1993–2020 Pegasus Spiele was founded by two friends, Karsten Esser and Andreas Finkernagel, in 1993 as a fantasy shop in downtown
Friedberg, Germany. The founders, 19 and 20 at the time, had dropped out of college to establish the store. The original store was in a location vacated by their parents, next to the former Joh department store. The founders also started a fantasy club, (''
), The business first evolved into a game wholesaler, and in 1994, Pegasus expanded into publishing. They received their first Spiel des Jahres nomination in 2009 for Pandemic'' and their first win in 2012. Pegasus had to relocate their store several times for space, but wanted to remain in Friedberg.
2020–present During the
coronavirus pandemic in 2020, sales of Pegasus games boomed as families began playing more games. For Friedberg's 800th anniversary, the company released
The Tsar is Coming for the city. This game was inspired by
Tsar Nicholas II's 1910 visit to
Hesse. The expansion, completed in April 2024, includes new buildings and doubled the business's capacity, costing seven figures to build. Pegasus participates in the "Get to the Center" downtown initiative (German: ) as well as the
Bad Nauheim- and Friedberg Plays festivals. Trade disruptions during the
second Trump government impacted Pegasus both ways;
devaluation in currencies benefited the company financially while uncertainty made foreign retailers hesitant to buy games. Both Esser and Finkernagel remain as joint
CEOs of the company. == Games ==