House House

House House Pty Ltd
FormerlyHouse House Games Pty Ltd
IndustryVideo games
Founded5 August 2014; 12 years ago (2014-08-05)
Founders
  • Nico Disseldorp
  • Jake Strasser
  • Stuart Gillespie-Cook
  • Michael McMaster
Headquarters
Melbourne, Australia
Websitehousehouse.com

House House Pty Ltd is an Australian independent video game developer based in Melbourne. They are known for their video games Push Me Pull You (2016), Untitled Goose Game (2019), and Big Walk (2026). Untitled Goose Game cleared one million copies in its first three months on sale, according to publisher Panic. The game went on to win Game of the Year at both the 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards and the 20th Game Developers Choice Awards. Big Walk cleared the same 1 million figure in six days, also according to Panic. The indie studio comprises four people: Nico Disseldorp, Jake Strasser, Stuart Gillespie-Cook, and Michael McMaster.

History

The studio was incorporated as House House Pty Ltd on 5 August 2014 following early collaborations in Melbourne's experimental game-jam scene. Their first video game, Push Me Pull You, released for PlayStation 4 on 3 May 2016 and for computer systems on 12 July 2016. In 2017, a gameplay trailer for Untitled Goose Game went viral, which led to the company signing a publishing deal with Panic Inc. The 90-second prototype clip amassed more than two million Twitter views within its first week, sparking global media attention. Panic's role was limited to funding and marketing support while House House retained full intellectual-property rights. The game was later released on 20 September 2019, to critical acclaim, on the platforms Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows and macOS, with ports for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One which released on 17 December 2019. Untitled Goose Game was a commercial success, topping the download charts for the Nintendo Switch in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Publisher co-founder Cabel Sasser confirmed on 31 December 2019 that total sales had passed one million copies. The title's "honk-to-stealth" conceit generated a flood of memes and mainstream press coverage, including a Time feature that called it a "viral phenomenon." At the 2019 Australian Game Developer Awards, the game won Game of the Year and Best Sound Design.

In January 2020, House House confirmed they were giving 1% of all profits to the Pay the Rent movement, in recognition that they make their video games on "stolen Wurundjeri land."

House House's latest project, the open-world co-operative adventure Big Walk, was first announced at The Game Awards in December 2023, and was described as "a cooperative walker-talker about getting lost with friends". Kalonica Quigley joined House House as its first new employee and fifth member after the release of Untitled Goose Game and during Big Walk's development; the studio has remained at this small size. On 6 June 2025, the launch window was shifted to 2026 after further gameplay reveals at Day of the Devs: Summer Game Fest Edition. Big Walk released on August 4, 2026 to positive reviews from critics, and Panic stated that it had sold over 1 million copies in its first six days.

Development and technology

All House House titles are developed in the Unity engine, a choice the team credits for enabling rapid prototyping by a four-person staff. For Big Walk the studio experimented with proximity voice chat, physical communication props, and a diegetic soundtrack by AKSFX, as detailed in its Day of the Devs 2025 presentation.

Philanthropy

In January 2020, House House pledged to donate at least 1% of all future revenue to Indigenous organisations through Australia's Pay the Rent movement. Initial beneficiaries included the Wurundjeri Tribe Council, Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance, and the Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network.

Video games

Year Title Platform(s) Publisher(s)
2016 Push Me Pull You Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Windows House House
2019 Untitled Goose Game macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One Panic Inc.
2026 Big Walk macOS, Windows, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2

Awards and recognition

Year Award Category Title Result
2019 Australian Game Developer Awards Game of the Year; Best Sound Design Untitled Goose Game Won
2020 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Game of the Year
20th Game Developers Choice Awards Game of the Year

References

  1. 1 2 3 "House House Pty Ltd". opencorporates.com. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  2. ↑ "Home - House House". House House. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Untitled Goose Game | House House | 2019 | ACMI collection". www.acmi.net.au. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  4. ↑ "Untitled Goose Game Melbourne-based creators stunned after topping Nintendo charts". ABC News (Australia). 2 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  5. ↑ Rychter, Tacey (27 September 2019). "This Video Game Fulfills Your Fantasy of Being a Horrible Goose". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "Untitled Goose Game Honks Its Way To Huge Milestone". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards". www.interactive.org. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  8. ↑ "20th Game Developers Choice Awards", Wikipedia, 12 May 2025, retrieved 4 July 2025
  9. ↑ "Untitled Goose Game is a honkin' good time". The Verge. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  10. ↑ Morton, Lauren (8 December 2023). "Every trailer and announcement from The Game Awards 2023". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  11. ↑ "'Lovely and horrible' Push Me Pull You brings players uncomfortably close on PS4 in 2016". Polygon. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  12. ↑ "Participation points: What HR can learn from worker-owned cooperatives | HR Dive". www.hrdive.com. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  13. ↑ "Big Walk gets a reintroduction at Day of the Devs: SGF Edition 2025". Shacknews. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  14. ↑ Carpenter, Nicole (10 December 2019). "Untitled Goose Game is coming to PlayStation 4 next week". Polygon. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  15. ↑ Romano, Sal (10 December 2019). "Untitled Goose Game for PS4 and Xbox One launches December 17". Gematsu. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  16. ↑ Grayson, Nathan (20 September 2019). "Untitled Goose Game: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  17. ↑ Fox, Chris (2 October 2019). "How a horrible goose topped the gaming chart". BBC News.
  18. ↑ Hernandez, Patricia (2 October 2019). "Untitled Goose Game is the best selling game on Switch right now". Polygon. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  19. ↑ McCluskey, Megan (30 September 2019). "Tap Into Your Mischievous Side With Untitled Goose Game". TIME. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  20. ↑ "Untitled Goose Game Wins Game of the Year at the 2019 Australian Game Developer Awards". AusGamers.com. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  21. ↑ House House [@house_house_] (29 January 2020). "Our videogames are made on stolen Wurundjeri land. We at House House will be paying at least 1% of our income to Indigenous groups, in perpetuity, as part of the Pay the Rent movement. We'd encourage others to do the same: http://paytherent.net.au" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 February 2025 – via Twitter.
  22. ↑ Marshall, Cass (29 January 2020). "Untitled Goose Game devs donate a percentage of profit to Indigenous groups". Polygon. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  23. ↑ Prescott, Shaun (8 December 2023). "Untitled Goose game team announces Big Walk, an online cooperative 'walker-talker'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  24. ↑ Staff, Verge (7 December 2023). "The Game Awards 2023: all of the biggest trailers and announcements". The Verge. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  25. 1 2 Schreier, Jason (25 September 2026). "The Six-Year Journey Behind 'Big Walk,' One of This Year's Best Video Games". Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  26. ↑ Valentine, Rebekah (18 August 2026). "The Big Interview With The Developers Of Big Walk". Kotaku (Interview). Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  27. 1 2 "Day of the Devs 2025: Big Walk". Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  28. 1 2 Prescott, Shaun (6 June 2025). "Untitled Goose Game studio unpacks its new open world co-op game Big Walk, and it looks like nothing else I've played before". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  29. ↑ "Big Walk critic reviews - Metacritic". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  30. ↑ Purchese, Robert (11 August 2026). "Big Walk strides to sales success, passing an impressive milestone in under one week". Eurogamer. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  31. ↑ Prescott, Shaun (8 December 2023). "Untitled Goose game team announces Big Walk, an online cooperative 'walker-talker'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  32. 1 2 Marshall, Cass (29 January 2020). "Untitled Goose Game devs donate a percentage of profit to Indigenous groups". Polygon. Retrieved 4 July 2025.