June 8, 2026 – From a student hobby project to one of Germany's best employers: CipSoft was founded 25 years ago today. The name comes from the “CIP pools“ at the University of Regensburg – computer rooms where the four company founders first encountered the internet. Today, a team of more than 100 people develops several online games and generates record revenues. Yet some things have remained much the same, as Managing Director Stephan Vogler recalls in this interview.

From left to right: The four CipSoft founders Stephan Payer, Stephan Vogler, Ulrich Schlott, and Guido Lübke at the company's 25th anniversary celebration.

How did you feel when you founded CipSoft in 2001?

There was a real sense of excitement and optimism. We had just finished university and were faced with a choice: a conventional job or an adventure. Tibia had already been running for four years by then. It was tremendous fun to turn the game into our profession and devote ourselves entirely to Tibia.

What were your biggest challenges?

After finishing university, we had no money at first. For example, we once spent four hours debating whether to buy a fax machine for 150 Deutschmarks.

When did you first feel that CipSoft had really established itself as a company?

In 2001, after the dot-com bubble burst, the advertising market was dead. So it was no longer possible to make money from Tibia that way. We then made it possible for players to take out a subscription and pay for additional in-game content – something that was unimaginable at the time. I can still remember very clearly that day in October when the first payments came in. That was when we realised: we could keep going.

And things did keep going: with new revenue records, a steadily growing team and numerous awards. What are you proud of that may not be immediately obvious?

I'm proud that there has never been a wave of redundancies at CipSoft. Of course, Tibia has been successful all these years, and we're incredibly grateful for that. But we also develop other games. Many people pour their heart and soul into these projects for several years, and yet sometimes you have to make the difficult decision to discontinue a project. I'm proud that, in situations like that, we've always found ways to continue employing all team members elsewhere in the company.

Is there a story that, for you, particularly illustrates what CipSoft is all about?

A person’s character, and also that of a company, is always revealed when there are major challenges. In 2025, we on the management team decided to take over The Settlers Online from Ubisoft. I still remember very clearly the moment we announced it within the company. Everyone was enthusiastic and wanted to help. No one ducked out of it. Everyone was ready to take on responsibility. That made me very proud.

What has never changed at CipSoft over the past 25 years?

We developed Tibia as friends and founded CipSoft as friends. When we started hiring people, we wanted to keep that feeling alive – working with friends, building something together we believe in, and having fun doing it. I think we've managed that pretty well so far.