Big Robot

Big Robot is a British independent video game developer associated with creatively distinctive PC games that combine exploration, stealth, survival, and unusual world-building. The studio is best known for Sir, You Are Being Hunted, an open-world survival-horror stealth game set on a procedurally generated island populated by hostile robots styled as Victorian gentlemen, and The Signal From Tölva, a science-fiction exploration and combat game set on an alien world. Big Robot’s work has generally emphasized atmosphere, environmental discovery, eccentric settings, and systems-driven play rather than conventional blockbuster presentation. The studio’s most documented early project is Sir, You Are Being Hunted. Development was supported by a Kickstarter campaign launched in November 2012 with a £40,000 funding target. The campaign closed in December with £92,551 pledged, giving the project substantially more resources than its original goal but not reaching a stretch target of £100,000 associated with broader character creation and customization features. The game was made for Windows, macOS, and Linux. An early alpha became available to backers and customers through Steam and the Humble Store on 19 August 2013, and the project subsequently became the studio’s defining release. Sir, You Are Being Hunted places the player on an island generated differently for each playthrough. The player must search settlements and other locations for food, weapons, and useful supplies while recovering parts of an exploded machine needed to escape. The principal enemies are artificial hunters presented through an exaggerated British upper-class aesthetic; they can pursue the player with assistance from dogs, balloons, sentries, riders, and other mechanical threats. The game’s tone deliberately balances danger with absurdity, reflecting Big Robot’s interest in making a frightening setting that is also stylized and darkly comic. In September 2021, Big Robot worked with the Dutch development studio Den of Thieves Games B.V. on a substantial update to Sir, You Are Being Hunted. Version 1.5 included bug fixes and engine improvements and restored a multiplayer mode that had previously been broken. At the same time, a remastered Reinvented Edition was announced for Nintendo Switch. The referenced material states that this edition had not been released as of 2025. Big Robot’s publicly documented identity remains that of a small, independent British game studio rather than a diversified publisher or a major corporate entertainment group. Information about its legal structure, headquarters, staff size, ownership, financial performance, and current operating arrangements is limited. Its brand is instead primarily represented through its games and through the distinctive creative direction associated with founder Jim Rossignol and the studio’s independent development model.

Big Robot is a British independent video game developer whose public profile is centered on a small number of distinctive games rather than a large commercial catalogue. The studio’s best-documented early development effort was Sir, You Are Being Hunted, an open-world survival-horror stealth game built around an unusual premise: the player is stranded on a procedurally generated island and must evade mechanical hunters dressed in an exaggerated Victorian-British style. After approximately six months of development, Big Robot turned to Kickstarter in November 2012. The campaign had a £40,000 target and ended in December with £92,551 raised. Although the total exceeded the core goal, it did not reach a £100,000 threshold associated with expanded character creation and customization ambitions. The campaign helped fund continued independent development and established the game’s community-backed production model. Sir, You Are Being Hunted was designed around repeated exploration of a changing island landscape. Players search villages, towns, and other locations for supplies while assembling parts of a destroyed machine that can provide a route to escape. The hostile population includes several classes of robot hunters as well as dogs, balloons, sentries, riders, and other mechanical enemies. The game’s creative direction sought to combine genuine danger with absurdity and kitsch, using a stylized British countryside as the setting for stealth and survival mechanics. Founder Jim Rossignol described the project as an attempt to capture bleak and frightening aspects of the British landscape while giving audio and atmosphere a particularly important role. The project was shown through early gameplay material during 2013. Mountain biomes were added to the game during development, broadening the island’s terrain beyond more settled and loot-focused areas. On 19 August 2013, an alpha build was made available to Kickstarter backers and customers through Steam and the Humble Store. The game was developed for Windows, macOS, and Linux. A promotional song by chap-hop performer Professor Elemental was released in May 2014 in connection with the game’s release period. Critical reception was mixed according to Metacritic. Big Robot later became associated with The Signal From Tölva, a science-fiction exploration game that extended the studio’s interest in discovery, atmosphere, and unusual environments into an alien setting. The game combines first-person exploration, combat, and narrative investigation around a mysterious signal. Publicly available information identifies it as one of the studio’s principal works, although the supplied sources do not establish a complete release chronology or detailed corporate history. In 2021, Big Robot announced work with Den of Thieves Games B.V., a Dutch development studio, on version 1.5 of Sir, You Are Being Hunted. The update addressed bugs and engine-related issues and restored multiplayer functionality that had been unavailable or defective. A remastered Reinvented Edition for Nintendo Switch was announced at the same time. The referenced material records that the remaster had still not been released by 2025. Beyond these projects, reliable public information about Big Robot’s incorporation, headquarters, ownership, staff, financial position, and current operating status is limited. The studio is best understood as an independent creative game-development brand whose identity is expressed through atmospheric, exploratory, and mechanically unusual games.

