Vlambeer is a Dutch independent video game developer based in Utrecht. Founded in 2010 by Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman, the studio is known for creating games such as Super Crate Box (2010), Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (2011), Ridiculous Fishing (2013), Luftrausers (2014), and Nuclear Throne (2015). The studio is also known for its stand against video game cloning.

History

Vlambeer was founded in 2010 by Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman after both left a game design course at the Utrecht School of the Arts. They had been working on a game outside of school, but the school asked for the rights to the game. When they refused, they decided to leave the course. Ismail and Nijman began making a prototype called "Crates from Hell," which was later released as Super Crate Box on May 11, 2010. This game earned Vlambeer recognition as a finalist in the Independent Games Festival’s Excellence in Design category. While developing Super Crate Box, they also created Radical Fishing, released in November 2010. Radical Fishing was the first of many games released under the "Not Vlambeer" label, which includes games made for money or as experiments.

In 2011, Vlambeer partnered with publisher Devolver Digital to create a turn-based role-playing game called Serious Sam: The Random Encounter, released on October 24, 2011. During its development, they also released Luftrauser. They later began work on an iOS version of Radical Fishing called Ridiculous Fishing, but development was paused after a similar game was released by another studio. This situation sparked discussions about game cloning and led to the term "Vlambeer'd" being used in media. In November 2013, Vlambeer launched Vlambeer Clone Tycoon, a browser game that humorously commented on the cloning issue.

In February 2012, Vlambeer released Gun Godz, a first-person shooter inspired by hip-hop, in collaboration with Venus Patrol. Ridiculous Fishing was nominated for the 2012 Independent Games Festival’s "Best Mobile" award. At the same event, they released Yeti Hunter. On December 1, 2012, they announced a sequel to Luftrauser called Luftrausers. They also released the iOS version of Super Crate Box on December 19, 2012. Its success helped the studio avoid financial difficulties caused by the cloning incident. On March 14, 2013, Ridiculous Fishing was released on iOS after development resumed.

In 2015, Vlambeer experimented with live streaming their game development process. At one point, they had over 12,000 paid subscribers to their Twitch channel. On December 5, 2015, they released Nuclear Throne, a top-down shooter roguelike that had been in Steam’s early access program since 2013. The game was available on multiple platforms and received positive reviews. On August 8, 2016, they announced 120 Years Of Vlambeer And Friends, an art and history book about the company, written by Arjan Terpstra and published by Cook & Becker.

In 2018, Rami Ismail received the Ambassador Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards for his support of independent game development. On September 1, 2020, Vlambeer announced it would close after ten years. Ismail and Nijman had decided to part ways due to different career paths since 2016. They planned to release a final game, Ultrabugs, which had not been released as of July 2024. Ismail continued to advocate for diversity in the gaming industry, while Nijman aimed to create smaller games like Minit.

In April 2024, Ismail sold his shares of the company to Nijman, giving him full ownership. Nijman reopened the studio to improve existing games and complete Ultrabugs after finishing an unannounced project outside the Vlambeer label.

Games

• Super Crate Box (2010)
• Karate (2011)
• Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (2011)
• Gun Godz (2012)
• Yeti Hunter (2012)
• Ridiculous Fishing (2013)
• Luftrausers (2014)
• Nuclear Throne (2015)
• Ultrabugs (TBA)
• Ridiculous Fishing EX (2023)