Pendulo Studios

Pendulo Studios was a Spanish video game developer established in Madrid in 1993 by Ramón Hernáez, Rafael Latiegui, Felipe Gómez Pinilla and Miguel Angel Ramos. The studio’s first release, Igor: Objective Uikokahonia, appeared in 1994 and is widely regarded as an important early Spanish-made fully graphic adventure game. From the beginning, Pendulo concentrated on story-led adventures built around illustrated environments, dialogue, puzzles and distinctive comic-book-inspired characters. The company gained broad recognition in Spain with Hollywood Monsters, released in 1997. Set in a fictional Hollywood populated by film-making monsters, the game became a domestic critical and commercial success and developed into a Spanish adventure-game classic, although it was not distributed widely outside Southern Europe. Its success gave Pendulo the profile and confidence to attempt a substantially larger international project. That project became Runaway: A Road Adventure. Development began in the late 1990s and involved a small team working through limited financing, technical changes and repeated delays. The game launched in 2001 just as its publisher, Dinamic Multimedia, entered bankruptcy. Pendulo temporarily faced severe financial pressure, staff reductions and a legal struggle over the game’s rights. After recovering those rights in 2002, the studio secured distribution agreements in several European markets. Runaway became a commercial success and helped stabilize Pendulo, while also contributing to renewed interest in the graphic-adventure genre in Europe. Pendulo followed the original Runaway with Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle and Runaway: A Twist of Fate. Together, the trilogy established the studio’s characteristic visual and tonal identity: colorful pre-rendered art, comic timing, eccentric supporting characters and accessible puzzle design. By around 2010, the three games had sold more than 1.5 million units worldwide. After completing the trilogy, Pendulo retired the Runaway property for a period and explored other formats and tones. The studio returned to the Hollywood Monsters concept with The Next Big Thing, marketed in Spain as Hollywood Monsters 2. Rather than being a direct sequel or remake, it used the earlier game’s setting and themes as a foundation for a new story. The title’s weak commercial performance contributed to another period of financial uncertainty. Pendulo then made Yesterday, a darker and more dramatic adventure released in 2012, followed by Yesterday Origins in 2016. In 2014, Pendulo signed a development and publishing relationship with Microids. The arrangement supported several projects, including Yesterday Origins, Blacksad: Under the Skin and Tintin Reporter – Cigars of the Pharaoh. These games broadened Pendulo’s portfolio beyond its original original properties and linked the studio to established international intellectual properties. Blacksad in particular continued the company’s interest in illustrated, noir-influenced storytelling. Pendulo was described in 2019 as Spain’s longest-running active game-development company and was frequently credited with helping establish the country’s modern adventure-game tradition. Spanish games media often treated the name as nearly synonymous with graphic adventures. However, the studio later suffered from the poor sales performance of Tintin Reporter – Cigars of the Pharaoh. Pendulo Studios ceased operating in March 2025, ending a development history that had lasted more than three decades.