• 2021

  Version 1.5 and Reinvented Edition announced

  [1]Sir, You Are Being Hunteden.wikipedia.org

  Big Robot announced a collaboration with Den of Thieves Games B.V. to update Sir, You Are Being Hunted and announced a planned Nintendo Switch remaster.

• 2013

  Sir, You Are Being Hunted alpha released

  [1]Sir, You Are Being Hunteden.wikipedia.org

  The alpha became available on 19 August to Kickstarter backers and customers through Steam and the Humble Store.

• 2012

  Sir, You Are Being Hunted Kickstarter begins

  [1]Sir, You Are Being Hunteden.wikipedia.org

  Big Robot launched a Kickstarter campaign in November to fund development of Sir, You Are Being Hunted, setting a target of £40,000.

• 2012

  Crowdfunding campaign closes

  [1]Sir, You Are Being Hunteden.wikipedia.org

  The campaign closed in December after raising £92,551, exceeding its principal target but falling short of a £100,000 stretch threshold.

A British independent game developer focused on atmospheric, eccentric, systems-driven games with exploration, stealth, survival, and speculative-fiction elements.

• Open-world survival horror stealth video game

  Sir, You Are Being Hunted

  Big Robot’s signature game is an open-world survival-horror stealth title for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Players explore a procedurally generated island, scavenge for food and equipment, avoid robot hunters, and collect pieces of an exploded machine needed to escape. Its enemies include Victorian-styled mechanical hunters, dogs, balloons, riders, sentries, and other threats. The game is notable for combining stealth and survival systems with an eccentric, darkly comic interpretation of the British countryside.

• Science-fiction exploration and combat video game

  The Signal From Tölva

  A science-fiction game from Big Robot centered on first-person exploration, combat, and investigation. Set on an alien world, it asks players to follow the mystery of a signal while moving through different regions and learning about the environment and its wider narrative. The title continues the studio’s emphasis on atmospheric settings, discovery, and a strong sense of place.

• 2014Being Hunted cross-promotion

  International

  Chap-hop artist Professor Elemental released the song Being Hunted in connection with the release period of Sir, You Are Being Hunted.

  Source
• 2012Sir, You Are Being Hunted Kickstarter

  International online crowdfunding

  Big Robot used Kickstarter to fund development of Sir, You Are Being Hunted. The campaign set a £40,000 goal and raised £92,551, helping finance the studio’s independent production effort.

  Outcome. The campaign surpassed its main funding target but did not reach the £100,000 threshold associated with expanded character creation and customization features.

  Source

• 2021

  Update Sir, You Are Being Hunted to version 1.5Generation change

  Background

  The game had gone for years without updates, and its multiplayer mode was reported as broken.

  Action taken

  Big Robot collaborated with Den of Thieves Games B.V. on bug fixes, engine upgrades, and restoration of multiplayer functionality.

  Aftermath

  The update was announced in September 2021. A separate Reinvented Edition for Nintendo Switch was also announced, but the referenced material says it had not been released by 2025.

  Source

1. 1Sir, You Are Being Hunteden.wikipedia.org
2. 2Big Robot official websitebig-robot.com