is a Madrid-based video game developer founded in 1993 by Ramón Hernáez, Felipe Gómez Pinilla, Rafael Latiegui and Miguel Angel Ramos.

Pendulo first achieved mainstream prominence in Spain via Hollywood Monsters (1997), which met with critical and commercial success in the country but was never released beyond Southern Europe.

[5] Pendulo Studios was established in Madrid during September 1993 by Ramón Hernáez, Rafael Latiegui, Felipe Gómez Pinilla and Miguel Angel Ramos.

[10][11][12] The result was Igor: Objective Uikokahonia in 1994,[10] a game developed in dire economic circumstances by Pendulo's four founders, assisted by two contractors.

[7] Ramos ultimately left Pendulo after Igor's completion, but Latiegui, Ramón Hernáez and Felipe Gómez Pinilla chose to continue the company alone.

[23][8] To obtain a theme song for Hollywood Monsters, publisher Dinamic Multimedia hired the band La Unión to record an original track.

[27] As a greater commercial and critical success than Igor: Objective Uikokahonia,[28] Hollywood Monsters marked a turning point for Pendulo Studios.

[34][35] In 1997, a PC Manía writer cited Hollywood Monsters as proof that Pendulo "is to graphic adventure in Spain what LucasArts is to the rest of the world.

[19] Runaway became Pendulo's largest production to date,[40] and GameLive PC's Gerard Masnou wrote that it "was the most ambitious graphic adventure ever developed in Spain" at the time.

Spain's education system lacked courses for game development, and the country's existing industry professionals often migrated to foreign companies for better working conditions and pay.

[41] The game's team was small: Rafael Latiegui said that Runaway had nine core members during most of its creation, assisted by a series of part-timers on elements such as music.

[41] Originally planned as a 2D project, Runaway was revamped during development to utilize 3D aspects,[16] and after numerous delays debuted in Spain during July 2001.

[48] Pendulo proceeded to undertake lawsuits and engage the publisher in a legal battle for the rights,[49][50] a process that lasted roughly one year.

Latiegui later called the period an extreme challenge; the company had to lay off the majority of its staff to make payroll,[49] and Pendulo ceased game development activities.

Rafael Latiegui later said that the team "wanted to immediately get [into] a video game" after spending a year away, and that a sequel was the "quickest way" because of the groundwork already laid.

[72] Released in November 2006 as Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle,[81] the game continues the story of Brian Basco and Gina, who fall into trouble because of a plane crash during their vacation to Hawaii.

[82][83] It received an official announcement at Games Convention in August 2007; certain outlets initially reported that Runaway 3 would be set in Japan and would take place immediately after its predecessor.

[85] Pendulo and publisher Focus Home Interactive hoped to attract series newcomers with the numberless title, and Jeux Video reported that the game was "not the direct follow-up" to Runaway 2, but a relatively standalone project.

[101] At the start, Pendulo conceived The Next Big Thing as a high-definition remake of Hollywood Monsters, but it increasingly drifted from this framework over time.

[93] Latiegui explained that the final product "is not a second part, nor a remake";[25] rather, the team borrowed heavily from Hollywood Monsters and attempted to take its ideas in new directions.

[25][96] Sue Bergman and Ron Ashman were removed in favor of new protagonists:[93] reporters Dan Murray and Liz Allaire of The Quill.

[104] Rethinking the company's style and brand after the failure of The Next Big Thing, Pendulo opted to create a game with a darker, more serious tone and more casual gameplay.

[107] The campaign proved unsuccessful; Monchan stated that Pendulo had not spent time building a network of connections that would allow it to survive without a publisher.

Monchan compared the strategy to one that Revolution Software had previously used to stay solvent, and noted that The Next Big Thing and Yesterday saw more success on mobile devices than they had on personal computers.

[112] Although Pendulo had never worked with a license before,[113] the developer's Josué Monchán noted that the team had "been Blacksad fans for a long time" and agreed to the idea immediately.

[117] Gameblog's Vincent Elmer-Haerrig called the project a "gamble" for Pendulo, as Under the Skin is aimed at "a fringe of players who are both comic-philes and video game lovers.

Lead animator Carlos Hernández told Mundo Deportivo that the game's production was "a great difficulty" for the team, particularly because of its small size: Pendulo numbered 17 members by 2019.

[125] Microids had announced its plan to publish an unnamed Tintin video game previously, after striking a deal with the Hergé Foundation in 2020.