Tarsier Studios

Tarsier Studios is a Swedish video game development studio founded in 2004 and based in Malmö. The studio is best known for its atmospheric adventure games, platformers and horror games with distinctive visual styles. Throughout its history, it has collaborated with major companies such as Sony Interactive Entertainment, Bandai Namco Entertainment and Nintendo.

The game Little Nightmares brought the studio worldwide fame. This dark adventure follows a little girl named Six as she tries to escape from a mysterious complex known as The Maw. The game combines exploration, stealth, platforming sections and logic puzzles with a distinct horror atmosphere and grotesque enemy designs.

Tarsier Studios subsequently created Little Nightmares II, in which the main playable character is a boy named Mono, accompanied by Six. The sequel expanded on the original concept with new gameplay mechanics, environments and enemies, and further developed the series’ mysterious world.

For PlayStation VR, the studio created the original puzzle game Statik. The player wakes up with their hands trapped in an unusual device and, using the DualShock 4 controller, must gradually uncover the function of individual buttons, levers and mechanisms. Statik is one of the more interesting puzzle titles created specifically for the original PlayStation VR.

The studio’s portfolio also includes The Stretchers, a co-operative action-puzzle game for Nintendo Switch in which a pair of paramedics work together to complete unconventional rescue missions.

Tarsier Studios also has a notable history with the LittleBigPlanet franchise. The studio collaborated on content and ports for the series and was the lead developer of LittleBigPlanet PS Vita, created in partnership with Double Eleven. It also contributed to the LittleBigPlanet 2 and LittleBigPlanet 3 projects.

The studio’s more recent work continues to focus on darker, atmospheric games. Tarsier Studios is also behind the co-operative horror adventure REANIMAL, which draws on the team’s experience gained during the development of the Little Nightmares series.

Thanks to games such as Little Nightmares, Little Nightmares II, Statik, LittleBigPlanet for PS Vita, The Stretchers and REANIMAL, Tarsier Studios ranks among Sweden’s most prominent game studios specialising in atmospheric adventure games and original game worlds.