Playdead ApS is a Danish company that makes video games and is based in Copenhagen. The company was started in 2006 by game designers Arnt Jensen and Dino Patti. They created the game Limbo, which was released in 2010 and received praise from critics. After being available only on the Xbox 360 for one year, Playdead made versions of Limbo for other platforms, including PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.
At Xbox's E3 2014 event, Playdead introduced its second game, Inside. This game was inspired by Limbo and was released in 2016 for Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation 4. It also received praise from critics and was considered a successful follow-up to Limbo.
History
Arnt Jensen, a former developer at IO Interactive, made drawings in 2004 that helped him think of the idea for Limbo. He tried learning programming and got money from the government. In 2006, he used an art-based teaser to find more help. This led to a meeting with Dino Patti. They realized the project was too big for them alone, so they asked for money from investors. With the funds, they created the company "Playdead ApS" (founded by Underholdningsbranchen ApS and the investors). During Limbo's development, Playdead had eight employees, with up to 16 people working on the project temporarily. Limbo's success allowed Playdead to buy back the company from investors, making it independent.
In the same year Limbo was released, Playdead started working on Project 2, which later became Inside. The Danish Film Institute helped fund the game. Inside is a spiritual successor to Limbo, sharing similar themes, such as being a 2.5D platform game with mostly black and white colors. After using a custom game engine for Limbo, Playdead used Unity to make development easier. They also created a special tool for smoother graphics, which was shared publicly in March 2016. Inside was announced at E3 2014, with a planned release in 2015. It was delayed until mid-2016 for improvements, but a demo was shown at PAX Prime in August 2015. Martin Stig Andersen made the soundtrack again, using sound that travels through a human skull. Inside was first released for Xbox One in June 2016, then for Microsoft Windows, and received more praise than Limbo.
Playdead's third game, first mentioned in January 2017, will be a "lonely sci-fi game in space," according to Jensen. The game will likely use a 3D world with a third-person view, as the studio wanted to move beyond 2D games. Teasers for the game appeared in Playdead's job listings in 2019. In March 2020, Epic Games agreed to publish the game, covering all development costs and supporting the Unreal Engine. Epic and Playdead will split profits 50/50 after Epic recovers its investment.
After Inside's release on July 19, 2016, Patti left Playdead, selling his shares to Jensen. He said the company could now manage itself and wanted to try new challenges. A disagreement between Patti and Jensen started around 2015, involving plans for future projects and Patti's personal goals. Jensen submitted a resignation letter as creative director but intended to stay as an executive. Patti misunderstood this as a full resignation, removing Jensen's name from Playdead's records. This led to a legal dispute resolved by the Danish Business Authority. Patti later sold his shares for 50 million Danish kroner (about $7.2 million). He founded a new studio, Jumpship, in 2017 with Chris Olsen. Jumpship's first game, Somerville, released in 2022, was compared to Playdead's style.
In March 2025, Playdead sent complaints to Patti about using Playdead's trademarks and copyrighted works without permission in marketing. Playdead threatened to sue Patti for 500,000 kr. ($77,000). Jensen claimed Patti shared unauthorized details about Limbo's development on LinkedIn in 2024, falsely suggesting Patti had a major role in the game. Patti removed the post but said Playdead continued to pressure him. By June 2025, Playdead had filed a lawsuit against Patti, claiming he was trying to erase his contributions to Limbo and Inside.
In July 2025, GOG.com removed Limbo and Inside from their store without explaining why. Players speculated this might be related to the ongoing legal dispute.