Pendulo Studios was formed in Madrid in September 1993 by four college associates: Ramón Hernáez, Rafael Latiegui, Felipe Gómez Pinilla and Miguel Angel Ramos. They set out to make a fully graphic adventure at a time when Spain’s game industry was weakened by the transition away from the country’s earlier software boom. Their first project, Igor: Objective Uikokahonia, was produced with very limited resources and released in 1994. The game’s modest success encouraged the founders to continue, although Ramos later left the company. Pendulo’s second title, Hollywood Monsters, required a much larger production effort and a development cycle of roughly two and a half years. Released in December 1997, it used a comic fantasy version of Hollywood in which monsters worked in the film industry. The game was well received in Spain and sold strongly there, becoming one of the country’s best-known adventure games. Its impact was primarily domestic because it was not released broadly outside Southern Europe. The studio began work on a follow-up concept that evolved into Runaway: A Road Adventure. Originally conceived as a 2D game, Runaway incorporated 3D elements during production and became Pendulo’s most ambitious project to that point. It launched in Spain in July 2001 through Dinamic Multimedia. Shortly afterward Dinamic collapsed, leaving Pendulo without a functioning publisher and placing the game’s rights in dispute. The developer laid off most of its staff and temporarily stopped active development while pursuing legal and commercial remedies. Pendulo recovered the rights in July 2002 and found new European partners, including DTP Entertainment in Germany and Focus Home Interactive in France. Runaway performed well in international markets, ultimately restoring the company’s financial stability and allowing it to rebuild much of its team. Its success was also associated with a renewed European interest in adventure games, a genre that had often been viewed as commercially declining. The company expanded the property with Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle, released internationally in 2006, and Runaway: A Twist of Fate, released internationally in 2009 and in Spain in 2010. The games retained the series’ colorful, pre-rendered 2D style while introducing new technical and narrative features. The third entry offered Gina as a playable character and was designed to be more accessible to people unfamiliar with the earlier games. The trilogy sold more than 1.5 million units worldwide by around 2010. After completing the Runaway trilogy, Pendulo shifted direction. The Next Big Thing, known in Spain as Hollywood Monsters 2, revisited the earlier monster-film premise but introduced new protagonists and was not intended as a direct sequel or remake. Its commercial failure forced the studio to reassess its creative and financing strategy. Yesterday, released in 2012, represented a move toward a darker, more serious story and a less traditional structure. Financial conditions in Spain made development difficult, and the game was followed by another period of uncertainty. A partnership with Microids signed in 2014 gave Pendulo access to new financing and internationally recognizable properties. The resulting projects included Yesterday Origins, a prequel and continuation of Yesterday; Blacksad: Under the Skin, based on the French comic series; and Tintin Reporter – Cigars of the Pharaoh, based on the Tintin franchise. These projects extended Pendulo’s expertise in illustrated narrative games while requiring the studio to work within established intellectual properties and larger international publishing structures. Pendulo remained an important reference point in Spanish game development. By 2019 it was described as the country’s longest-running active developer, and Spanish games publications regularly identified it with the graphic-adventure genre. Nevertheless, the studio’s later commercial difficulties culminated after Tintin Reporter – Cigars of the Pharaoh performed poorly. Pendulo Studios ceased operating in March 2025.

• 2025

  Operations cease

  [1]Pendulo Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  Pendulo stops operating in March following the weak commercial performance of its Tintin game.

• 2014

  Microids partnership signed

  [1]Pendulo Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  A publishing and development relationship supports later original and licensed adventure projects.

• 2009

  Runaway: A Twist of Fate released internationally

  [1]Pendulo Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  The third Runaway game introduces a new engine and makes Gina playable alongside Brian.

• 2006

  Runaway 2 released

  [1]Pendulo Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  The first sequel expands the Brian and Gina storyline and receives an international release.

• 2002

  Pendulo recovers Runaway rights

  [1]Pendulo Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  The studio secures control of the game and begins rebuilding its commercial prospects through European distribution.

• 2001

  Runaway: A Road Adventure launches

  [1]Pendulo Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  Pendulo’s international breakthrough is released, although publisher Dinamic Multimedia soon collapses.

• 1997

  Hollywood Monsters becomes a domestic hit

  [1]Pendulo Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  The game brings Pendulo broad recognition in Spain and becomes a local adventure classic.

• 1994

  Igor: Objective Uikokahonia released

  [1]Pendulo Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  Pendulo debuts with an early Spanish fully graphic adventure game.

• 1993

  Studio founded in Madrid

  [1]Pendulo Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  Ramón Hernáez, Rafael Latiegui, Felipe Gómez Pinilla and Miguel Angel Ramos establish Pendulo Studios.

A Spanish specialist in illustrated, narrative-driven adventure games, combining comic-book presentation, character-focused storytelling, puzzle solving and accessible cinematic production for European and international audiences.

• Graphic adventure · 1994

  Igor: Objective Uikokahonia

  Pendulo’s 1994 debut is a campus-set point-and-click adventure centered on Igor, a student attempting to win the affection of Laura. Made under severe resource constraints, it was an important early example of a fully graphic adventure produced in Spain and helped convince the founding team that game development could become a professional pursuit.

