Campo Santo (company)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | September 18, 2013 in Bellevue, Washington, United States |
| Founder | Sean Vanaman, Jake Rodkin, Nels Anderson, Olly Moss |
| Headquarters | Bellevue , United States |
Key people | Sean Vanaman, Jake Rodkin, Nels Anderson, Olly Moss, Jane Ng, Chris Remo |
| Products | Firewatch, In the Valley of Gods (development halted) |
| Parent | Valve Corporation (since April 2018) |
Campo Santo Productions LLC is a video game development company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States. Established in September 2013 by Sean Vanaman, Jake Rodkin, Nels Anderson, and Olly Moss, the studio gained recognition for its first release, Firewatch (2016). In April 2018, Campo Santo became part of Valve Corporation.
History
On September 18, 2013, Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin—previously co-writers at Telltale Games working on the acclaimed 2012 title The Walking Dead—founded Campo Santo. They were joined by Nels Anderson, known for designing Mark of the Ninja, and artist Olly Moss. Shortly thereafter, environment artist Jane Ng and designer/composer Chris Remo, both contributors to the Idle Thumbs podcast, became members of the team.
The studio’s inaugural game, Firewatch, was developed with support from publisher Panic. The visual style was inspired by a painting created by Moss and a camping experience in Yellowstone National Park; Ng adapted this artistic vision into a unique three-dimensional environment. The project was publicly revealed in March 2014 with an intended launch date set for 2015.
A playable demonstration of Firewatch premiered at PAX West 2014, featuring the narrative of Henry, a fire lookout stationed in Shoshone National Forest during 1989. The full game launched in late 2016 across several platforms including Windows, PlayStation 4, macOS, Linux, and Xbox One. It was met with widespread critical praise and surpassed one million units sold. Chris Remo’s original soundtrack was made available both digitally and on vinyl.
In early 2016, Vanaman announced that Campo Santo’s upcoming project would not be a continuation of Firewatch. Later that year, the company collaborated with Good Universe to develop a film adaptation based on the game. Additionally, Firewatch received a limited physical edition release toward the end of 2016.
In June 2016, Ford Motor Company controversially used promotional artwork reminiscent of Firewatch without permission, resulting in public apologies from those involved.
September 2017 saw Vanaman issue a DMCA takedown against streamer PewDiePie’s gameplay videos of Firewatch after PewDiePie made inappropriate comments during an unrelated stream. This action led to negative community reactions and review-bombing on Steam despite previous permissions allowing streaming.
Campo Santo announced its acquisition by Valve on April 21, 2018. Following this transition, the studio moved into Valve’s Bellevue offices and continued working on In the Valley of Gods under Valve’s umbrella. Discussions preceding the acquisition focused on preserving Campo Santo’s creative independence while benefiting from Valve’s resources.
Development on In the Valley of Gods was suspended in July 2019 as key staff members—including Vanaman—redirected their efforts toward Valve projects such as Half-Life: Alyx. By late 2019, indications suggested that the game remained on indefinite hold as team members concentrated on other Valve initiatives like Dota Underlords and enhancements to the Steam platform.
Games
| Year | Title | Publisher(s) | Platform(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Firewatch | Panic Inc., Campo Santo | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch | |
| TBA | In the Valley of Gods | Campo Santo | Windows, macOS, Linux | Development halted since 2019. |