SYBO

SYBO is a Copenhagen-based Danish mobile game developer and intellectual-property house best known for co-creating Subway Surfers. Founded in 2010 by animation-school graduates Sylvester Rishøj Jensen and Bodie Jahn-Mulliner, the studio developed the game with Danish publisher Kiloo and launched it in 2012. After Kiloo’s departure in 2020, SYBO took full ownership of the franchise and continues to self-publish and operate it as a live-service title.

Subway Surfers has surpassed 4.5 billion lifetime downloads and is described in the research as the most downloaded mobile game of all time. SYBO has grown the property beyond its original endless-runner format through games including Subway Surfers City, Subway Surfers Tag, Subway Surfers Blast, and Subway Surfers Match, as well as animated episodic content through SYBO TV.

Game development and franchise operations

The studio combines full-cycle mobile game development with ongoing LiveOps, game maintenance, community management, brand partnerships, and IP licensing. Its creative and technical capabilities include:

• Mobile game development for iOS, Android, Apple Arcade, and web
• Live-service content updates and franchise stewardship
• Character design, technical rigging, and stylized 3D game animation
• Visual art, UI/UX design, and cross-platform engineering using Unity and C#
• Transmedia animation and digital merchandising activity

Alongside the Subway Surfers franchise, SYBO’s catalogue includes Blades of Brim, Powerflow, and Cosmic Cab. The studio also co-developed Subway Surfers Blast with Outplay Entertainment.

Current ownership

SYBO operates as SYBO ApS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Miniclip. Miniclip acquired the company in June 2022 and is majority-owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd. The research describes SYBO as retaining operational autonomy under long-time CEO Mathias Gredal Nørvig, with its engineering, art, LiveOps, and leadership teams based at its Copenhagen studio.