• Graphic adventure · 1997

  Hollywood Monsters

  Released in 1997, Hollywood Monsters places its story in a satirical film industry populated by classic movie monsters. Its humor, illustrated presentation and puzzle-driven structure made it a major Spanish success. Although its distribution was geographically limited, the game became a domestic classic and established Pendulo as a leading Spanish adventure developer.

• Adventure game series · 2001

  Runaway series

  The Runaway trilogy follows Brian Basco and Gina through comic, globe-spanning mysteries. The series consists of Runaway: A Road Adventure, Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle and Runaway: A Twist of Fate. Its colorful visual style and accessible puzzles helped Pendulo reach international markets, and the three games had sold more than 1.5 million units worldwide by around 2010.

• Graphic adventure · 2011

  The Next Big Thing

  The Next Big Thing revisits the monster-centered Hollywood setting associated with Hollywood Monsters but uses new protagonists, reporters Dan Murray and Liz Allaire. Pendulo described it as neither a direct sequel nor a remake. The adventure examines a fictional film industry moving away from monster productions and was marketed as Hollywood Monsters 2 in Spain.

• Adventure game · 2012

  Yesterday

  Yesterday marked Pendulo’s move toward a darker and more dramatic narrative. It follows an investigation involving mysterious murders, an apparently immortal figure and a fragmented historical backstory. The game retained the studio’s adventure-game foundations while adopting a more serious tone than its earlier comic projects.

• Adventure game · 2016

  Yesterday Origins

  Yesterday Origins expands the story and mythology introduced in Yesterday, moving between historical periods and the modern day. Developed within Pendulo’s Microids-era partnership, it combines the studio’s illustrated character work with a broader narrative structure and international distribution.

• Licensed adventure game · 2019

  Blacksad: Under the Skin

  Based on the Blacksad comic property, this noir investigation game follows private detective John Blacksad through a corruption-heavy case in late-1950s New York. Pendulo adapted the source material’s anthropomorphic characters and graphic visual language into a story-focused adventure with investigation, dialogue and consequential choices.

• Licensed adventure game · 2023

  Tintin Reporter – Cigars of the Pharaoh

  This licensed adventure adapts Tintin’s investigation into an international mystery involving narcotics, conspiracies and the titular cigars. It was one of Pendulo’s later major projects and was developed during the studio’s relationship with Microids. Its poor sales performance was associated with the eventual cessation of Pendulo’s operations.

• 2025

  Cease studio operationsStrategy

  Background

  The poor sales performance of Tintin Reporter – Cigars of the Pharaoh contributed to the company’s final financial difficulties.

  Action taken

  Pendulo Studios stopped operating in March 2025.

  Aftermath

  The closure ended more than three decades of activity by one of Spain’s most prominent adventure-game developers.

  Source

• 2014

  Enter a development and publishing partnership with MicroidsM&A

  Background

  After commercial and financial pressure following Yesterday, Pendulo needed stronger financing and international publishing support.

  Action taken

  The studio signed a deal with Microids to create and publish further adventure titles, including original and licensed properties.

  Aftermath

  The relationship led to Yesterday Origins, Blacksad: Under the Skin and Tintin Reporter – Cigars of the Pharaoh.

  Source

• 2010

  Retire the Runaway format after the trilogyGeneration change

  Background

  After nearly a decade centered on Brian and Gina, the team wanted a creative break despite retaining ideas for possible further stories.

  Action taken

  Pendulo moved away from direct Runaway continuation and developed a new project inspired by Hollywood Monsters.

  Aftermath

  The change produced The Next Big Thing, followed by a darker creative direction in Yesterday.

  Source

• 2002

  Recover and commercialize the Runaway rightsStrategy

  Background

  Dinamic Multimedia’s bankruptcy left Runaway’s international prospects and Pendulo’s finances in serious jeopardy.

  Action taken

  Pendulo pursued the rights through legal action, recovered them in July 2002 and secured new European publishing and distribution agreements.

  Aftermath

  The game succeeded in Germany, France and other markets, helping the studio regain financial stability and rebuild its staff.

  Source

1. 1Pendulo Studiosen.wikipedia.org