Mystery Studio

Lore & Background

Mystery Studio was founded by Gabriel Gambetta and Esteban Guelvenzu in 2002. The studio was originally named Mr.Io Studio, a name that sounded like 'misterio,' the Spanish word for 'mystery.' Over the years, the studio developed several first- and third-party games, including Betty's Beer Bar. In 2006, the studio partnered with publisher Playfirst to develop Pirate Poppers, a dynamic match-three puzzle game that broke into the top 10 downloads and top 10 sales lists on major downloadable game channels.

Gabriel Gambetta served as the studio's director and CTO. He was a noted Linux proponent, developing all games exclusively under Fedora Linux and cross-compiling them for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, the two platforms on which the games were sold. The studio shut down after Gambetta moved from Uruguay to Zürich and accepted a job at Google.

Mystery Studio's game catalog includes titles such as Real Detectives: Murder in Miami (2010), Fashion Assistant (2009), The Conjurer (2009), Lavender's Botanicals (2008), The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes (2008), Brain Spa (2007), Breaking News (2007), Cathy's Caribbean Club (2007), Pigllionaire (2006), Pirate Poppers (2006), Wild West Wendy (2005), FaceIt (2004), Betty's Beer Bar (2004), and PegSweeper (2003).

Reader's Guide

Mystery Studio's significance lies in its role as a pioneer of the multitasking/serving game genre, a category that became a staple of casual gaming. Betty's Beer Bar transformed the theme and mechanics of the arcade game Tapper, making it accessible to a broader casual audience and inspiring later hits such as Diner Dash and Mystic Inn. The studio also demonstrated the viability of cross-platform development from a Linux environment, as Gambetta developed all games under Fedora Linux and cross-compiled them for Windows and Mac OS X. The commercial success of Pirate Poppers, which reached top 10 download and sales charts, further established the studio's reputation. Mystery Studio's closure in 2011, following Gambetta's move to Google, marked the end of a notable independent Uruguayan game developer that contributed to the evolution of casual game design and distribution.