Vlambeer
Vlambeer is a Dutch independent video game developer based in Utrecht. Founded in 2010, the studio was composed of Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman. The studio is known for the games Super Crate Box (2010), Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (2011), Ridiculous Fishing (2013), Luftrausers (2014), and Nuclear Throne (2015), as well as for their stand against video game cloning.
Vlambeer

Vlambeer · Vlambeer press kit · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Vlambeer
- Founded
- 2010
- Founder
- Rami Ismail · Jan Willem Nijman
- Headquarters
- Utrecht
- Activity
- video game industry
- Dissolved
- 2020
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Documentary summary
Vlambeer is a Dutch independent video game developer based in Utrecht. Founded in 2010, the studio was composed of Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman. The studio is known for the games Super Crate Box (2010), Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (2011), Ridiculous Fishing (2013), Luftrausers (2014), and Nuclear Throne (2015), as well as for their stand against video game cloning.
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q7939006 · wikipedia · Vlambeer
In this article
Overview
Overview
Recorded constituent parts are Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman. It is associated with Netherlands. The record gives 2010 as its date of establishment or first appearance. Activity is recorded as ending in 2020. Its recorded founders are Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman. Its recorded seat is Utrecht. The recorded field of activity is video game industry.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Vlambeer • Type — Private • Industry — Video games • Founders — * Rami Ismail • Jan Willem Nijman • Hq Location City — Utrecht • Hq Location Country — Netherlands • Key People — Jan Willem Nijman • Products — * Super Crate Box • Serious Sam: The Random Encounter • Ridiculous Fishing • Luftrausers • Nuclear Throne • Website — https: vlambeer.com/
History
History
• Illustration — Vlambeer's Rami Ismail (left) and Jan Willem Nijman at the 2013 Game Developers Conference Vlambeer was founded in 2010 by Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman after both dropped out from a game design course at the Utrecht School of the Arts. According to Ismail, they had been developing a game outside of the school, but when the school found out, the school demanded the rights to the game, which they refused, leading to their decision to drop out. Ismail and Nijman began by working together to develop a prototype, initially created by Nijman, called "Crates from Hell". It was released on 11 May 2010 as Super Crate Box and earned the studio recognition in the form of an Independent Games Festival finalist position in the Excellence in Design category. During the development of Super Crate Box, Vlambeer developed Radical Fishing. It was released in November 2010. Radical Fishing was the first of many games released by the studio under a "Not Vlambeer" label, which encompasses the studio's games that are developed for money or as an experiment. Vlambeer was approached by publisher Devolver Digital to develop a game in the Serious Sam franchise. The studio and Devolver Digital agreed to develop and publish a turn-based role-playing game. The result, Serious Sam: The Random Encounter, was released on 24 October 2011. During the development of Serious Sam: The Random Encounter, Vlambeer released many small games, most notably Luftrauser. Vlambeer started development on an iOS version of Radical Fishing called Ridiculous Fishing. Development was halted after a San Francisco–based studio released a clone of Radical Fishing on iOS. This generated discussion about the cloning of video games and led Vlambeer to be somewhat of an icon on the topic. The term "Vlambeer'd" was introduced by several media outlets. In November 2013, the browser game Vlambeer Clone Tycoon was launched to provide a satirical comment on the issue of Vlambeer's cloning ordeals. In February 2012, Vlambeer released Gun Godz, a first-person shooter inspired by hip-hop, in collaboration with Brandon Boyer's Venus Patrol. Ridiculous Fishing was nominated for the 2012 Independent Games Festival "Best Mobile" award. At the conference where the award ceremony was held, Vlambeer released Yeti Hunter. On 2 December 2012, Vlambeer announced a sequel to Luftrauser called Luftrausers. On 19 December 2012, Vlambeer released the iOS version of Super Crate Box. Its success prevented the studio from going out of business due to the financial ramifications of the decreased motivation caused by the cloning incident. On 14 March 2013, Vlambeer released Ridiculous Fishing on iOS after resuming its development. In 2015, they experimented with live streaming their development process and had at one point over 12,000 paid subscriptions to their Twitch channel. On 5 December 2015, Vlambeer released Nuclear Throne, a top-down shooter roguelike which had been in Steam's early access program since 2013. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, receiving positive reviews from users. On 8 August 2016, Vlambeer announced 120 Years Of Vlambeer And Friends. Bringing back arcade games since 1896, an art and history book of the company written by Arjan Terpstra and published by Cook & Becker. Ismail received the Ambassador Award at the March 2018 Game Developers Choice Awards for his support of independent video game development through both Vlambeer and other activities. On 1 September 2020, the tenth anniversary of the studio's formation, Vlambeer announced that the studio would come to a close. Ismail and Nijman had made the decision a few weeks prior, having come to recognize they were moving in separate directions within the video game industry since 2016. They had plans to release a final game, Ultrabugs, which has yet to be released As of 2024 07. Ismail plans to continue to work on supporting advocacy for diversity within the video game industry while Nijman expects to continue to help develop smaller games similar to Minit with other teams. In April 2024, Ismail sold his shares of the company to Nijman, giving him 100% ownership. Nijman reopened the studio, intending to release improvements to their existing games as well as to complete Ultrabugs after he finished his current unannounced project outside the Vlambeer label.
