Chucklefish

Independent British video game developer and publisher. Legal entity: Chucklefish Ltd. Headquartered in **London, United Kingdom**. **FOUNDING:** Established in **mid-2011 by Finn Brice** (per chucklefish.org/about: 'When Finn Brice founded Chucklefish in 2011, we were just a handful of first-time developers spread across the globe, with no studio experience or funding, just...'). Self-described as 'an independent games studio founded by Finn Brice and based in London, UK. They develop and publish their own games and...' (per Resetera Q-Era 2019). **OWN-DEVELOPED TITLES (Chucklefish as dev+pub):** Starbound (2016, sandbox sci-fi platformer, ~3M+ copies), Wargroove (2019, turn-based tactics), Wargroove 2 (2023), upcoming Witchbrook (witchbrook.com presskit). **PUBLISHING — INDIE PARTNERSHIPS:** Per witchbrook.com presskit: 'Since 2011, Chucklefish has developed its own games (Starbound and Wargroove 1 & 2) and supported indie developers to realize their own visions' — published Stardew Valley by ConcernedApe (original 2016 publisher, though Stardew is also self-published by ConcernedApe today), Risk of Rain (Hopoo Games, original publisher), Pocket Rumble, Halfway, and other indie titles. Pure-indie hybrid dev+publisher model. MobyGames: 40 'Published by' credits across both self-developed and indie-partner publishing. Independent — no parent corporation. Moby record: 'Chucklefish Ltd.' 2026 UPDATE: **Witchbrook** — magical-school life-sim RPG — remains the flagship in-house title, still aiming for a **2026 release** on PC/Nintendo Switch/Xbox Series X (per Gamereactor listing and community tracking of official statements); development inspired by Studio Ghibli and Google Street View (per Gamereactor interview); **Starbound marked its tenth anniversary in July 2026** (released 2016) with a community-facing update; official self-description re-confirmed: 'independent games developer and publisher based in London, UK, with a love of charming pixel art' (chucklefish.org and Witchbrook presskit); founded 2011 by Finn Brice re-confirmed per en-wiki.

• Type: Publisher · Buyer
• Headquarters: United Kingdom
• Data updated: 5 Nov 2026

Key facts

• According to Games Atlas analysis of shipped-game credits, Chucklefish published or developed 12 games released 2015–2024 (+2 as distributor or contractor).
• Games Atlas data shows 7 of 8 Chucklefish titles with known production credits (88%) used external service partners.
• The most frequent external partner on Chucklefish titles is Riotloc (4 shared credits, 2019–2023).
• Games Atlas tracked 1 news stories about Chucklefish in the last 24 months.

What Chucklefish outsources and how open it is to new partners

The verdict rates how hard it is for a new vendor to win work in each discipline, from how much work goes outside, how concentrated it is among incumbents, and how often new partners entered in the last three years.

• Publishing: Not enough data: fewer than 5 outsourced games. 4 of 12 credited titles used external partners (33%); 7 external partners, largest Kakehashi Games (14% of outsourced volume); 0 outsourced and 0 new partners since 2023. Confidence: low.
• QA and testing services: Moderate barrier: open to newcomers, few slots. 6 of 6 credited titles used external partners (100%); 5 external partners, largest GlobalStep (38% of outsourced volume); 2 outsourced and 1 new partners since 2023. Confidence: low.
• Localisation services: Moderate barrier: open to newcomers, few slots. 5 of 5 credited titles used external partners (100%); 7 external partners, largest Riotloc (33% of outsourced volume); 2 outsourced and 3 new partners since 2023. Confidence: low.
• Audio design and production services: Not enough data: fewer than 5 outsourced games. 4 of 4 credited titles used external partners (100%); 4 external partners, largest Side UK (25% of outsourced volume); 1 outsourced and 1 new partners since 2023. Confidence: low.
• Lead & co-development: Not enough data: fewer than 5 outsourced games. 1 of 3 credited titles used external partners (33%); 1 external partners, largest Robotality UG (100% of outsourced volume); 1 outsourced and 1 new partners since 2023. Confidence: low.

External partners proven by shipped credits

• Riotloc — Localisation services, 4 shared credits, 2019–2023
• Kakehashi Games — Localisation services, Publishing, 3 shared credits, 2021–2023
• GlobalStep — QA and testing services, 3 shared credits, 2016–2019
• Hyper Luminal Games — QA and testing services, 2 shared credits, 2023–2023
• NetEase — Localisation services, Marketing and consulting services, 2 shared credits, 2023–2023
• Pixpil — Lead & co-development, 2 shared credits, 2021–2024
• Oizumi Amuzio — Publishing, 2 shared credits, 2016–2017
• Cardboard Sword — Lead & co-development, 1 shared credits, 2025–2025
• Robust Games — Lead & co-development, 1 shared credits, 2024–2024
• The Honest Videogame Company — Marketing and consulting services, 1 shared credits, 2023–2023
• Robotality UG — Lead & co-development, 1 shared credits, 2023–2023
• Bada Games — Localisation services, 1 shared credits, 2023–2023
• Deadpan Games — Lead & co-development, 1 shared credits, 2023–2023
• Souviens Ten-Zan — collaboration, 1 shared credits, 2021–2021
• Side International UK — QA and testing services, 1 shared credits, 2021–2021
• iam8bit — Publishing, 1 shared credits, 2021–2021
• Quiet Siberia — Audio design and production services, 1 shared credits, 2019–2019
• Hidden Layer Games — Lead & co-development, 1 shared credits, 2019–2019
• Line Animation, The — Trailers, cinematics and cut-scenes Production services, 1 shared credits, 2019–2019
• Lollipop Robot — QA and testing services, 1 shared credits, 2019–2019
• BlitWorks (Larian Studios Spain) — Porting services, 1 shared credits, 2019–2019
• Lunar Ray Games — Lead & co-development, 1 shared credits, 2018–2018
• DANGEN Entertainment — Publishing, 1 shared credits, 2018–2018
• Silverstring Media — Storytelling and narrative services, 1 shared credits, 2018–2018
• Power Up Audio — Audio design and production services, 1 shared credits, 2018–2018
• Coldrice Games — Lead & co-development, 1 shared credits, 2015–2015
• ConcernedApe LLC — Lead & co-development, Publishing, 1 shared credits, 2016–2016
• Localize Direct — Localisation services, 1 shared credits, 2016–2016
• PLAION — Publishing, 1 shared credits, 2025–2025
• Shloc — Localisation services, 1 shared credits, 2023–2023

Latest related news

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Methodology

Source: Games Atlas (gamesatlas.app), based on MobyGames production credits for games released from 2015 onwards and Games Atlas analysis. One game counts once regardless of platforms or editions. Games Atlas does not estimate revenue or report the performance of individual games. Profile: https://gamesatlas.app/companies/chucklefish