Ekuator Games
Bandung-based Indonesian video game studio behind the crowdfunded RPG series "Celestian Tales," acquired by fellow Bandung developer Agate in January 2019 for about Rp5 billion.
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- Location
- Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
- Country
- Indonesia
- Founders
- Cipto Adiguno, Ray Suryadiptya, Nathalia Noor and Denny Eka Saputro
- Notable games
- "Celestian Tales: Old North" (2015) and its sequel "Celestian Tales: Realms Beyond," both funded through Kickstarter campaigns
- Awards
- Most Promising Game, Game Developer Gathering (GDG) 2014; Best Narrative and Best Audio, GDG 2015; Best Narrative, IN.Game Jogja 2015; Best Local Developer, Toys & Games Republic 2015; named among Tech in Asia's "10 Best Indonesian Games" of 2016
- Acquisition
- Acquired by Agate on January 5, 2019, for approximately Rp5 billion
Overview
Ekuator Games was a Bandung, West Java-based Indonesian video game studio, founded by Cipto Adiguno, Ray Suryadiptya, Nathalia Noor and Denny Eka Saputro, best known for the crowdfunded role-playing game series “Celestian Tales” (kumparan.com). Hybrid.co.id describes the studio as founded by former employees of Agate, the larger Bandung developer that would later acquire it (Hybrid.co.id).
Celestian Tales
Ekuator’s first release, “Celestian Tales: Old North,” was funded through Kickstarter and reviewed by the English-language outlet RPGamer in August 2015. The review described a turn-based combat system built around six playable protagonists sharing a single experience pool, no traditional magic system, and roughly ten hours of largely linear playtime; it praised the game’s “nice visuals” and “generally solid, if uninspired, gameplay” but concluded the story “simply feels like a prologue to something bigger than a full title standing on its own,” awarding it 2.5 out of 5 (RPGamer). The studio also released a DLC pack, “Howl of the Ravager,” and some of its team contributed to Agate’s “Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story” before the two companies combined (Hybrid.co.id). The studio won several regional awards for its work — Most Promising Game at the 2014 Game Developer Gathering (GDG), Best Narrative and Best Audio at GDG 2015, Best Narrative at IN.Game Jogja 2015, and Best Local Developer at Toys & Games Republic 2015 — and by 2019 was described as having been named among Tech in Asia’s “10 Best Indonesian Games” of 2016 (TeknoJurnal; Bisnis Indonesia). A sequel, “Celestian Tales: Realms Beyond,” had originally been targeted for release around December 2017 but was delayed (Hybrid.co.id).
Acquisition by Agate
On January 5, 2019, Agate acquired Ekuator Games for approximately Rp5 billion. Founder Cipto Adiguno became Agate’s Vice President of Consumer Games, telling reporters he believed the combination would let the companies “create higher quality games and bring Indonesia’s name to the world gaming industry” (Bisnis Indonesia; kumparan.com). Agate’s then-CEO Arief Widhiyasa said the deal aimed to combine “the talent forces at Agate with talents from Ekuator” to speed up and improve the quality of Agate’s consumer-game output (kumparan.com). As part of the deal, Agate committed to funding the remaining development of “Celestian Tales: Realms Beyond” so as to fulfill Ekuator’s outstanding Kickstarter obligations, with the game’s intellectual property becoming Agate’s property; Hybrid.co.id described Ekuator as continuing afterward as “a separate division but integrated with Agate” (Hybrid.co.id).
What this profile does not claim
No source read states Ekuator Games’ founding year or its team size at any point in its history; the earliest independently dated activity found is the August 2015 review of “Celestian Tales: Old North.” This profile does not describe Ekuator’s precise legal or operational status after 2019 beyond Hybrid.co.id’s characterization of it as an integrated but separate division, since no source gives a fuller or more current account. It is not to be confused with the unrelated French tabletop role-playing game publisher “Studio Agate” — this profile concerns a studio acquired by the Indonesian, Bandung-based video game developer Agate.
