Not a paid list. No studios that couldn't name their credits. Here's who actually ships.
The co-development model has quietly become the infrastructure behind most of the games you've played in the last three years. Not because studios got smaller — because they got smarter about where they staffed up and where they brought in a partner.
But co-development is one of the most abused terms in the industry. A vendor who builds a few assets to spec will call themselves a co-dev partner. A studio that answers emails in your time zone will call themselves embedded. The word has been stretched far enough that it covers everything from task shops to genuine production partners — and telling them apart before you sign is the entire game.
This list is based on one thing: named, shipped credits. Not portfolio pages. Not "we've worked with AAA studios" with an NDA attached. If a studio can't tell you the game title, the publisher, and what they specifically contributed — they're not on this list.
1. Devoted Studios — The Studio That Co-Developed Arc Raiders and Spent Four Years Inside Obsidian
Devoted Studios is a full-cycle co-development and art production partner for game studios across platforms and genres. Engineering, porting, end-to-end art production, game and level design, LiveOps — handled inside one pipeline, not distributed across three vendors.
Founded in 2018, the studio runs 250+ core team across 15+ countries, with 90+ clients and 250+ projects shipped. The model is intentionally distributed — sourcing specialized talent globally rather than hiring to geography — with production leads that have shipped at Respawn, Rockstar, and Sony.
The leadership behind the work:
Ryan Lastimosa joined as Studio Art Director after building his credits at Respawn Entertainment — Apex Legends, Titanfall, Call of Duty 4. Flavius Alecu, CTO, shipped Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA V, and contributed to PS5 platform development. When Devoted pitches technical art and production discipline, these are the people setting the standard.
What Devoted means by co-development:
Ninel, CEO of Devoted Studios:
“Co-development is: 'here's our vision, here's what broadly needs to be delivered — but we don't really know all the details, and we need to figure it out together.' A lot of ownership over the result. A lot of creativity.”
That framing matters. A task shop needs a complete brief before they start. A co-development partner needs to understand what the game is trying to be — and has enough production ownership to make real decisions when that vision shifts mid-cycle.
- Partnership4 years
- EngineUnreal Engine
-
Scope
End-to-end environment art production, 3D character creation
- EngineUnreal Engine 5
-
Scope
Co-development, UI engineering, gameplay features, performance optimization -
Award
Best Multiplayer — The Game Awards 2025 + BAFTA Games Awards
The Obsidian partnership:
Devoted has maintained a four-year art production relationship with Obsidian Entertainment across Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 — both Unreal Engine titles with demanding, established visual languages. The Outer Worlds 2 shipped October 2025.
Chris Naves, Lead Art Outsourcing Manager at Obsidian Entertainment:
“The Obsidian team has been completely satisfied with Devoted Studios' performance in all aspects — art quality, time management, adherence to style and timeline, communication quality control. Devoted does an excellent job and never hesitates to run the extra mile to guarantee the best outcome.”
On the engineering and co-dev side:
-
Risk of Rain 2 (Gearbox) — ported to 5 platforms simultaneously, first-submission certification on all.
-
Sunderfolk (Dreamhaven) — co-development, porting, platform certification, engineering.
-
FNAF: Secret of the Mimic (Steel Wool Studios) — co-development, porting, UI and gameplay engineering, 3D tech art. Invincible VS — co-development.
-
Invincible VS — co-development, porting, UI and gameplay engineering, 3D tech art. Invincible VS — co-development.
⭐ Selected Credits: Obsidian Entertainment (Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2) · Blizzard Entertainment (Overwatch 2) · Embark Studios (Arc Raiders) · Steel Wool Studios (FNAF: Secret of the Mimic) · Gearbox (Risk of Rain 2) · Dreamhaven (Sunderfolk)
2. Certain Affinity — The Studio Microsoft Trusts With Halo
The studio that has co-developed on Halo titles across multiple entries — Austin-based, with a long track record working embedded inside publisher pipelines on tentpole FPS franchises. Certain Affinity is one of the clearest examples of what genuine co-development looks like at scale: a team that works inside the production culture of a major IP, not alongside it. Best suited for studios that need a US-based co-dev partner with AAA FPS pedigree and deep first-person combat experience.
3. Blind Squirrel Games — The Studio That Revived BioShock and Tony Hawk
Blind Squirrel built their reputation on high-fidelity remasters — BioShock: The Collection, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands support. If the project requires taking an existing title and making it technically excellent on new hardware without losing what made the original work, this is their specific competency. A strong fit for publishers with catalogue IP that needs modernizing rather than rebuilding.
4. Amber Studio — Eastern Europe's Quiet Co-Dev Infrastructure
Bucharest-based, with a broad capability set across art production, co-development, and QA for PC and console projects. Amber has shipped across a wide range of published titles and maintains strong timezone overlap with Western European studios. Their service mix covers both art and engineering — a practical option for studios looking to consolidate vendors into one Eastern European partner.
5. Lemon Sky Studios — Asia-Pacific's Environment Art Specialists
Malaysia-based studio with a two-decade track record in environment art and character production for PC and console titles. Lemon Sky is the regional benchmark for high-polycount character and environment work in Southeast Asia. A credible option for studios that want Asia-Pacific production capacity with established console-standard pipelines. Strongest on execution against a locked brief.
6. BKOM Studios — Quebec's Boutique for Mid-Scale Projects
Quebec-based boutique handling art production, co-development, and engineering for mid-size project scopes. BKOM works well when a studio needs responsive execution on shorter timelines without the overhead of a larger engagement. North American timezone, generalist pipeline — a practical fit for specific production phases rather than multi-year partnerships.
7. NeoBards Entertainment — The Taiwan Studio Bridging East and West
NeoBards has built their niche co-developing and porting titles between Japanese publishers and Western platforms — Resident Evil titles among their credits. They understand how to move a production culture between very different regional workflows, which is a specific and undervalued skill. A strong option when the project involves a Japanese IP and requires a co-dev partner fluent in both production contexts.
8. Sperasoft — AAA Technical Art at Scale
Sperasoft has contributed technical art and production support on AAA titles across major publishers, with particular depth in Unreal Engine pipelines. Now operating as part of a larger group, they function as a high-throughput production resource for technically complex projects. Best suited for large studios with established pipelines that need additional technical art capacity at scale.
What to Actually Look for Before You Sign
The pitch decks all sound the same. "We're your partner." "We work embedded." "We treat your game like our own." None of that is provable at the sales call. Here's what is:
Named shipped credits. The title, the publisher, and what they specifically contributed. If they can't say it, the NDA isn't the only reason.
Multi-year partnerships. A two-month engagement that went well proves very little. A studio kept inside the same production for three or four years — that only happens when the work consistently clears the bar.
What they've turned down. Devoted Studios no longer takes standalone animation or VFX projects — because without full production context, iteration loops don't close cleanly. A studio that knows its limits is more trustworthy than one that says yes to everything.
Leadership credits, not just company credits. The studio's portfolio tells you what projects they've been part of. The team's individual credits tell you what standard they were already held to before they arrived.
The honest question at the end of the pitch: What do you do when the brief changes? A task shop restarts from new instructions. A co-development partner was close enough to catch the change before it became a problem.
The studios on this list have verifiable answers to those questions. Start there.
Devoted Studios is a full-cycle co-development and art production partner — engineering, porting, end-to-end art production, and full co-development across PC, console, and mobile. 250+ team, 15 countries, 250+ projects shipped.
