Klei Entertainment

Klei Entertainment is a Canadian video-game development studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 2005 by Jamie Cheng, the company built its reputation around original intellectual property rather than licensed franchises, combining stylized 2D illustration, strong visual silhouettes, dark humor, systemic gameplay, and a willingness to support games through long post-launch development cycles. Its best-known properties include Mark of the Ninja, Don't Starve, Oxygen Not Included, Invisible, Inc., Griftlands, and Hot Lava. The studio's early work included browser and downloadable games such as Eets and Sugar Buzz. Klei gained wider recognition with Shank, a side-scrolling action game released in 2010, and Shank 2 in 2012. The Shank games demonstrated the studio's ability to combine hand-drawn presentation with fast, accessible action and helped establish Klei as a notable independent developer in the digital-distribution era. Klei's major commercial and critical breakthrough came with Don't Starve, a survival game first released in 2013. Its deliberately harsh wilderness, procedural world generation, permadeath structure, unusual character designs, and comic-gothic tone gave it a distinctive identity. Klei subsequently expanded the property through multiplayer and standalone releases, including Don't Starve Together and Don't Starve: Shipwrecked. Rather than treating the original release as a finished one-off product, the company developed the franchise through updates, new content, and platform expansion. The studio also diversified into stealth, strategy, and simulation. Mark of the Ninja used a readable 2D visual language to build a sophisticated stealth system around sound, visibility, disguise, and enemy awareness. Invisible, Inc. applied turn-based tactics and procedural infiltration to a cyberpunk setting. Oxygen Not Included became a complex colony-simulation game in which players manage duplicants, resource flows, temperature, gases, liquids, power, food, and long-term survival. Griftlands combined deck-building, role-playing, negotiation, and branching narrative systems, while Hot Lava adapted the childhood game of avoiding the floor into a first-person movement challenge. Klei has generally operated as a creator-led studio, releasing games across PC and consoles and, in selected cases, through mobile and subscription platforms. Its business model has included premium digital sales, expansions, downloadable content, ports, and ongoing support for multiplayer or simulation titles. In 2021, Tencent acquired a majority stake in Klei. Klei stated that the transaction would allow it to retain creative and operational independence, with Jamie Cheng continuing to lead the company. Klei therefore remains associated with an independent-studio identity while operating with Tencent as its majority owner. Its present profile is that of an active Vancouver developer focused on original, mechanically ambitious games with recognizable art direction and long-tail support.

Klei Entertainment was established in Vancouver in 2005 by Jamie Cheng. The studio entered the market during the expansion of downloadable and browser-based games, a period in which smaller teams could reach international audiences without relying entirely on traditional retail publishing. Its early projects included Eets, a puzzle game, and Sugar Buzz. These releases helped Klei develop a recognizable visual approach based on expressive 2D characters and animation. Klei achieved broader visibility with Shank, a side-scrolling action game released in 2010. Shank emphasized hand-drawn animation, arcade-style combat, and a stylized revenge narrative. Its sequel, Shank 2, followed in 2012. The series established Klei as a capable independent developer with experience creating commercially viable downloadable games for multiple platforms. In 2012, Klei released Mark of the Ninja. The game translated stealth conventions into a clear side-scrolling format, giving players information about noise, visibility, enemy alertness, and environmental concealment. It was widely recognized for the way its presentation made complex stealth mechanics understandable without reducing their depth. The title became one of the studio's defining works and was later remastered for modern platforms. Don't Starve, released in 2013, became Klei's most internationally recognizable property. The survival game placed players in procedurally generated environments filled with hostile creatures, scarce resources, seasonal hazards, and permanent death. Its art direction drew on macabre storybook imagery, while its systems encouraged experimentation and repeated play. Klei expanded the concept through downloadable content and additional editions, including the multiplayer-focused Don't Starve Together and the standalone nautical setting Don't Starve: Shipwrecked. Klei continued to move between genres. Invisible, Inc., released in 2015, combined turn-based tactics, procedural levels, stealth, and cyberpunk espionage. The game reflected Klei's broader design interests: it rewarded planning and information management rather than relying only on reflexes. In 2017, the studio released Oxygen Not Included into early access. The title developed into a demanding colony simulator in which players balance the needs of duplicated workers with interconnected physical systems such as oxygen, heat, plumbing, power, food, and waste. Its full release arrived in 2019, followed by continued updates and expansions. Klei's later projects included Griftlands, a science-fiction role-playing game built around decks, negotiations, relationships, and branching choices. It entered early access before its full release in 2021. The studio also developed Hot Lava, a first-person traversal game that turned a familiar playground premise into a precision-movement challenge and launched in 2019. In 2021, Tencent announced that it had acquired a majority stake in Klei Entertainment. Klei communicated that the investment would provide additional resources while preserving the studio's independent operation and creative control. Jamie Cheng remained associated with the company's leadership. The transaction placed Klei within Tencent's wider games portfolio but did not eliminate its separate identity or its focus on original properties. Klei's history is therefore characterized by gradual expansion rather than a single franchise strategy. It moved from small downloadable projects to internationally distributed premium games, developed capabilities across action, stealth, survival, tactics, simulation, and role-playing, and repeatedly used early access or ongoing updates to refine complex systems. The studio remains active and is best known for games whose distinctive art direction supports deep, replayable mechanics.

