Piranha Bytes is a German video game developer known for their Gothic role-playing video game series. On 12 October 1997, as part of the development of the video game Gothic, the Piranha Bytes Software GmbH was founded by Alex Brueggemann, Michael Hoge, Stefan Nyul and Tom Putzki. In 1999, the Piranha Bytes Software GmbH became a wholly owned subsidiary of Phenomedia AG. After a financial scandal and the bankruptcy of the parent company in 2002 the rights to the Gothic video games and brands were transferred by MBO to the newly founded Pluto 13 GmbH.