Ice-Pick Lodge
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founders | Nikolay Dybowski, Ayrat Zakirov, Petr Potapov |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of employees | 30 (2025) |
| Website | ice-pick.com |
Ice-Pick Lodge is a Russian-Kazakh video game developer based in Almaty, founded in 2002 by Nikolay Dybowski and Ayrat Zakirov. The studio is known for its unconventional approach to game design, questioning the concept of fun in video games and emphasizing shock, ambiguity, and discomfort. In 2002, Ice-Pick Lodge laid out their core artistic principles in the Deep Game Manifesto.[2] The studio's first game, which became the practical embodiment of the manifesto, was Pathologic.[3] The studio also released games such as The Void, Cargo! The Quest for Gravity, Knock-Knock, Pathologic 2, Know by Heart and Franz.
History
Ice-Pick Lodge was founded in 2002 by Nikolay Dybowski, who took on the role of creative director, and Ayrat Zakirov, who was responsible for staffing and technical expertise. Later, Petr Potapov joined the studio as technical art director.
From the beginning, the studio was conceived not as a traditional game company but as a creative laboratory.[4]
The studio used crowdfunding for two of its projects, Knock-Knock and Pathologic 2, with both campaigns successfully reaching their goals.[5]
In March 2025, the studio announced that Nikolay Dybowski had left Ice-Pick Lodge to pursue personal projects. Petr Potapov and Ayrat Zakirov stayed on in their roles as team leads.
In November 2025, Ice-Pick Lodge revealed the development of Darkwood 2, in collaboration with Hooded Horse, which became the project's publisher. This marks the studio's first title based on an external franchise.
Games
| Year | Title | Publisher | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Pathologic | G2 Games | Windows |
| 2008 | The Void | Self-published | Windows |
| 2011 | Cargo! The Quest for Gravity | bitComposer Interactive / Viva Media | Windows |
| 2013 | Knock-Knock | Self-published | Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, iOS, Android |
| 2015 | Pathologic Classic HD | Good Shepherd Entertainment | Windows |
| 2019 | Pathologic 2 | tinyBuild | Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One |
| 2022 | Know by Heart | Self-published | Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android |
| 2023 | Franz | Self-published | iOS, Android |
| 2026 | Pathologic 3 | HypeTrain Digital | Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S |
Upcoming
| Year | Title | Publisher | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | Darkwood 2 | Hooded Horse | Windows, Xbox Series X/S |
References
- ^ LinkedIn Ice-Pick Lodge
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Pathologic Russian Reception". Web Archive. 14 February 2005. Archived from the original on 5 December 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ "RPS Interviews: Ice-Pick Lodge". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
- ^ "Pathologic (Мор. Утопия) — Kickstarter Campaign". Kickstarter. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