• 2021

  Tencent takes a majority stake

  [2]Klei Entertainment — Tencent investment announcementklei.com

  Tencent acquired a majority interest while Klei stated that it would retain independent operations and creative control.

• 2019

  Oxygen Not Included full release

  [5]Oxygen Not Includeden.wikipedia.org

  The colony simulator left early access and received its full commercial release.

• 2017

  Oxygen Not Included enters early access

  [5]Oxygen Not Includeden.wikipedia.org

  Klei began early-access development of its colony-simulation game.

• 2015

  Invisible, Inc. released

  [6]Invisible, Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Klei released its turn-based cyberpunk stealth and tactics game.

• 2013

  Don't Starve released

  [3]Don't Starveen.wikipedia.org

  Klei launched its widely recognized procedural survival game.

• 2012

  Mark of the Ninja released

  [4]Mark of the Ninjaen.wikipedia.org

  Mark of the Ninja introduced Klei's acclaimed side-scrolling stealth design.

• 2010

  Shank released

  [9]Shank releaseden.wikipedia.org

  Klei released Shank, a stylized side-scrolling action game that raised the studio's profile.

• 2005

  Klei Entertainment founded

  [1]Klei Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org

  Jamie Cheng founded Klei Entertainment in Vancouver, Canada.

A creator-led Canadian game studio positioned around original intellectual property, stylized 2D art, systemic gameplay, and sustained post-launch support.

• Action platformer · 2010

  Shank

  A side-scrolling action series built around hand-drawn animation, close-quarters combat, weapons, and an arcade-like presentation. Shank helped establish Klei in the downloadable-games market, while Shank 2 expanded the formula with additional combat systems and cooperative content.

• Stealth action · 2012

  Mark of the Ninja

  A side-scrolling stealth game in which players use darkness, sound, line of sight, disguises, and environmental tools to infiltrate guarded spaces. Its visual communication makes enemy awareness and player concealment unusually legible for a stealth title.

• Survival · 2013

  Don't Starve

  A procedurally generated survival game with a dark storybook aesthetic. Players gather resources, craft equipment, manage hunger and sanity, explore shifting environments, and survive seasonal threats. The property includes expansions and related releases, most notably the cooperative Don't Starve Together.

• Turn-based tactics and stealth · 2015

  Invisible, Inc.

  A cyberpunk tactics game focused on covert infiltration. Players direct agents through procedurally generated missions, manage limited information and resources, and attempt to complete objectives without triggering escalating security responses.

• Colony simulation · 2017

  Oxygen Not Included

  A systems-heavy colony simulator in which players manage a group of duplicants inside an asteroid or space colony. Survival depends on balancing oxygen, temperature, power, food, liquids, gases, plumbing, morale, and waste across an evolving simulation.

• Role-playing and deck-building · 2021

  Griftlands

  A science-fiction role-playing game that combines deck-building combat with negotiation decks, relationships, branching decisions, and campaign consequences. Its structure makes social encounters and economic choices part of the same strategic framework as battles.

• First-person platformer · 2019

  Hot Lava

  A first-person movement game based on the childhood idea that the floor is lava. Players navigate obstacle-filled environments through jumping, climbing, timing, and route optimization, with an emphasis on traversal skill and replayable challenge.

• 2021

  Tencent majority investmentM&A

  Background

  Klei had developed a portfolio of original properties and operated as an independent Vancouver studio. Tencent announced an investment that gave it a majority stake in the company.

  Action taken

  Tencent acquired a majority interest in Klei Entertainment. Klei said the studio would continue to operate independently and retain creative control.

  Aftermath

  Klei remained a distinct studio led by Jamie Cheng, while gaining access to Tencent's broader corporate and games resources.

  Source

• 2021

  Tencent acquires majority stake in Klei Entertainment[2]Klei Entertainment — Tencent investment announcementklei.com

  M&A

  Tencent took a majority stake in Klei Entertainment. Klei said it would continue operating independently and that founder Jamie Cheng would remain involved in leading the studio.

• 2021

  Griftlands launches after early access[7]Griftlandsen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Klei released Griftlands, a role-playing and deck-building game centered on negotiation, combat, and branching campaign decisions.

• 2019

  Oxygen Not Included leaves early access[5]Oxygen Not Includeden.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Product generation

  Klei released the full version of its space-colony simulation Oxygen Not Included after an extended early-access development period.

• 2019

  Hot Lava released[8]Hot Lavaen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Klei released Hot Lava, a first-person movement game inspired by the childhood game in which the floor is treated as lava.

1. 1Klei Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org
2. 2Klei Entertainment — Tencent investment announcementklei.com
3. 3Don't Starveen.wikipedia.org
4. 4Mark of the Ninjaen.wikipedia.org
5. 5Oxygen Not Includeden.wikipedia.org
6. 6Invisible, Inc.en.wikipedia.org
7. 7Griftlandsen.wikipedia.org
8. 8Hot Lavaen.wikipedia.org
9. 9Shank releaseden.wikipedia.org
10. 10Tencent Acquires Studio Behind Don't Starve, Mark of the Ninjacomicbook.com