Toukana Interactive
| Formerly | Toukana Interactive UG |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Berlin |
| Products | |
| Website | https://www.toukana.com/ |
Toukana Interactive GmbH[1] is a German indie game studio based in Berlin. The studio was founded in 2020 by four students at HTW Berlin. As of December 2025, they have published two games: Dorfromantik and Star Birds.
History
Toukana Interactive was founded in early 2020 by German and Swiss students Luca Langenberg, Sandro Heuberger, Timo Falcke, and Zwi Zausch.[2][3] They began developing their debut game, Dorfromantik, as part of a master's degree in Game Design at HTW Berlin.[2][4][5] The group met during their bachelor's studies, and were compelled to start an indie studio by their master's program at the university.[2][4][3] During this time, they made 10 different prototype games.[6] Toukana received 110,000 euros in funding from the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg for development of Dorfromantik.[7][8] The game was released in early access in March 2021 and in full in April 2022. Later in 2022, a board game adaptation of Dorfromantik was released by Pegasus Spiele.[4] Due to the game's high sales performance, the studio was able to pay back its debts all at one time.[9] In August 2023, the company was incorporated as a GmbH, having been a UG previously.[10] In 2024, Toukana announced a partnership with Kurzgesagt. They collaborated on a game, Star Birds, which was released in September 2025.[11][12]
Toukana is headquartered in the Lichtenberg borough of Berlin.[1][13] As of May 2022, Toukana employed 6 people.[9] The company publishes their games themselves without a publisher.[14]
Games
| Name | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dorfromantik[15] | 2022 | |
| Star Birds[16] | 2025 | Collaboration with Kurzgesagt. The game was formerly known as "Project Mango".[17] |
Awards
In 2021, Toukana's Dorfromantik won "Best Debut" and "Best Game Design" at the Deutscher Computerspielpreis.[9][8]
References
- ^ a b "Imprint". www.toukana.com. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ a b c "Toukana Interactive: Berlin is a network of support and inspiration". www.berlin.de. 2025-08-13. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ a b "Interview: Toukana Interactive tells us more about Dorfromantik". GOG.com. 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ a b c Pfaff, Nadine (2023-08-23). "Interview – Dorfromantik – The Board Game Authors and Toukana Interactive". Blog und News. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ Parkin, Simon (2021-05-01). "Dorfromantik review – the simple pleasures of world-building". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "The past, present and future of Dorfromantik". Eurogamer.net. 2022-04-28. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "Medienboard Förderentscheidungen August 2020" (PDF). Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ a b Gameswirtschaft (2022-03-28). "Dorfromantik: Das Berliner Indie-Spiel, über das alle reden (Update)". GamesWirtschaft.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ a b c Rüegg, Philipp (2022-05-20). "«Dorfromantik» developer: «success has opened a lot of doors for us»". Galaxus. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "Capital: €25,000 · Name: Toukana Interactive GmbH". North Data. 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ Romano, Sal (2024-06-09). "Project Mango officially announced as Star Birds". Gematsu. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ "Star Birds - The New Game by Toukana and kurzgesagt - Presskit". www.toukana.com. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ "Toukana Interactive | Now on gamescom!". gamescom. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ Katić, Ivan (2025-09-09). "Toukana Interactive Co-Founder Zwi Zausch on the Gaming Industry | Interview - IndieGames". Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "Dorfromantik - the relaxing landscape strategy and puzzle game". www.toukana.com. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "Star Birds - The New Game by Toukana and kurzgesagt - Presskit". www.toukana.com. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ Castle, Katharine; Castle, Katharine (2024-03-21). "Dorfromantik devs tease new space game Project Mango". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2025-12-16.