The Game Band
Founded 2015 Β· 12 employees on LinkedIn Β· 4 known investors
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The Game Band is a game development studio that designs and builds video games.
Also known as TGB
Founders & leadership
The Game Band was founded in 2015 by Sam Rosenthal.
Investors Β· 4
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$3M disclosed across 1 of 2 rounds Β· 2021
- $3Mseed fundingMay 2021 Β· 2 sources
Makers Fund (lead), 1UP Ventures
Source β
Source: company announcements and press reports β follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026The Game Band is a video game development studio based in Los Angeles, led by CEO and Creative Director Sam Rosenthal. Its stated focus is making games for non-traditional players, including people who do not usually play games. The studio's published catalogue spans four titles: Where Cards Fall, a puzzle game about building houses of cards to bring memories to life; Blaseball, a browser-based absurdist fantasy baseball league shaped by its fans; Dead Man's Party, a social deduction game set in the Knives Out universe in which players accuse each other and uncover the truth; and Dartwords, a word game described as responding to the player. An additional unannounced project is listed on the company site as coming soon.
Where Cards Fall launched in September 2019 as an Apple Arcade title and was nominated for a 2020 Apple Design Award; it was later brought to Apple Vision Pro, announced by the studio in May 2024. Blaseball, released in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, appeared on year-end top-10 game lists from outlets including Polygon, PC Gamer, Gamasutra and Vulture, and received Nebula, Hugo and IGF award nominations. The studio ended Blaseball in June 2023, saying that sustaining the game while financially supporting the team was not viable in the long run, and carried out associated layoffs with severance, healthcare extensions and job search support for affected staff.
The team page lists roughly nine named staff across game design, full-stack engineering, art direction, 3D and 2D art, and technical art, alongside a set of institutional and individual investors.
Business model
The Game Band develops and publishes its own game titles across platforms including Apple Arcade, browser, mobile and Apple Vision Pro, funded in part by venture investment.
Traction
Where Cards Fall was nominated for a 2020 Apple Design Award. Blaseball was named among top-10 games of the year by Polygon, PC Gamer, Gamasutra and Vulture and was nominated for Nebula, Hugo and IGF awards; at the time of the 2021 seed round, about half of Blaseball's players were on mobile devices.
Latest developments
The studio announced Dartwords in an August 2026 blog post and lists an unannounced next title as coming soon. It also has a licensed social deduction title, Dead Man's Party, a Knives Out game, in its lineup.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
An independent, venture-backed Los Angeles studio known for the critically recognized titles Where Cards Fall and Blaseball, the latter of which appeared on multiple 2020 game-of-the-year lists and received Nebula, Hugo and IGF nominations.
The studio's output emphasizes unconventional formats and community participation, most visibly with Blaseball, a fan-shaped browser league that created collaboration between developers and players, and with narrative-driven puzzle design in Where Cards Fall.
Technology
Titles span browser-based simulation (Blaseball), mobile and Apple Arcade releases, and a spatial-computing port of Where Cards Fall for Apple Vision Pro. Dartwords is described as a daily word guessing game featuring AI-powered conversational hints.
Go-to-market
Games are distributed through platform storefronts and the web, including Apple Arcade, mobile app stores and Apple Vision Pro, supported by direct community engagement, a studio blog and an email update list.
The studio positions its games for non-traditional players and a broad audience, including people who do not usually play games.
Geography
Headquartered in Los Angeles, United States.
History
The studio's first title, Where Cards Fall, was released in September 2019 on Apple Arcade and was nominated for a 2020 Apple Design Award. In 2020 it released Blaseball, a browser-based absurdist baseball simulation that drew significant critical attention. In May 2021 the company raised a $3 million seed round to build a Blaseball mobile app and expand the team, with an expected headcount of up to 15 by the end of 2021. In June 2023 the studio ended Blaseball and laid off part of its team, citing unsustainable support costs and the need to extend runway to build something new. In May 2024 it brought Where Cards Fall to Apple Vision Pro, and in August 2026 it introduced Dartwords.
Risks & controversies
In June 2023 The Game Band shut down Blaseball and laid off a number of employees, stating that supporting the game was financially unsustainable and that team size had to change to preserve runway.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β 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 β not independently audited.
Timeline Β· 7
launches, deals, and filingsBlog post introducing Dartwords, described as a word game that responds to the player.
The Game Band ended development of Blaseball, cancelled the planned Coronation Era and laid off a number of employees, offering severance, healthcare extensions and job search resources.
Seed funding to be used to build a Blaseball mobile app and expand the team; the studio expected headcount of up to 15 by the end of 2021.
$3M source β
Browser-based absurdist fantasy baseball simulation launched during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The studio's first title launched in September 2019 for Apple Arcade.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- The Game Bandthegameband.com Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does The Game Band do?
- Los Angeles game studio behind Where Cards Fall, Blaseball and the word game Dartwords.
- Who founded The Game Band?
- The Game Band was founded by Sam Rosenthal in 2015.
- Who are The Game Band's investors?
- The Game Band's investors include Makers Fund, Matthew Ball, NetEase, Valhalla Ventures.
- How much funding has The Game Band raised?
- The Game Band has disclosed $3M raised across 1 of its 2 known rounds.