People Can Fly

Lore & Background

People Can Fly was founded in February 2002 by Adrian Chmielarz (previously co-founder of Metropolis Software), Michał Kosieradzki, and Andrzej Poznański. The studio's first game, Painkiller (2004), was a critical success. A deal with THQ for the game Come Midnight allowed expansion, but the game was cancelled in 2006, leaving the studio with about one month of operating capital. Epic Games acquired a majority stake in August 2007, and later bought the studio outright in August 2012. The founders left and founded The Astronauts. People Can Fly was rebranded Epic Games Poland in November 2013, then spun off under its former name in June 2015. As of December 2024, the company employs roughly 500 people in eight locations. Its most recent game is Outriders (2021).

In Their Own Story

The corridor lights flicker to a sickly amber. You feel the weight of the chainsaw before you even see it—oil and heat pressing against your palms. Somewhere ahead, a Wraith shrieks, its voice splitting the stone walls of the Pandemonium fortress. You don't slow down. You never slow down. The next room is a cathedral of broken pews and dripping ichor, and the next is a void of black fire where gravity is a suggestion. You pull the trigger, and the world answers with a thunderclap of muzzle flash and screaming metal. This is not a story. This is a feeling, and it has no off switch.

Reader's Guide

People Can Fly is a Polish game developer known for Painkiller (2004), Bulletstorm (2011), Gears of War: Judgment (2013), and Outriders (2021). The studio was founded in 2002, acquired by Epic Games in 2012, and became independent again in 2015.

Did You Know?

• The studio was founded in February 2002 by Adrian Chmielarz, Michał Kosieradzki, and Andrzej Poznański.
• People Can Fly's first game was Painkiller, released in 2004.
• Epic Games acquired a majority stake in the studio in August 2007 and bought it outright in August 2012.
• After leaving People Can Fly, the founders founded The Astronauts.
• The studio was rebranded Epic Games Poland in November 2013 and reverted to People Can Fly in June 2015.