Balancing Monkey Games is an independent game developer based in Dunedin (Ōtepoti), Aotearoa New Zealand. We create non-violent games that aim to relax and entertain our players, while building a positive and uplifting community that reflects our ideals. It is our mission to make peaceful, accessible and culturally relevant games that enable us to support our local communities. We’re also ambitious for our games and brand to be globally recognised.
Balancing Monkey Games was formed in 2017 by New Zealander Sam Barham. He began working on his first game Before We Leave as a hobby project, while balancing the other demands of full-time work and fatherhood. As the project grew and gained recognition, the team expanded to include contracted artists, audio experts, a writer, an additional programmer and a community manager.
In May 2020, Before We Leave was released exclusively on the Epic Game Store during the first Covid pandemic lockdown in Aotearoa NZ. The launch was a success, and enabled the studio to hire two of the contractors as permanent staff, and to open an office in South Dunedin.
In 2021, Balancing Monkey Games entered a partnership with Team17 to publish Before We Leave on Steam in May, followed by Xbox Game Pass and the Microsoft Store in November 2021, Playstation in April 2022, and Nintendo Switch in August 2022. The success Before We Leave enjoyed through 2021 enabled the studio to hire three new permanent staff members, in preparation for the studio's next game.
More About Before We Leave
Award Nominations:
Kiwi Game Starter (New Zealand Game Developers Association) First Place 2019, Finalist 2018 (under the working title “Before”)
Awards Won:
NZ Game Festival
The Pavs, https://nzgamesfest.com/2020-finalists
