Deck13

Deck13 is a German game development studio founded in 2001, headquartered in Frankfurt. Known for action RPGs such as Lords of the Fallen and The Surge series, their games feature challenging combat and sci-fi/fantasy settings.

Deck13 Interactive traces its origins to Artex Software, a team that developed games for the RISC OS platform, including Ankh: The Tales of Mystery. In July 2001, Jan Klose and Florian Stadlbauer founded a successor company under the name TriggerLab GmbH. Its first release was Stealth Combat, which launched in Germany on 25 February 2002. Soon afterward, on 2 April 2002, the company changed its name to Deck13 Interactive. The new name referenced the DM-Deck16 map from Unreal Tournament. Deck13’s first major period was defined by graphic adventure games. Ankh, released in 2005, remade the earlier Artex Software property and achieved notable sales and awards, especially in Germany. The success supported the production of Ankh: Heart of Osiris in 2006 and The Battle of the Gods in 2007. Deck13 also released Jack Keane in August 2007, an adventure game with a visual and gameplay relationship to Ankh but a different setting focused on England and colonial India. The company began expanding into role-playing games with Venetica, released in September 2009. It was Deck13’s first RPG and represented a shift toward more action-oriented and systems-driven productions. Blood Knights followed in 2013 as a comic-styled hack-and-slash title for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Deck13 gained wider international recognition through Lords of the Fallen, made in cooperation with CI Games and released in the middle of the 2010s. The studio then worked with Focus Home Interactive on The Surge, a science-fiction action RPG that consolidated Deck13’s reputation in demanding combat-focused games. This direction became a central part of the company’s modern portfolio. In 2016, co-founder and managing director Florian Stadlbauer left the company, with Mathias Reichert taking over the managing-director role. Deck13 maintained its Frankfurt base and also operated a Hamburg development subsidiary. Focus Home Interactive acquired the company in June 2020 for €7.1 million. Deck13 subsequently broadened its production network by opening a Montreal studio in February 2021. Its history combines a German adventure-game foundation with a later specialization in premium action role-playing games.

• 2021

  Montreal studio opens

  [1]Deck13en.wikipedia.org

  Deck13 establishes a development studio in Montreal.

• 2020

  Focus Home Interactive acquires Deck13

  [1]Deck13en.wikipedia.org

  Focus Home Interactive purchases the company for €7.1 million.

• 2016

  Management transition

  [1]Deck13en.wikipedia.org

  Co-founder Florian Stadlbauer leaves and Mathias Reichert replaces him as managing director.

• 2015

  Lords of the Fallen raises the studio’s international profile

  [1]Deck13en.wikipedia.org

  Deck13 develops Lords of the Fallen in cooperation with CI Games, establishing a stronger presence in action RPGs.

• 2013

  Blood Knights expands the action portfolio

  [1]Deck13en.wikipedia.org

  Deck13 releases the comic-styled hack-and-slash RPG Blood Knights for PC and consoles.

• 2009

  Deck13 enters role-playing games with Venetica

  [1]Deck13en.wikipedia.org

  Venetica becomes the company’s first published RPG and begins its expansion beyond traditional adventure games.

• 2007

  The Battle of the Gods completes the initial Ankh trilogy

  [1]Deck13en.wikipedia.org

  The third Ankh game is released in Germany in November.

• 2005

  Ankh is released

  [1]Deck13en.wikipedia.org

  Deck13 releases Ankh, a remake of the earlier Artex Software adventure game and a major success for the studio.

• 2002

  The company becomes Deck13 Interactive

  [1]Deck13en.wikipedia.org

  After the German release of Stealth Combat, TriggerLab changes its name to Deck13 Interactive.

• 2001

  TriggerLab is founded

  [1]Deck13en.wikipedia.org

  Jan Klose and Florian Stadlbauer establish TriggerLab GmbH as a successor to the Artex Software development team.

A German premium-game developer whose portfolio evolved from humorous graphic adventures into internationally oriented action role-playing games, particularly challenging combat-focused RPGs.

• Adventure games · 2005

  Ankh series

  Deck13’s Ankh games are humorous graphic adventures rooted in the studio’s earlier Artex Software work. The 2005 Ankh remake was followed by Ankh: Heart of Osiris and The Battle of the Gods. The series uses comedy, puzzle solving, stylized characters, and an ancient-Egypt-inspired setting, and was central to Deck13’s early commercial and critical reputation in Germany.

• Adventure game · 2007

  Jack Keane

  Jack Keane is a humorous adventure game released in 2007. It carried forward some of the visual and gameplay characteristics associated with Ankh while moving the story to an English and colonial Indian setting. The title demonstrated Deck13’s ability to apply its adventure-game formula to a new cast, setting, and narrative framework.

