Doublesix was a team assembled according to the shared belief that soon, there would be no need for games to have old fashioned things like a plastic box or to appear on a shelf in a high-street shop. Digital distribution was coming and with it, a number of steps in the complex process of releasing a game were about to be removed. It would be possible for small games to reach mass audiences in a way never seen before. Doublesix would go on to become pioneers of the 'digital long tail' business model after a number of self-published successes, even helping to create the Sony Pub Fund.
The team first spun out of Kuju Entertainment after finding success with their work on Geometry Wars: Galaxies. The release gave them confidence in their ability to create the 'just one more go' kind of games that saw hours slip away from right under your thumbs.
Burn Zombie, Burn! was the studios first release in 2009 and it put the player straight into battle against a never ending zombie horde. Equipped with a flamethrower, it was your task to dispatch as many of the undead as possible before they overcame you, aiming to barbecue some serious zombie and set a decent high score in the process. Reviewers particularly liked the range of weird weaponry available like the dance gun, which saw the zombies turn from brain hungry monsters into something more closely resembling the music video for Thriller.
The team went on to become well known as leaders in the development of games for digital distribution platforms like Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Their high-score setting arcade game formula caught the attention of some pretty big brands along the way too, like Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? and South Park.
Just one year after the studios formation, Doublesix won the Develop Award for 'Best New UK Studio' and the year after that, found themselves nominated for best hand-held game at the 2009 BAFTAs.
Top Gun (2010) was the final Doublesix release before they split from their parents at Kuju Entertainment and became part of Catalis Group. In 2012 studio head James Brooksby would lead an investor-backed buyout of Doublesix and became Chief Executive of the new independent studio, Born Ready Games.
Most of the Doublesix staff followed James to Born Ready Games where they continued to work on their next project, Strike Suit Zero. Some notable exceptions include Sean Murray, Ryan Doyle and David Ream who would go on to found Hello Games.