Timeline
- 2015-08
- Releases "Celestian Tales: Old North," a turn-based JRPG-style game funded through Kickstarter; RPGamer's review scores it 2.5 out of 5, calling it visually appealing but narratively incomplete, "a prologue to something bigger than a full title standing on its own."
- 2016
- Is named among Tech in Asia's "10 Best Indonesian Games," per later reporting on the studio.
- 2017 (planned)
- A sequel, "Celestian Tales: Realms Beyond," is originally targeted for release around December 2017 but is delayed.
- 2019-01-05
- Is acquired by fellow Bandung studio Agate for approximately Rp5 billion; founder Cipto Adiguno becomes Agate's Vice President of Consumer Games, and Agate commits to funding the completion of "Celestian Tales: Realms Beyond" to fulfill its Kickstarter obligations.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- No source read states Ekuator Games' founding year; its first Kickstarter-funded release, "Celestian Tales: Old North," was reviewed in August 2015, which is the earliest independently dated fact available about the studio's activity.
- Team size at founding or at the time of acquisition is not stated in any source read.
- Sources describe Ekuator's status after the acquisition inconsistently in emphasis — Hybrid.co.id describes it as continuing as "a separate division but integrated with Agate," while other sources describe the deal in terms of Ekuator being absorbed into Agate's operations; both descriptions are compatible, but no source gives a precise, lasting corporate structure for Ekuator after 2019.
Sources
5 sources (1 tier 1, 4 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Bisnis Indonesia and kumparan.com (both national Indonesian outlets) anchor the acquisition facts; kumparan.com is the only source read that names all four co-founders. Hybrid.co.id and TeknoJurnal, both Indonesian technology/gaming publications, corroborate the acquisition terms and add detail on Ekuator's post-acquisition structure and prior work. RPGamer, an established English-language RPG review outlet, was fetched independently for on-the-record detail about "Celestian Tales: Old North" itself. All sources concern the Indonesian studio based in Bandung and its acquirer, Agate — not the unrelated French tabletop role-playing game publisher "Studio Agate."
- Perusahaan Gim Agate Akuisisi Ekuator Games, Ini Targetnya di Kancah Dunia Supports: The January 5, 2019 acquisition date, the roughly Rp5 billion deal value, Ekuator's "Celestian Tales" and its 2016 Tech in Asia "10 Best Indonesian Games" recognition, and Cipto Adiguno's move to Agate as Vice President of Consumer Games.
- Perusahaan Game Agate Asal Bandung Akuisisi Ekuator Games Rp 5 Miliar Supports: The names of all four Ekuator Games co-founders (Cipto Adiguno, Ray Suryadiptya, Nathalia Noor and Denny Eka Saputro), the 2015 release and positive reception of "Celestian Tales," and quotes from Cipto Adiguno and Agate CEO Arief Widhiyasa on the acquisition's rationale.
- Agate Akuisisi Ekuator Games, Jamin Celestian Tales Selesai Supports: Ekuator's description as founded by former Agate employees, its DLC "Howl of the Ravager," crew overlap with "Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story," Agate's commitment to fund "Celestian Tales: Realms Beyond" to meet Kickstarter obligations, and the delay of "Realms Beyond" past its original December 2017 target.
- Agate Berhasil Akuisisi Studio Asal Bandung Bernama Ekuator Games Supports: Ekuator's Bandung location, its four listed awards (Most Promising Game at GDG 2014; Best Narrative and Best Audio at GDG 2015; Best Narrative at IN.Game Jogja 2015; Best Local Developer at Toys & Games Republic 2015), and confirmation of the acquisition date and value.
- Celestian Tales: Old North Review Supports: Independent, on-the-record detail on "Celestian Tales: Old North" — its release, gameplay systems, length, critical reception and 2.5/5 score — establishing the studio's earliest independently dated activity.
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