Kolibri Games
AcquiredFounded 2016 · 130 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
Kolibri Games is a mobile game developer focused on the idle genre, with games played by millions of users worldwide. It develops and publishes mobile games for a global player base.
Also known as Fluffy Fairy Games · FluffyFairy Games · Kolibri Games GmbH
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Kolibri Games GmbH, formerly Fluffy Fairy Games, is a German mobile games developer and publisher based in Berlin that specializes in the idle game genre. It was founded in 2016 in Karlsruhe by Daniel Stammler, Janosch Sadowski, Tim Reiter, Oliver Löffler and Sebastian Karasek, a group of IT and business students, working from a student flat-share and without external financing. Its first title, Idle Miner Tycoon, was built in roughly eight weeks and released in July 2016; it has been downloaded more than 100 million times.
The studio has since expanded its portfolio into further idle simulation titles, each built around management and automation mechanics: Idle Factory Tycoon (2018), Idle Farm Tycoon, Idle Pirate Tycoon and Idle Restaurant Tycoon (2020), Idle Firefighter Tycoon, Idle School/High School Tycoon and Idle Mail Tycoon (2021), and Idle Taxi Tycoon and Idle Bank Tycoon (2022). Games are released on iOS and Android, and the company has also released titles on cloud gaming platforms. Across its portfolio the company reported surpassing 250 million downloads in November 2022.
The company changed its name from Fluffy Fairy Games to Kolibri Games in October 2018, having moved from Karlsruhe to Berlin in January 2018. In February 2020 Ubisoft acquired a 75% majority stake, and Kolibri Games operates as a Ubisoft subsidiary. Its management team is led by Managing Director Guillaume Verlinden, with Jonas Hartmann as VP of Engineering and Paul Le Bas as VP of Marketing.
Founding story
Kolibri Games was founded in 2016 in Karlsruhe as Fluffy Fairy Games by a group of IT and business students — Daniel Stammler, Janosch Sadowski, Tim Reiter, Oliver Löffler and Sebastian Karasek — operating out of a student flat-share apartment and without any external financing or venture capital. The team's first game, Idle Miner Tycoon, was developed in about eight weeks and released in July 2016, becoming the studio's breakout title. Co-founder Janosch Sadowski has described the deliberate goal of proving the company could succeed without financial start-up support.
Business model
Kolibri Games develops and publishes free-to-play mobile idle simulation games for iOS and Android, and has also released titles on cloud gaming platforms. It operates a continuous live-operations model, shipping frequent updates to existing titles for long-term retention while expanding its portfolio into new themes and art styles.
The company's games are free-to-play mobile titles. Wikipedia cites revenue of EUR 53.5 million.
Traction
Idle Miner Tycoon has surpassed 100 million downloads (as of 2021), and Idle Factory Tycoon has exceeded 10 million downloads. In November 2022 the company announced it had passed 250 million cumulative downloads across its portfolio. Other reported figures include more than 300 game updates shipped and about 650,000 five-star reviews. Headcount grew from roughly 35 at the time of the 2018 Berlin move to about 105 at the 2020 acquisition, more than 140 subsequently, and 115 as of 2024.
Latest developments
In November 2022 the company announced it had surpassed 250 million global downloads across its portfolio. Recent product work publicised by the company includes the Super Manager 2.0 feature. As of 2024 the studio employed 115 people.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Kolibri Games positions itself as a leader in the mobile idle game genre, with Idle Miner Tycoon described as one of the most popular idle games on the market. Its growth has been recognised by LinkedIn's Top 25 startups in Germany lists (2018 and 2019), Red Herring Top 100 Europe and Top 100 Global 2018, first place in the "Rising Stars" category of Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 in 2018 and a repeat win in 2020, and sixth place in the Financial Times 1000 list of Europe's fastest-growing companies in 2021. Its 2020 sale to Ubisoft is characterised as one of the largest exits in the German games industry.
The studio focuses exclusively on the idle genre, combining a recognisable house art style with a development process built on very frequent game updates and long-term refinement of live titles. It was also bootstrapped: the founders built the company to a nine-figure exit without venture capital financing.
Technology
The company builds idle/incremental mobile games for iOS and Android, with an internal development process centred on rapid, frequent shipping of game updates (over 300 updates delivered) and iterative refinement of live titles. Its art and design teams maintain a consistent visual identity across the portfolio, and titles have also been released on cloud gaming platforms.
Go-to-market
Kolibri Games publishes its titles directly on mobile app stores (iOS and Android) under its own brand, cross-promoting a portfolio of thematically related "Tycoon" idle games and maintaining dedicated websites for individual titles. Since 2020 it operates within Ubisoft's group of mobile studios.
Global mobile game players interested in idle and management simulation games, spanning themes such as mining, factories, restaurants, banking, firefighting, taxis, pirates, mail delivery, schools and farming.
Geography
Headquartered in Berlin, Germany (Kolibri Games GmbH, Elisabeth-Schwarzhaupt-Platz 5, 10115 Berlin), after originally being founded in Karlsruhe. The team is international, and the company's games are distributed worldwide.
History
Founded in 2016 in Karlsruhe as Fluffy Fairy Games, the studio released Idle Miner Tycoon in July 2016. It relocated to Berlin in January 2018 with a team of about 35 people, released Idle Factory Tycoon on iOS and Android in April 2018, and renamed itself Kolibri Games in October 2018. In February 2020, with roughly 105 employees, the company was acquired by Ubisoft, which took a 75% majority share. The portfolio continued to expand through 2020-2022 with Idle Farm, Pirate, Restaurant, Firefighter, School, Mail, Taxi and Bank Tycoon titles, and the company announced surpassing 250 million cumulative downloads in November 2022.
Risks & controversies
Ubisoft holds a 75% majority stake, so Kolibri Games is not independently controlled. Its download and revenue base remains concentrated in the idle genre and in its original title, Idle Miner Tycoon.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 10
launches, deals, and filingsThe Berlin-based developer announced it had passed a quarter of a billion global downloads across its portfolio.
Ubisoft acquired a 75% majority share of Kolibri Games at a stated company valuation of EUR 160 million, expanding into the idle mobile game genre. The KIT case study describes the deal as a 120 million exit and one of the largest exits in the German games industry.
Kolibri Games CEOs Janosch Sadowski and Daniel Stammler were awarded Young Entrepreneurs of the Year at Investor Allstars 2020.
Kolibri Games ranked first in the Rising Stars category of Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 in 2018 and won again in 2020.
The then 35-person team moved to Berlin in January 2018.
The company's first title, a mining simulation with idle mechanics, was released after about eight weeks of development.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Kolibri Gameskolibrigames.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Kolibri Games do?
- Berlin-based mobile games studio specializing in idle games such as Idle Miner Tycoon; majority-owned by Ubisoft since 2020.
- Who are Kolibri Games's investors?
- Kolibri Games's investors include BLN Capital.