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Free Lives

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Free Lives
Information
Industry Video games
Founded April 2012
Founder Evan Greenwood
Headquarters Cape Town, South Africa
Notable Personnel Evan Greenwood (creative director)
Products Broforce, Genital Jousting, GORN, Cricket Through the Ages, Terra Nil, Anger Foot, Stick It to the Stickman, Gorn 2
Website https://freelives.net


Free Lives is an independent video game developer based in Cape Town, South Africa. Its press kits give April 2012 as its founding date. It was founded by Evan Greenwood, whom a 2019 museum event listing described as the studio's creative director.[1][2][3] It is best known for the side-scrolling action game Broforce, and in virtual reality for the physics-based gladiator game GORN. Most of its games have been published by Devolver Digital.[2]

GORN entered Steam Early Access in July 2017 and was later released on PC VR, PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR2. The game passed one million copies sold across all platforms in July 2021, and Devolver Digital put the total above 1.5 million in 2023.[4][5][6] A sequel, Gorn 2, was developed by Cortopia Studios in collaboration with Free Lives and released in 2025.[7]

Reviewed 11 October 2026. Checked founding date, location, leadership, every game's release date, platforms, developer and publisher, GORN sales, ports and GORN 2 credits, the Zeitz MOCAA VR work and foundation claims against the cited press kits, Steam listings, press releases and press articles. About review dates.

History

Broforce and early years (2012-2016)

Free Lives' official fact sheets list the studio as "Based in Cape Town, South Africa" with a founding date of April 2012.[8] Its first major game began as Rambros, a game jam entry made in 48 hours for Ludum Dare in 2012, which GamesBeat reported won first prize for "fun".[3] The studio's own awards list records the Ludum Dare 23 entry as winner of the Humour category and runner-up for Fun.[9] The team kept developing the concept as Broforce, released a free prototype, and put the game into Steam Early Access in April 2014.[3] In August 2014 it released The Expendabros, a free spin-off made under licence from Lionsgate to promote The Expendables 3.[3][10] Broforce was fully released on 15 October 2015, published by Devolver Digital.[8][11]

A 2017 OfferZen article reported that Broforce had sold more than one million copies while still in development and had earned almost 3 million US dollars by May 2016.[12] In September 2016 Kotaku reported that members of the team had moved to a house on Mauritius for three months to work on several projects, a trip documented in a video series called Game Jam Island.[13] The party game Genital Jousting entered Steam Early Access on 17 November 2016, the release date given in Free Lives' press kit, and its Steam page lists 18 January 2018, the date of its full release.[14][15][16]

GORN and later games (2017-2024)

Road to VR announced in July 2017 that GORN, a melee game built on what it called a "fully physics-driven combat engine", would enter Steam Early Access on 10 July 2017. The game required a 360-degree tracked play space of at least 2 m by 2 m.[4] Its Steam page lists the full release as 18 July 2019.[17] Ports to PlayStation VR (19 May 2020) and Oculus Quest (28 January 2021) followed.[18][19] UploadVR reported that 24 Bit Games handled both ports with Free Lives.[20]

The studio's non-VR releases in this period included the cricket game Cricket Through the Ages, which launched on Apple Arcade on 19 September 2019 and later came to Steam on 1 March 2024.[21][22][23] Terra Nil, an ecological strategy game about restoring ecosystems, was released on 28 March 2023 on PC and on mobile through Netflix. The launch press release said a portion of all sales would go to the Endangered Wildlife Trust.[24] Its Steam listing credits Free Lives and Clockwork Acorn as developers.[25] The first-person action game Anger Foot followed on 11 July 2024.[26]

In a 2022 interview with 80 Level, producer Ruan Rothmann, who said he had joined Free Lives about ten years earlier as one of its first employees, described the studio's preference for "small teams of 4-8 people" and said it was then working on Stick it to the Stickman, Anger Foot and Terra Nil.[27]

GORN 2 and recent work (2025-present)

On 27 February 2025 Cortopia, a subsidiary of the Stockholm-based XR publisher Beyond Frames Entertainment, announced GORN 2 "in collaboration with original series creators Free Lives and publisher Devolver Digital".[7] It launched on Meta Quest and SteamVR on 17 April 2025 and on PlayStation VR2 on 14 July 2025.[28][29]

