Named credits only. No pitch decks. No portfolio pages.
The co-development market is noisy. Every studio claims AAA experience, flexible teams, and seamless integration. Very few can name the game, the engine, the platform, and the year. That gap — between what a studio claims and what it can prove — is where projects get into trouble.
In 2026, game co-development has shifted from "nice to have" to structural. Studios like Obsidian, Embark, Dreamhaven, and Steel Wool ship titles they couldn't build alone — not because their teams lack talent, but because co-development partners handle production volume, platform complexity, and specialist disciplines that would otherwise stall a release. The question isn't whether to bring in a partner. It's which one can actually do the work.
This list focuses on studios with verifiable shipped credits — named games, named roles, named platforms. No generics.
4 Years, 2 Obsidian Games, 0 Missed Milestones
Devoted Studios is a US-headquartered game development and art production partner with 250+ core team members across 15+ countries. Founded in 2018, the studio has shipped 250+ projects across co-development, porting, engineering, and end-to-end art production.
The leadership team brings direct AAA experience into every engagement. Studio Art Director Ryan Lastimosa is a Respawn Entertainment veteran — Apex Legends, Titanfall, Call of Duty 4. Executive Creative Director Jason Millena has credits on Game of Thrones: Beyond the Wall, Jurassic World: Primal Ops, The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth, and RuneScape. CTO Flavius Alecu brings a technical background spanning Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA V, and PS5 platform work.
Selected co-development credits:
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Avowed (Obsidian Entertainment) — A 4-year partnership covering end-to-end environment art production and 3D character creation on Unreal Engine for PC and Xbox. The longest continuous engagement in DS history, running across multiple production phases.
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The Outer Worlds 2 (Obsidian Entertainment) — In-game and cinematic lighting, 3D character creation. Shipped October 2025 on Unreal Engine for PC and Xbox.
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Arc Raiders (Embark Studios) — Co-development including UI engineering, gameplay features, and performance optimization on Unreal Engine across PS, PC, and Xbox.
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FNAF: Secret of the Mimic (Steel Wool Studios) — Co-development, porting, UI engineering, gameplay engineering, 3D tech art, and art production on Unreal Engine across PS, Xbox, Switch, and PC.
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Sunderfolk (Dreamhaven) — Co-development, porting, technical art, platform certification, engineering, and UI integration on Unity across PS, Xbox, and Switch.
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Palia (Singularity 6) — Co-development covering engineering, tools and UI, and meta-game features on Unreal Engine across PC, Switch, PS, and Xbox.
"Devoted has been an absolute force multiplier for our development needs. They're communicative, transparent, and always deliver on their commitments. Devoted cares about the quality of what's being shipped just as much as we do – which has led to a deep trust on our side."
— Ray McCaffrey, Chief Development Officer, Steel Wool Studios
Devoted Studios is best suited for studios that need a long-term embedded partner — one that owns milestones, integrates into existing pipelines, and scales across disciplines without requiring constant direction.
The Studios That Own a Lane — and Stay In It
Not every project needs a full-service co-dev partner. Some productions need a specialist in a narrow, high-stakes discipline. The studios below have carved out credible positions in specific service areas — and deliver well within those lanes.
Blind Squirrel Games (US) focuses on AAA co-development, remasters, and live service support. Credits include Bioshock: The Collection and Borderlands 3 expansion work. Strong fit for remaster projects or studios that need embedded engineering support with North American time zone alignment.
Iron Galaxy Studios (US) specializes in game porting and live operations, with credits on Killer Instinct and Doom Eternal. Well-suited for studios handling platform certification complexity or needing a porting team with deep console expertise.
Lemon Sky Studios (Malaysia) delivers high-end 3D game art with credits on Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Street Fighter 6. A strong choice for art production volume — environments, characters, cinematic assets — where visual fidelity is the primary requirement.
