5.05°C In late 2014, the Teaboy trio – Aidan, Frazer and Scott – met on Eastern Enterprise’s GamesHub scheme, a free course designed to help creative minds break into the games industry. The partnership between East Enterprise Hub and Colchester Borough Council, headed by Steven Huckle (Shark Infested Custard), supports individuals regardless of experience. For example, Frazer had never made a game before joining.
As a team of fresh-faced graduates, they grabbed the opportunity with both hands, determined to learn as much as possible from those around them. The name Teaboy was born from that experience – and their shared love of a good brew.
What brought them together was a passion for innovative, distinctive mobile game design. They focus on simple yet satisfying gameplay, creating beautiful arcade-style experiences that appeal to players of all ages, regardless of their gaming background.
In just 10 months – having never met or worked together before – they moved from concept to delivery. Teaboy Games Ltd was registered in April, and on 27 August, they launched their debut app, Fallen – The Minimal Reaction Game.
Since releasing Fallen, the response has been phenomenal. Reviews have appeared on major American platforms such as Mashable, alongside coverage across mainland Europe and a feature on BBC Look East. The standout moment, however, was being featured by Apple in its ‘Best New Games’ category in over 100 countries. In the first week, the app reached 2,700 downloads. After the Apple feature, that number surged to more than 50,000 – a powerful illustration of Apple’s reach.
Fallen was always intended as an experiment: a way to test what the team could achieve together, having never collaborated before, let alone launched an app. Hitting half of their year-one download target within two weeks exceeded expectations. Rather than chasing short-term profit, the team chose to focus on learning – from marketing a mobile game to refining user experience. An Android build is due shortly, with plans for the next title already in motion.
With GamesHub welcoming new applicants and a local Game Developer Meetup launching in October, it’s an exciting time for games development in Colchester – and Teaboy Games are right at the heart of it.