Free Lives has also begun publishing games. It published Side Effects, a multiplayer game by outside developers, on Steam on 21 November 2025.[30] Dressmaker, a sewing and design game by Cozy Lives, launched on Steam on 21 September 2026 with Free Lives as publisher. Engadget described Cozy Lives as a small team inside Free Lives; the studio approved the project for full development in September 2025.[31][32] Stick It to the Stickman, a rogue-lite physics brawler, entered Steam Early Access on 18 August 2025 and left it with its 1.0 release on 23 September 2026.[33][34][35]

Products

Title Release Platforms Notes
The Expendabros 5 August 2014 Windows, Mac (Steam) Free Broforce spin-off licensed from Lionsgate[3][10]
Broforce 15 October 2015 PC; later PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch Early Access from April 2014; published by Devolver Digital[3][8]
Genital Jousting 17 November 2016 (Early Access); 18 January 2018 (full) PC, Mac Published by Devolver Digital[14][15][16]
GORN 10 July 2017 (Early Access); 18 July 2019 (full) SteamVR, PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest, PlayStation VR2 VR-only; ports by 24 Bit Games with Free Lives[4][17][20][6]
Cricket Through the Ages 19 September 2019 Apple Arcade; PC (Steam) from 1 March 2024 Published by Devolver Digital[21][22][23]
Terra Nil 28 March 2023 PC; mobile via Netflix Co-developed with Clockwork Acorn[24][25]
Anger Foot 11 July 2024 PC (Steam) Published by Devolver Digital[26]
Gorn 2 17 April 2025 Meta Quest, SteamVR; PlayStation VR2 from 14 July 2025 VR-only; developed by Cortopia in collaboration with Free Lives[28][29]
Side Effects 21 November 2025 PC (Steam) Published by Free Lives; external developers[30]
Dressmaker 21 September 2026 PC, Mac Developed by Cozy Lives, published by Free Lives[31][32]
Stick It to the Stickman 18 August 2025 (Early Access); 23 September 2026 (1.0) Windows, Mac (Steam) Published by Devolver Digital[33][34]

XR work

GORN is the studio's main VR title. Steam lists it as a VR-only game, and the PC VR release was followed by versions for PlayStation VR and Oculus Quest.[17][18][19] The PlayStation VR version added a mode that, in Road to VR's description, "turns all of the comically oversized enemies into paper, replete with candy that falls out when you hit them."[18] UploadVR wrote in 2021 that GORN had consistently ranked among Steam's best-selling VR titles, and that Free Lives' next game would not be a VR title.[5] Owners of the PlayStation 4 version for the original PlayStation VR can upgrade to the PlayStation VR2 version for free.[6] The studio's credit on Gorn 2 is as collaborator and original creator; Cortopia led development.[7][28]

Outside games, Evan Greenwood and Jason Sutherland of Free Lives, who is credited for sound on GORN, worked with the artists Sepideh Mehraban, Olivié Keck and Kathy Robins on Between Homes, Between Forms, Between Languages (2018), a VR work shown in the exhibition The Main Complaint at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town.[2][1]

