The studio was founded in 2006 by Steve Bocska, Vlad Ceraldi and Joel DeYoung, all three of which were formerly employed by Radical Entertainment.

[2] Following the conclusion of the DeathSpank series and the departure of its creator Ron Gilbert in 2011, Hothead Games shifted its development focus entirely to mobile games in response to market trends surrounding mobile devices.

[3] In 2015, Hothead Games expanded by opening a studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia with an initial development team of 25 people, putting the company's employee count at 130.

[4] In 2019, Hothead Games established a publishing arm to promote third-party free-to-play titles.

[7] In December 2024, president and CEO Ian Wilkinson announced on LinkedIn that the company had filed for bankruptcy and would close down.