Games
Games
• Super Crate Box (2010) • Karate (2011) • Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (2011) • Gun Godz (2012) • Yeti Hunter (2012) • Ridiculous Fishing (2013) • Luftrausers (2014) • Nuclear Throne (2015) • Ultrabugs (TBA) • Ridiculous Fishing EX (2023)
Institutional history
Dated record
Institutional history
Explore 2010–2020
The full dated record · 5 entries
2010
Vlambeer established.
2010
Vlambeer is recorded from 2010.
2010
Vlambeer was established or created on 1 September 2010.
2020
Vlambeer ceased.
2020
Vlambeer was dissolved or ceased on 1 September 2020.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Netherlands
Context
Primary material
Context
The circumstances in which Vlambeer stands. Established or created on 1 September 2010. Dissolved or ceased on 1 September 2020. Recorded as video game developer. Founded by Jan Willem Nijman. Vlambeer has its headquarters at Utrecht. Vlambeer operates in video game industry. Founded by Rami Ismail. Situated in Netherlands. Constitution and standing. It is classified as video game developer and video game publisher. Its recorded field of business is video game industry. It comprises Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
institutional register
- Internet Archive holdings naming Vlambeer
General reference · Internet Archive
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7939006: Vlambeer
General reference · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Vlambeer”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Frushtick, Russ. Cloning Case Files: Vlambeer. Polygon. 22 February 2012.
- 2.Sarkar, Samit. Vlambeer: Just making games is the key to becoming successful. Polygon. 14 February 2014.
- 3.The 14th Annual Independent Games Festival Finalists . Igf.com. Retrieved on 13 August 2012.
- 4.Someone Else’s Solutions . PocketNext. Retrieved on 13 August 2012.
- 5.SF Molyjam: A Tale Of Three Parkour Romances . Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved on 13 August 2012.
- 6.Vlambeer Clone Tycoon . IndieStatik. Retrieved on 13 December 2013.
- 7.VENUS PATROL: charting a new course for videogame culture by Brandon Boyer — Kickstarter . Kickstarter.com (7 September 2011). Retrieved on 2012-08-13.
- 8.The 14th Annual Independent Games Festival Finalists . Igf.com. Retrieved on 13 August 2012.
- 9.Vlambeer to release Yeti Hunter from GDC show floor . The Verge. Retrieved on 13 August 2012.
- 10.Pitts, Russ. Cloned at Birth: The Story of Ridiculous Fishing. Polygon. Vox Media. 24 April 2013.
- 11.Video game history of the Netherlands. October 6, 2024.
- 12.Choudhary, Amita. How Gaming Will Change For The Better In 2016. Endgadget.com. March 2016.
- 13.Vlambeer Twitch Profile. Twitch.
- 14.Nuclear Throne Reviews (PC). Metacritic.
- 15.Announcement!. Vlambeer. 2016-08-08.
- 16.Nolan Bushnell, Tim Schafer, and Rami Ismail to be honored at the 2018 GDC Awards!. Gamasutra. January 30, 2018.
- 17.Conduit, Jessica. Influential indie studio Vlambeer is shutting down after a decade. Engadget. 1 September 2020.
- 18.Carpenter, Nicole. It's Vlambeer's 10-year anniversary, and the studio's breaking up. Polygon. 1 September 2020.
- 19.New Beginnings. Levelling The Playing Field. 2024-04-04.
- 20.Wales, Matt. Nuclear Throne studio Vlambeer details future as Rami Ismail sells shares. Eurogamer. 4 April 2024.
- 21.Crecente, Brian. Why Vlambeer Returned to Its Roots With 'Ultrabugs'. Variety. 1 April 2019.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
Internet Archive holdings naming VlambeerInternet Archive
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
Wikidata, structured authority record Q7939006: VlambeerWikimedia Foundation
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Publishers and printers
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