• Action role-playing game · 2009

  Venetica

  Venetica was Deck13’s first role-playing game, released in 2009. It marked a transition from the studio’s established graphic-adventure business toward larger action-oriented productions with combat, character progression, and fantasy storytelling. The game was an important step in the development of the RPG-focused identity that later became associated with the studio.

• Hack-and-slash role-playing game · 2013

  Blood Knights

  Blood Knights is a comic-styled hack-and-slash game released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It extended Deck13’s move into action RPGs through direct combat, cooperative-oriented design elements, and a more overtly action-driven presentation than the company’s earlier adventure games.

• Action role-playing game · 2014

  Lords of the Fallen

  Lords of the Fallen is a fantasy action RPG developed by Deck13 in cooperation with CI Games. The game is associated with demanding combat, deliberate encounters, character development, and a dark fantasy setting. Its release significantly increased Deck13’s international visibility and helped establish the studio in the modern action-RPG market.

• Science-fiction action role-playing game · 2017

  The Surge

  The Surge is a science-fiction action RPG developed with Focus Home Interactive. It shifted the challenging combat formula associated with Deck13’s post-Lords of the Fallen work into an industrial and futuristic setting. Its systems-focused approach and distinctive equipment mechanics strengthened Deck13’s positioning as a specialist in demanding action role-playing games.

• Science-fiction action role-playing game

  The Surge 2

  The Surge 2 continues Deck13’s science-fiction action-RPG direction. It builds on the combat and progression concepts of its predecessor while expanding the setting and gameplay systems. The title belongs to the studio’s central modern franchise portfolio.

• 2021

  International development expansionStrategy

  Background

  Deck13 expanded its production footprint beyond its German locations.

  Action taken

  The company opened a development studio in Montreal.

  Aftermath

  The Montreal location added a North American base to Deck13’s development network.

  Source

• 2020

  Acquisition by Focus Home InteractiveM&A

  Background

  Deck13 had become known for premium action RPGs and had already worked with Focus Home Interactive on The Surge.

  Action taken

  Focus Home Interactive acquired Deck13 for €7.1 million.

  Aftermath

  Deck13 became part of Focus Home Interactive’s development portfolio while retaining its studio identity.

  Acquisition price. €7.1 million (June 2020)

  Source

• 2016

  Managing-director transitionOther

  Background

  Co-founder Florian Stadlbauer left the company.

  Action taken

  Mathias Reichert replaced Stadlbauer as managing director.

  Aftermath

  Deck13 continued development work and later entered Focus Home Interactive’s corporate group.

  Source

• 2009

  Expansion from adventure games into RPGsStrategy

  Background

  After establishing itself through the Ankh and Jack Keane adventure games, Deck13 sought to broaden its production scope.

  Action taken

  The company released Venetica, its first role-playing game.

  Aftermath

  The move laid groundwork for later action-RPG projects such as Lords of the Fallen and The Surge.

  Source

• 2002

  Rebrand from TriggerLab to Deck13 InteractiveStrategy

  Background

  The company had released its first game, Stealth Combat, under the TriggerLab name and then adopted a new identity associated with a map from Unreal Tournament.

  Action taken

  TriggerLab GmbH changed its name to Deck13 Interactive in April 2002.

  Aftermath

  The Deck13 name became the continuing corporate and creative identity of the studio.

  Source

• 2020.08.07

  Reported2020.08.07

  Focus Home Interactive announces acquisition of Deck13 Interactive[3]Focus Home Interactive 宣布收购 Deck13 Interactivevgchartz.com

  Focus Home Interactive announced that it had acquired Deck13 Interactive for €7.1 million.

• 2020.06.26

  Reported2020.06.26

  Focus Home Interactive completes acquisition of Deck13 Interactive[4]Focus Home Interactive 完成对 Deck13 Interactive 的收购playstationlifestyle.net

  Focus Home Interactive acquired 100 per cent of Deck13 Interactive’s share capital in a deal valued at €7.1 million.

Read more

1. 1Deck13en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Deck13 official websitedeck13.com
3. 3Focus Home Interactive 宣布收购 Deck13 Interactivevgchartz.com
4. 4Focus Home Interactive 完成对 Deck13 Interactive 的收购playstationlifestyle.net
5. 5Focus Home Interactive Acquires Deck13 - RPGamerrpgamer.com
6. 6Focus Home Interactive acquires Deck13 and reports record year - MCV/DEVELOPmcvuk.com
7. 7Focus Home Interactive Acquires Deck13 Interactivebleedingcool.com
8. 8The Surge developer Deck13 Interactive acquired by Focus Home Interactiveshacknews.com