Moonmana (Europe/Ukraine) handles full-cycle development and has experience on both the production and publishing side of game development. Their dual background gives them practical insight into live game lifecycles. Best for mid-sized projects needing development continuity through post-launch.
iLogos Game Studios (Europe) focuses on mobile co-development, porting, and live service support. A reliable option for studios extending a title to mobile or maintaining content cadence on existing live games.
What "Co-Development" Actually Means — and What It Doesn't
The term gets used to describe everything from a 5-person art task team to a 100-person embedded production unit. That ambiguity creates real problems during scoping — and during production.
Genuine co-development means the external team shares ownership of the outcome, not just the workload. They attend milestone reviews. They flag risks before they become delays. They understand the game's production context well enough to make decisions without being managed at the task level.
What it isn't: a body shop with a co-dev label. Studios that operate in pure output mode — receive brief, deliver asset, wait for next brief — can be useful for volume work, but they're not co-development partners. The distinction matters most under pressure: when the scope shifts, the timeline compresses, or a platform requirement changes mid-production.
The clearest signal of a genuine co-dev partner is longevity. Multi-year engagements don't happen by accident. They happen because the partner integrated, adapted, and kept delivering when things got complicated.
Devoted Studios' 4-year Avowed partnership with Obsidian Entertainment — spanning multiple production phases across environment art and character creation — is the kind of engagement that only works when the external team operates as an extension of the internal one, not as a separate vendor.
The Porting Question Everyone Asks Too Late
Most studios think about porting after the core game is done. That's usually the wrong time to start.
Platform certification — particularly for Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox — has technical requirements that are significantly easier to meet when they're considered during production, not retrofitted afterward. Memory constraints, input handling, performance budgets, and platform-specific UI all create rework when they're treated as post-launch problems.
Devoted Studios ported Risk of Rain 2 (Gearbox Software) to 5 platforms simultaneously — Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation — achieving first-submission certification and handling network integration and DLC support across all versions. That outcome doesn't happen by starting at the end of the production cycle.
For studios evaluating porting partners, the right question isn't "can you port our game?" It's "when do you need to be embedded for the port to ship clean?"
How to Pick the Right Co-Dev Partner for Your Project
The evaluation process matters more than most studios acknowledge. A wrong fit discovered at month three costs more than a careful selection process at month zero.
Start with credits, not claims. Any studio worth talking to should be able to name the game, describe their role, and tell you the platform and engine. Vague portfolio pages with "AAA experience" and no titles are a signal worth noting.
Match the engagement model to your production structure. Some studios work best on defined deliverable scopes — X assets by Y date. Others integrate into your sprint cadence, attend stand-ups, and own a section of the project. Know which one your production needs before you start the conversation.
Ask about their longest engagement. Short-term projects are easier to deliver well. Multi-year partnerships require a different level of operational alignment — communication rhythms, escalation paths, scope change management, and production culture compatibility. The answer tells you something real.
Check platform certification history. For any project that ships on console, first-submission certification rates matter. Studios that routinely require multiple certification submissions add time and cost to every porting cycle. Ask directly.
Evaluate communication before you sign. The responsiveness, clarity, and specificity of a studio's communication during the evaluation phase usually predicts their communication during production. Slow, vague, or over-promising during the pitch is a data point.
"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."
— Chris Naves, Lead Art Outsourcing Manager, Obsidian Entertainment
The List Is Shorter Than You Think
The game development co-production market has hundreds of studios and a handful of genuine partners. The difference shows up in the credits — which titles shipped, on which platforms, with which teams, over how long.
In 2026, the studios worth calling are the ones that can answer those questions directly. No pitch decks required.
If you're evaluating co-development partners for an upcoming production on Unreal Engine or Unity, Devoted Studios works across co-development, game porting, end-to-end art production, and engineering — with credits on Avowed, Arc Raiders, FNAF: Secret of the Mimic, Sunderfolk, and Risk of Rain 2.
