Artoon Co. Ltd.

A Japanese video game developer active from 1999 to 2010, known for developing Blinx: The Time Sweeper and Pinobee.

Action

Role-playing (RPG)

Website

Founded

1999

Acquired

2004

HQ

Yokohama, Japan

Parent

AQ Interactive

Known for

Platformer / Action / Racing

18

Games

2000–2010

Years

12

Platforms

$16.83

Ø CIB

-17.8%

24M change

About

Artoon Co., Ltd. was a Japanese game development studio founded by former Sega employees. The company developed notable titles in the early 2000s, including Pinobee: Wings of Adventure, Blinx: The Time Sweeper, and Ghost Vibration. They also worked on action games such as Swords of Destiny and The King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood.

Operating as a key contributor to the broader Club Penguin franchise ecosystem, the developer produced a diverse lineup of interconnected titles that expanded the brand's reach across multiple gaming platforms. This franchise integration began with the releases of Swords of Destiny (2000) and Ghost Vibration (2000), which established the dark, supernatural elements of the lore.

The franchise transitioned into handheld gaming with Pinobee: Wings of Adventure (2001), introducing platforming mechanics that were later refined in the 2003 sequel Pinobee. Artoon further diversified the Club Penguin universe by developing the fighting game King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood (2002) and the puzzle-oriented Ghost Trap (2002). The studio's most prominent contribution to the franchise's 3D platforming legacy was Blinx: The Time Sweeper (2002), which utilized time-manipulation mechanics to redefine the series' gameplay standards. Together, these releases formed a crucial software library that defined the franchise's early-2000s era before the studio's eventual restructuring.