Community work

Free Lives' foundation page features Maker's Massive, a collective for game makers in Cape Town with a space at the Homecoming Centre in District Six, and for Playtopia, which it describes as "Africa's first annual destination Indie Games & Immersive Arts festival and conference".[36]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Gorn Press Kit". Free Lives. https://freelives.net/gorn-press-kit/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Between Languages: Talk with Sepideh Mehraban, Olivié Keck & Kathy Robins". Zeitz MOCAA. 2019-01-15. https://zeitzmocaa.museum/exhibition/between-languages-talk/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Broforce creator on teaming up with 'The Expendables 3' cast and favoring chaos over balance (interview)". GamesBeat. 2014-08-14. https://gamesbeat.com/broforce-interview/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Scott Hayden (2017-07-04). "Ultra-violent Battle Sim 'Gorn' to Hit Steam Early Access July 10th". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/ultra-violent-battle-sim-gorn-hit-steam-early-access-july-10th/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jamie Feltham (2021-07-16). "Gorn Sells 1 Million Units, Possibly Getting More Content". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/gorn-sells-1-million-unit/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Harry Baker (2023-04-02). "Gorn Now Available On PSVR 2, Passes 1.5 Million Sales On All Platforms". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/gorn-psvr-2-now-available/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Cortopia, in partnership with Devolver Digital, announces GORN 2". Cision. Beyond Frames Entertainment. 2025-02-27. https://news.cision.com/beyond-frames/r/cortopia--in-partnership-with-devolver-digital--announces-gorn-2,c4111415. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Broforce Press Kit". Free Lives. https://freelives.net/broforce-press-kit/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  9. ↑ "About". Free Lives. https://freelives.net/about/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "The Expendabros on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/312990/The_Expendabros/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  11. ↑ "Broforce on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/274190/Broforce/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  12. ↑ "A Jury of Peers: How Independent Game Developers Depend on Feedback". OfferZen. 2017-08-31. https://www.offerzen.com/blog/a-jury-of-peers-how-independent-game-developers-depend-on-feedback. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  13. ↑ Heather Alexandra (2016-09-26). "Indie Game Devs Move Studio To Tropical Island For Three Months". Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/indie-game-devs-move-studio-to-tropical-island-for-thre-1787086213. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Genital Jousting Consensually Explodes Onto Steam Early Access". Cosmocover. Devolver Digital. 2016-11-17. https://cosmocover.com/newsroom/genital-jousting-consensually-explodes-onto-steam-early-access. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Genital Jousting Press Kit". Free Lives. https://freelives.net/genital-jousting-press-kit/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Genital Jousting on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/469820/Genital_Jousting/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "GORN on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/578620/GORN/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Scott Hayden (2020-05-19). "Gladiator Sim 'GORN' Launches on PSVR Today, Including Less Violent 'Piñata Mode'". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/gorn-launch-day/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Scott Hayden (2021-01-28). "Gladiator Sim 'GORN' Releases on Oculus Quest Today". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/gorn-release-oculus-quest-2-date/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Jamie Feltham (2021-01-14). "Gorn Oculus Quest Release Date Revealed". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/gorn-oculus-quest-release-date-revealed/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Elisha Deogracias (2019-09-16). "History makes a comeback as Cricket Through the Ages heads to Apple Arcade". Gaming Trend. https://gamingtrend.com/news/history-makes-a-comeback-as-cricket-through-the-ages-heads-to-apple-arcade. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Cricket Through the Ages Press Kit". Free Lives. https://freelives.net/cricket-through-the-ages-press-kit/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Cricket Through the Ages on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2657480/Cricket_Through_the_Ages/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Ecological strategy game Terra Nil launches today on PC and Netflix". Cosmocover. Devolver Digital. 2023-03-28. https://www.cosmocover.com/newsroom/ecological-strategy-game-terra-nil-launches-today-on-pc-and-netflix. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Terra Nil on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593030/Terra_Nil/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Anger Foot on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1978590/Anger_Foot/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  27. ↑ "Free Lives on the Peculiarities of South African Gamedev Market". 80 Level. 2022-12-19. https://80.lv/articles/free-lives-on-the-peculiarities-of-south-african-gamedev-market. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 "Cortopia Studios' GORN 2 is now available on the Meta Quest Store and SteamVR". Placera. Beyond Frames Entertainment. 2025-04-17. https://www.placera.se/pressmeddelanden/beyond-frames-entertainment-cortopia-studios-gorn-2-is-now-available-on-the-meta-quest-store-and-steamvr-20250417. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "GORN 2 Launching on PlayStation VR2 on July 14". Placera. Beyond Frames Entertainment. 2025-07-11. https://www.placera.se/pressmeddelanden/beyond-frames-entertainment-gorn-2-launching-on-playstation-vr2-on-july-14-20250711. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "SIDE EFFECTS on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3799100/SIDE_EFFECTS/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Jessica Conditt (2026-09-21). "Engadget Indie Pitch: Dressmaker". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2264203/engadget-indie-pitch-dressmaker/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 "Dressmaker on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4019220/Dressmaker/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "Stick It to the Stickman on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2085540/Stick_It_to_the_Stickman/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "Stick It to the Stickman is out now in Early Access!". Steam. 2025-08-18. https://steamstore-a.akamaihd.net/news/externalpost/steam_community_announcements/1808061939473068. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  35. ↑ "Stick it to the Stickman 1.0 is Out Now". Steam. 2026-09-23. https://steamstore-a.akamaihd.net/news/externalpost/steam_community_announcements/1844751498218887. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  36. ↑ "Foundation". Free Lives. https://freelives.net/foundation/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
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