What Hipster Whale Pty Ltd does

Hipster Whale Pty Ltd is an independent video game developer and publisher founded in 2014 and headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. The studio is best known for Crossy Road, a mobile game launched in 2014 that became a flagship title in the casual mobile gaming category. Hipster Whale developed and published games for distribution through major mobile app storefronts, monetizing via in-app purchases and advertising typical of the free-to-play mobile gaming model.

The studio operated with a small team of 1-10 employees and previously raised approximately $6.5M in funding across a 2014 seed round and a 2015 Series A to support game development. In fiscal year 2025-2026, Hipster Whale was acquired by Atari for $29.3 million, ending its status as an independent studio.

The company's website (whale.amsterdam) indicates a presence in both Melbourne and Amsterdam and displays a portfolio of brand campaign work for major consumer brands including Nike, adidas, Diageo, Johnnie Walker, Don Papa, and Airwallex. This suggests either a pivot or parallel expansion into commercial creative production and brand campaign services alongside, or following, its mobile gaming business. The combination of a recognized mobile gaming IP (Crossy Road) and brand creative services for Fortune-tier clients represents a diversified but small-scale creative operation.

Name

Hipster Whale Pty Ltd

Legal name

Hipster Whale Pty Ltd

Website

https://whale.amsterdam

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hipster Whale is a Melbourne-based independent video game studio best known for Crossy Road, founded in 2014. The studio was acquired by Atari for $29.3M in FY 2025-2026 and also operates brand creative campaign work for major consumer brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Core offering

Hipster Whale, trading as WHALE, is a creative production studio with offices in Amsterdam and Melbourne that develops and produces advertising campaigns, films, and visual content for major global brands. The studio partners with creative agencies and brand teams to deliver assets across broadcast, digital, social, out-of-home, retail, e-commerce, and on-trade channels. Its showcased client portfolio spans Nike (Eliud Kipchoge Collection), Diageo brands (Zacapa rum, Johnnie Walker), adidas (Ultraboost 20), Airwallex, and Don Papa.

Product overview

Hipster Whale Pty Ltd is a Melbourne-based mobile game studio and developer. The company is best known for its flagship mobile game Crossy Road, an endless hopper game featuring voxel art graphics. The studio was acquired by Atari in 2026 for $29.3 million as part of Atari's strategy to expand its mobile gaming portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nike Eliud Kipchoge Collection
• Diageo Zacapa: Lips to Soul
• adidas Ultraboost 20 – Spacerace
• Diageo Johnnie Walker: Lunar New Year
• Airwallex Shifted Perspectives 2.0 Campaign work for Airwallex listed on the studio's portfolio.
• Don Papa Sugarlandia is Calling Campaign work for Don Papa produced in collaboration with Xasal Studios, listed on the studio's portfolio.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Mojang Studios: Swedish game studio behind Minecraft, now under Microsoft. Comparable as a small-team indie studio that built a globally dominant casual/cross-generational game IP and was acquired.
• Zynga: Major mobile and social game publisher (now under Take-Two) with casual hits including Words With Friends. Comparable as a hit-driven casual mobile publisher at much larger scale.
• King (Activision Blizzard): Mobile game publisher behind Candy Crush, one of the most successful casual mobile games ever. Comparable as a hit-driven casual mobile publisher with mass-market appeal.
• Supercell: Finnish mobile game studio behind Clash of Clans and Clash Royale. Comparable as a small-team, hit-driven mobile studio operating under a larger parent (Tencent).
• Rovio Entertainment: Finnish mobile game studio famous for Angry Birds, a hit casual IP analogous to Crossy Road. Larger and now part of Sega, but same single-hit-driven casual mobile DNA.

Direct peers

• Thunderful Group: Nordic indie game development and publishing group that was also acquired by Atari alongside Hipster Whale. Directly comparable as a peer indie studio in the same acquisition cohort.
• Niantic: Mobile game developer behind Pokémon GO and other location-based mobile games. Comparable as a mobile-first developer of consumer hits with simple core mechanics at scale.
• Halfbrick Studios: Australian indie mobile game studio behind hit casual titles like Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride. Closest comparable by geography, size, and hit-driven mobile model.
• Playdots: New York-based mobile game studio known for casual puzzle hits like Two Dots. Comparable small-team indie mobile studio with a flagship casual title.

Regional players

• PikPok: New Zealand-based mobile and video game studio. Comparable regional peer operating in the broader Australasian market with similar indie mobile title profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/whale-bv

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 Hipster Whale Pty Ltd