The Behemoth
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video game development |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | John Baez, Dan Paladin, Tom Fulp, Brandon LaCava, Nick Dryburgh |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California , United States |
| Products | Alien Hominid, Castle Crashers, BattleBlock Theater, Pit People, Alien Hominid Invasion, Behemoth |
The Behemoth is a United States-based video game development firm established in 2003 by John Baez, artist Dan Paladin, and programmers Tom Fulp, Brandon LaCava, and Nick Dryburgh, with LaCava and Dryburgh eventually leaving the team. Operating out of San Diego, California, the company is known for its straightforward games showcasing Paladin's unique 2D artistic style combined with strong inspirations from arcade classics, especially those from the Neo Geo console, a system favored by Fulp.
History
In August 2002, Tom Fulp and Dan Paladin developed the Flash game Alien Hominid for Newgrounds, which amassed over twenty million views. Later that same year, while Paladin was working on a console title, John Baez approached him with the idea of adapting Alien Hominid for home consoles. This collaboration resulted in founding The Behemoth in 2003 alongside Fulp, Paladin, Baez, LaCava, and Dryburgh. Their projects frequently exist within a shared narrative universe.
The studio’s initial console release, Alien Hominid, achieved widespread critical praise and positioned The Behemoth as a leading indie developer revitalizing vintage gaming aesthetics. In 2011, several minigames from Alien Hominid were ported to the iOS platform.
Their second significant title, Castle Crashers, debuted on August 27, 2008 via Xbox Live Arcade, later expanding to PlayStation 3 in 2010 and to Microsoft Windows and OS X in 2012. It quickly became one of the top downloaded titles on Xbox Live Arcade, surpassing two million sales by late 2010.
The third release, BattleBlock Theater, launched on April 3, 2013 for Xbox Live Arcade and was subsequently made available for Windows, Linux, and macOS through Steam in May 2014.
Pit People, a turn-based tactical game, entered early access on Steam prior to its Xbox One release on January 13, 2017, followed by its full launch on March 2, 2018.
After considerable anticipation, The Behemoth revealed "Game 5" in January 2020 as Alien Hominid Invasion, an arcade shooter introducing fresh gameplay elements instead of being a remake. This title was released on November 1, 2023.
In 2024, The Behemoth introduced an endless runner named Behemoth on Steam featuring their iconic chicken mascot. Additionally, the company outlined an update schedule covering all previous games during that year.