Keywords Studios merges seven agencies into FreeAnimal, pitching single-contract procurement
Summary
Keywords Studios merged seven creative agencies, Gnet, Ichi, KWM, Maverick, TrailerFarm, Big Farmer and Fire Without Smoke, into one global agency, FreeAnimal.
One point of contact now replaces seven vendor relationships across Los Angeles, London, Brighton, Montreal and Quebec City.
Publishers can cover boutique campaign work and global-scale execution under a single contract.
"It made a lot of sense to be able to harness all of that creative energy and talent into a single entity, as opposed to having it as small individual entities"
01
Consolidation converts fragmented boutiques into one commercial relationship
Rosenberg ran Gnet before Keywords acquired it in 2020.
The pitch to publishers is procurement simplicity: one contract replaces seven agency relationships.
"You would be able to get that creative powerhouse from all these companies that have been around for upwards of 25 years, and then service the market in a way that no one else really can"
02
FreeAnimal claims cross-tier servicing from one network
The combined agency covers studios in Los Angeles, London, Brighton, Montreal and Quebec City, with hundreds of staff.
"You can go to the biggest game publishers, and give them exactly what they need. You can go to those who are self-publishing and need the full gamut of your go-to-market expertise"
Rosenberg says the model spans a game's full lifecycle, from pre-vertical-slice concept to last-minute launch campaigns.
03
The single-entity model is prospective, not retroactive
Existing client contracts stay with the original agency brand; only new projects draw on FreeAnimal.
Publishers with running campaigns under Gnet or TrailerFarm keep those brands and terms until new work is commissioned.
The bespoke-team pitch depends on integrating seven firms that, per Rosenberg, previously "had their own cultures and clients."
No timeline or success metric for that integration was disclosed.
04
Keywords has run this consolidation template before
Earlier in 2025 Keywords merged PR firms Fortyseven Communications and Indigo Pearl into one unit.
That gives Keywords two multi-agency consolidations this year, both replacing several boutiques with one entity.
Keywords has acquired more than 70 companies since 2014, across audio, art, localization, QA, engineering and marketing.
That acquisition base positions other service lines for similar single-brand consolidation.
What this means
For Publishers & Developers: Weigh whether single-vendor simplicity offsets losing leverage across competing boutique bids in future RFPs.
For Service Vendors: Keywords' repeated rollups signal margin pressure on standalone gaming creative agencies.
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