Frontier Developments
Frontier Developments (aka Frontier, Fdev) is a British video game developer and publisher based in Cambridge, England. David Braben is the founder and CEO. They made several games in the Elite series and other franchises including Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo, RollerCoaster Tycoon, LostWinds, and Jurassic World Evolution. Frontier had around 700 full-time employees in 2026.[1][2]
About Frontier Developments
Frontier was founded in 1994 by David Braben, co-author of the seminal "Elite", to carry forward his groundbreaking work and development ethos into projects with a scale and ambition that only teams of skilled professionals can tackle.[3]
David plays a very active role in the company. With a talented team of developers and experienced managers he has helped Frontier successfully to navigate three exciting decades of the ever-changing technology landscape of mass-market gaming platforms and overseen Frontier's emergence as one of the worldwide games industry's leading independent developers.[3]
Frontier’s development strengths are immersive, fun gameplay design and unparalleled artistic quality underpinned and enabled by cutting-edge technology development and a talent for getting the best out of hardware and UI.[3]
Growth
On July 28th 2017, the Chinese investment holding company Tencent acquired a 9% stake in Frontier Developments, in a deal worth £17.7 million. Tencent has purchased 3.37 million newly issued ordinary shares, which will be admitted for trading on the AIM Stock Exchange. The market cap (valuation) of Frontier Developments stood at £209 million.[4]
Community manager Edward Lewis clarified "David still owns the majority of the company. The direction and operation of the business remains exactly the same. I'm not a finance/shares expert by any means, but I just wanted to step in and say that I know the above for certain, because I asked."[5]
Games developed by Frontier
This is a list of all games developed by Frontier.[6]
| Year | Title | Publisher | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Frontier: First Encounters | GameTek | MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, Linux |
| Darxide | Sega Enterprises | Sega 32X | |
| 1998 | V2000 | Grolier Interactive | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation |
| 2000 | Infestation | Ubi Soft | Microsoft Windows |
| 2003 | Darxide EMP | Frontier Developments | Pocket PC |
| Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo | BAM! Entertainment | Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube | |
| Dog's Life | Sony Computer Entertainment | PlayStation 2 | |
| RollerCoaster Tycoon 2: Wacky Worlds | Infogrames | Microsoft Windows | |
| RollerCoaster Tycoon 2: Time Twister | Atari, Inc. | ||
| 2004 | RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 | Microsoft Windows, OS X, iOS | |
| 2005 | RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked! | Microsoft Windows, OS X | |
| RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Wild! | |||
| Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | Konami | PlayStation 2, Xbox | |
| 2006 | Thrillville | LucasArts | PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation Portable |
| 2007 | Thrillville: Off the Rails | PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Wii, Microsoft Windows | |
| 2008 | LostWinds | Frontier Developments | iOS, Wii, Microsoft Windows |
| 2009 | LostWinds 2: Winter of the Melodias | ||
| 2010 | Kinectimals | Microsoft Game Studios | Xbox 360, Windows Phone, iOS, Android |
| 2011 | Kinectimals: Now with Bears! | Microsoft Studios | |
| Kinect: Disneyland Adventures | Xbox 360 | ||
| 2012 | Coaster Crazy | Frontier Developments | iOS |
| 2013 | Zoo Tycoon | Microsoft Studios | Xbox 360, Xbox One |
| Coaster Crazy Deluxe | Frontier Developments | Wii U, iOS | |
| 2014 | Tales from Deep Space | Amazon Game Studios | Fire OS, iOS |
| Elite Dangerous | Frontier Developments | Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | |
| 2015 | Screamride | Microsoft Studios | Xbox 360, Xbox One |
| Elite Dangerous: Horizons | Frontier Developments | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 | |
| 2016 | Elite Dangerous: Arena | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One | |
| Planet Coaster | Microsoft Windows | ||
| 2018 | Jurassic World Evolution | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | |
| 2019 | Planet Zoo | Microsoft Windows | |
| 2021 | Elite Dangerous: Odyssey | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | |
| Jurassic World Evolution 2 | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | ||
| 2022 | F1 Manager 2022 | ||
| 2023 | F1 Manager 2023 | ||
| Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin | Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | ||
| 2024 | F1 Manager 2024 | Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | |
| Planet Coaster 2 | Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | ||
| 2025 | Jurassic World Evolution 3 | ||
| 2026 | Planet Zoo 2 |
Elite Dangerous development staff
This is a list of current and former key Frontier Developments staff who worked on Elite Dangerous and its expansions.
| Name | Title(s) |
|---|---|
| Adam Bourke-Waite | Senior Designer (2015-2018) Lead Designer (2018-Present) |
| Adam Woods | Producer (2013-2016) Senior Producer (2016-2018) Executive Producer (2018-Present) |
| Arthur Tolmie | Lead Community Manager (2020-2022) Principal Community Lead (2022-2023) Head of Community, PR, and Communications (2023- present) |
| Bruce Garrido | Senior Community Manager (2020-2024) |
| Chris Gregory | Art Director (2013-Present) |
| Dale Emasiri | Social Media Community Manager (2015-2017) |
| Dan Millidge | Composer (2021) |
| David Braben | Director (2013-Present) |
| Dav Stott | Senior Server Developer |
| Derin Halil | Graduate Designer (2016-2018) Designer (2018-2020) Senior Game Designer (2020-2023) |
| Dominic Corner | Principal Game Programmer (2015-Present) |
| Edward Lewis | Community Content Manager (2014-2017) Senior Community Content Manager (2016-2017) Lead Community Manager and Presenter (2017-2019) |
| Erasmus Talbot | Composer (2014) |
| Felix Ilsley | Principal Animator (2013-2021) |
| Gareth Hughes | Lead Designer (2018-Present) |
| Jim Croft | Head of Audio (2013-2023) |
| Dr. Kay Ross | Programmer (2013-2016) Senior Programmer (2016-2020) Principal Programmer (2020-2021) |
| Laurence Oldham | Head of Design |
| Luke Betterton | Game Designer (2018-2021) Senior Game Designer (2021-Present) |
| Mark Allen | Lead Gameplay Programmer (2015-2021) |
| Matthew Florianz | Senior Audio Designer (2014-2015) Principal Audio Designer (2018-Present) |
| Michael Brookes | Executive Producer (2013-2017) |
| Piers Jackson | Game Director (2017-Present) |
| Sally Morgan-Moore | Production (2016-2019) Product Management (2019-2020) Community Manager (2021-2023) |
| Sandro Sammarco | Lead Designer (2015-2018) |
| Steve Kirby | Lead Designer (2015-Present) |
| Will Flanagan | Community Manager (2018-2019) Lead Community Manager (2019-2020) |
| Zac Antonaci | Head of Community (2015-2018) Director of Publishing (2018-2021) |
| Zac Cocken | Community Manager (2020-Present) |
See also
Gallery
- Planet Coaster
- David Braben is the founder and CEO of Frontier Developments and co-creator of the Elite series.
- Frontier Logo transparent
- Frontier Developments logo
- Frontier Logo black
References
- ↑ Investors - Frontier Developments
- ↑ How many employees work at Frontier Developments? - Revelio Labs - August 2026
- 1 2 3 Frontier Developments - official website
- ↑ Tencent buys 9% of Frontier Developments (worth £17.7 million) - Matthew Handrahan - 28 Jul 2017 - GamesIndustry.biz
- ↑ Tencent buys 9% of Frontier Developments (worth £17.7 million) - Reddit - 28 July 2017
- ↑ Frontier Developments - Wikipedia - 25 Sep 2026