City Lab is a privately held, fully remote game development studio founded in 2018, building casual game franchises published through BigFishGames and indie titles distributed on Steam, serving casual and indie gamer end-consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Video Game Development

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy/4X/Management Game Studios (MPAFAAAK)

Keywords

• Casual game development
• Indie game publishing
• Hidden object games
• Story-driven games
• Video game studio

Headquarters

HQ city

Remote

HQ country

Armenia

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Casual Game Development: Develops casual games published by BigFishGames, likely through revenue sharing arrangement. Multiple titles in the Alice's Wonderland series and Ellie's Farm series have been released through this channel.
2. Indie Game Sales: Develops and sells indie games directly to consumers through Steam platform. Welcome to Goodland is the first indie title planned for 2023 release.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Big City Lab is a game development studio that designs, develops, and publishes video games. Its casual games division builds hidden object, time management, and adventure titles (including Alice's Wonderland, Ellie's Farm, Elven Rivers, Detective Olivia, Cheshire's Wonderland, White Rabbit's Wonderland, and Dragon Tale) distributed through BigFishGames. Its indie division developed Welcome to Goodland, a story-driven economic strategy game with moral decision-making, planned for direct release on Steam.

Product overview

Big City Lab operates two distinct game development divisions: a Casual Games studio developing story-driven casual games primarily published through Big Fish Games since 2018, including the Alice's Wonderland series (6 titles), Ellie's Farm series (3 titles), Elven Rivers series (2 titles), and standalone titles like Detective Olivia and Cheshire's Wonderland; and an Indie Games studio developing Welcome to Goodland, a story-driven economic strategy game inspired by Breaking Bad and Ozark TV shows. The casual games are published via Big Fish Games while the indie title targets Steam distribution. The studio is fully remote with teams spanning from Armenia to London, with approximately 16 people in casual teams and 4 in the indie team.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alice's Wonderland: Cast in Shadow A casual game offering a new interpretation of the classic Alice in Wonderland story, published via BigFishGames.
• Alice's Wonderland 2: Stolen Souls A casual game sequel in the Alice's Wonderland series where the player helps Alice turn the Dormouse into a brave knight, repair the Mad Hatter's reputation, and reunite the Light Joker with his Dark brother, published via BigFishGames.
• Alice's Wonderland 3: Shakles of Time A casual game in the Alice's Wonderland series where Alice undertakes a mission to save Wonderland from the Shackles of Frozen Time, published via BigFishGames.
• Alice's Wonderland 4: Festive Craze A casual game in the Alice's Wonderland series themed around Halloween and Christmas celebrations with Alice and her friends, published via BigFishGames.
• Alice's Wonderland 5: A ray of hope A casual game in the Alice's Wonderland series where the Queens decide to stop Jack of Clubs and his ink armies at all costs, published via BigFishGames.
• Alice's Wonderland 6: Fire and Ice A casual game in the Alice's Wonderland series where mystical cold winds are enveloping Wonderland and undiscovered secrets lie beyond it, published via BigFishGames.
• Ellie's Farm: Forest Fires A casual game where Ellie, a city girl, must help save the Northern Woods from forest fires and economic decline, published via BigFishGames.
• Ellie's Farm 2: African Adventures A casual game sequel where Ellie is trusted with saving endangered species and keeping wildfires in check in tropical forests, published via BigFishGames.
• Ellie's Farm 3: Flood Proofing A casual game where Ellie intervenes in shady schemes to destroy the local economy by causing floods and power outages, published via BigFishGames.
• Elven Rivers: The Forgotten Lands A casual game where the player explores a magical elven forest and fights off a fearsome enemy, published via BigFishGames.
• Elven Rivers 2: New Horizons A casual game sequel where the player helps fantastical beastlands and protects them from the orc threat while finding new friends, published via BigFishGames.
• Detective Olivia: The Cult of Whisperers A casual mystery / hidden object game where detective Olivia investigates strange disappearances in a secluded mining town plagued by a mysterious cult, published via BigFishGames.
• Cheshire's Wonderland: Dire Adventure A casual game where the Cheshire Cat takes on the task of saving Wonderland from Mr. Hog's industrial machines that have corrupted Wonderland with factory smoke and soot, published via BigFishGames.
• White Rabbit's Wonderland: Way Back Home A casual game where the White Rabbit must guide Alice back to Wonderland and protect it from Dodo while Wonderland is submerged in a deep sleep, published via BigFishGames.
• Dragon Tale: Magic Awakens A casual game where a young country girl discovers a dragon egg and must find out if it will hatch, as dragons were thought to have disappeared long ago, published via BigFishGames.
• Welcome to Goodland A story-driven economic strategy game with management elements in which the player survives as a salaryman under a ruthless Mexican cartel by laundering money, making tough decisions, acquiring businesses, and finding allies. Inspired by Breaking Bad and Ozark, planned for Steam release in 2023.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BigFishGamescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary publishing partner for casual games. Big City Lab has developed casual projects for BigFishGames since 2018. Multiple game titles including Alice's Wonderland series and Ellie's Farm series are published through BigFishGames platform.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Boomzap Entertainment: Singapore-based casual and hidden-object studio publishing through BigFishGames, comparable in scale and genre focus to Big City Lab's casual studio.
• Eipix Entertainment: Veteran casual hidden-object and adventure developer publishing through BigFishGames, with comparable serialized franchise model (e.g., saga-style sequels) that mirrors Big City Lab's Alice's Wonderland approach.
• Elephant Games: Casual hidden-object and adventure studio publishing on BigFishGames, with a comparable catalog depth and similar production model to Big City Lab's casual pipeline.
• FIVE-BN Games: Casual hidden-object and time-management studio with a deep BigFishGames catalog and similar remote production profile, making it a closely comparable peer.
• Artifex Mundi: Polish casual game studio specializing in hidden-object adventures and time-management titles published on BigFish and Steam — a near-perfect structural analog to Big City Lab's casual division.

Broad incumbents

• Big Fish Games: Long-standing publisher and platform for Big City Lab's casual catalog. As the studio's primary distribution partner and a broader incumbent in casual PC gaming, it is a structurally relevant comparator.
• tinyBuild Games: Indie publisher and developer that works with small studios to publish and distribute on Steam, including narrative and strategy genres; relevant as a potential publisher or comparator for Welcome to Goodland's distribution.

Emerging players

• Supergiant Games: Small, critically acclaimed indie studio that built a strategy/narrative franchise on PC; relevant as a model for how a tiny studio can scale indie releases into durable IP.
• Klei Entertainment: Independent studio known for strategy and survival titles (Don't Starve, Oxygen Not Included), illustrating a credible indie-to-strategy growth path that Big City Lab aspires to with Welcome to Goodland.
• Movie Games / PlayWay: Polish publisher known for IP-inspired simulator and narrative-strategy games (including crime/economy niches), a comparable model for Welcome to Goodland's Breaking Bad/Ozark positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bigcitylab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Big City Lab