Mike Bithell

English designer of Thomas Was Alone and founder of Bithell Games

@mikebithell Manchester, United Kingdom Indie Game Makers

Mike Bithell at a glance

Known for: Thomas Was Alone, Volume and Subsurface Circular
Based in: Manchester, United Kingdom
Indie since: 2010
Active products: Thomas Was Alone, Volume and Subsurface Circular

Facts checked 2026-10-22

About Mike Bithell

Mike Bithell is an English game designer, developer and podcaster known for Thomas Was Alone. After working at Blitz Games from 2007 to 2011, he built a prototype of Thomas Was Alone in 24 hours in 2010, a minimalist platformer about a group of coloured rectangles with distinct personalities, and released it free on Kongregate.

While working at Bossa Studios he expanded it into a full game, released in June 2012 with narration by comedian Danny Wallace. It sold over a million copies, and Wallace won a BAFTA for his performance. Bithell left Bossa in January 2013 to go independent and followed up with the stealth game Volume (2015) and the short narrative games Subsurface Circular (2017) and Quarantine Circular (2018).

His studio Bithell Games grew to make licensed games including John Wick Hex (2019), Tron: Identity (2023) and Tron: Catalyst (2025). After failing to secure funding for its next project in 2025, the studio laid off most of its full-time staff. Bithell also hosts the Play, Watch, Listen podcast and is based in Manchester.

Products by Mike Bithell

Thomas Was Alone

store.steampowered.com

Minimalist narrative platformer about AI rectangles with personalities, narrated by Danny Wallace.

1M+ copies sold

Volume

bithellgames.com

Stealth game reimagining Robin Hood in a near-future surveillance state.

Subsurface Circular

store.steampowered.com

Short text-based detective game set on an underground train.

Tron: Catalyst

bithellgames.com

Licensed isometric action-adventure game set in the Tron universe.

Timeline

2010 — Built the Thomas Was Alone prototype in 24 hours.
2012 — Released Thomas Was Alone, which went on to sell over a million copies.
2013 — Left Bossa Studios to go independent.
2015 — Released Volume.
2019 — Bithell Games released John Wick Hex.
2025 — Released Tron: Catalyst; the studio later laid off most of its full-time team.

How Mike builds

Character and writing can make even simple shapes lovable.
Prototype fast, in a day if possible.
Talk openly about the business side of games.

Mike Bithell FAQ

Who is Mike Bithell?

Mike Bithell is an English game designer, developer and podcaster known for Thomas Was Alone.

Who made Thomas Was Alone?

Thomas Was Alone was created by Mike Bithell, with narration by Danny Wallace and music by David Housden, and released in June 2012.

How many copies did Thomas Was Alone sell?

Thomas Was Alone sold over one million copies.

What is Mike Bithell doing now?

He runs Bithell Games, which released Tron: Catalyst in 2025 before cutting most of its full-time staff after failing to fund its next project, and he hosts the Play, Watch, Listen podcast.