Draft:Third Kind Games
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|  |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Leamington Spa, England |
Number of locations | 3 (United Kingdom, Poland, Spain) |
| Key people | Graham Watson (CTO), Tim Dunn (CPO), Darren Bowen (COO), Rav Tharanee (CSO) |
Number of employees | 140+ |
| Parent | Virtuos |
| Divisions | Third Kind Games Poland; Third Kind Games Spain |
| Website | thirdkindgames.com |
Third Kind Games is a British video game developer based in Leamington Spa, England. Founded in 2016 by nine former members of FreeStyleGames, the company operates as a co-development partner for other studios and publishers, with full development capabilities. The studio has additional remote-first offices in Poland and Spain. In August 2024, Third Kind Games was acquired by Virtuos, becoming the company's first subsidiary based in the United Kingdom..[1]
History
[edit]Third Kind Games was founded in 2016 by nine former senior developers from FreeStyleGames, a UK-based studio known for the DJ Hero series and Guitar Hero Live.[2] Early on, the studio quickly picked up co-development and technical support services for external game developers and publishers, with notable partners including Amazon and Playground Games. In 2022, Third Kind Games expanded by launching remote-first studios in Poland and Spain.
The studio has also undertaken full-development projects, including Blankos Block Party with Mythical Games. More recently, Third Kind Games served as the lead developer of MAVRIX by Matt Jones, an open-world mountain biking game developed in collaboration with professional Red Bull athlete Matt Jones and published by Cascade Interactive. MAVRIX entered early access on Steam and the Epic Games Store in July 2025[3], and launched on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in January 2026[4]
In August 2024, Virtuos, a Singapore-based external development company, announced the acquisition of Third Kind Games. The acquisition marked Virtuos's first entry into the United Kingdom games market[5]. Following the acquisition, the nine co-founders continued to lead the studio, which announced plans to double its headcount within two years.
Projects
[edit]Third Kind Games has worked on a range of titles spanning co-development partnerships and full development. Co-development credits include Hearthstone, Forza Horizon 4, Sea of Thieves, Fable, and Predecessor. The studio is also a co-development partner on Stage Tour, an upcoming rhythm game published by RedOctane Games, alongside co-developer Eidos-Montréal.[6] Full-development projects include Blankos Block Party in partnership with Mythical Games and the studio's first entirely self-developed title, MAVRIX by Matt Jones.
Blankos Block Party (2022)
[edit]The studio served as lead developer on Blankos Block Party, a free-to-play multiplayer game developed in partnership with Mythical Games. The game launched globally on 28 September 2022 and was notable for being the first web3 title released on the Epic Games Store, utilising the EOSIO blockchain platform.[7]
Hearthstone (2022)
[edit]Hearthstone is a free-to-play digital collectible card game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment, first released in March 2014. As of November 2018, Blizzard reported more than 100 million players worldwide. In 2022, Blizzard engaged Third Kind Games to work on several areas of the game.[8]
Sea of Thieves (2023-2024)
[edit]Sea of Thieves is a pirate-themed action-adventure game developed by Rare and published by Xbox Game Studios, originally released in 2018. The game has attracted over 40 million players and continues to receive updates as a live service title.[9] Third Kind Games joined the project in 2023 to support the PlayStation 5 port of Sea of Thieves.[10] The game had been exclusive to Xbox and PC platforms for the first six years of its release; the PS5 version was announced in February 2024 and released globally on 30 April 2024.
MAVRIX by Matt Jones (2025)
[edit]Third Kind Games' first fully self-developed original title is MAVRIX by Matt Jones, an open-world mountain biking game published by Cascade Interactive. Created in collaboration with professional Red Bull mountain bike athlete Matt Jones[11], the game entered early access on Steam and the Epic Games Store in July 2025 before launching on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in January 2026, with a full release across all platforms in July 2026.
Games
[edit]| Year | Title | Platform | Publisher | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Forza Horizon 4 | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox X/S | Microsoft Studios | Co-developer |
| 2022 | Blankos Block Party | Microsoft Windows, macOS | Mythical Games | Lead Developer |
| 2022 | Hearthstone | Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Blizzard Entertainment | Co-developer |
| 2024 | Sea of Thieves | PlayStation 5 | Xbox Game Studios | Co-developer (PS5 port) |
| 2024 | Predecessor | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Omeda Studios | Co-developer |
| 2025 | MAVRIX by Matt Jones | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | Cascade Interactive | Developer |
| TBA | Stage Tour | Microsoft Windows, consoles (TBA) | RedOctane Games | Co-developer |
References
[edit]- ↑ Virtuos. "Virtuos expands into the UK with acquisition of Third Kind Games". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ "Content Fund Company Profile: Third Kind Games". UK Games Fund. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ "MAVRIX by Matt Jones on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ johns (2026-01-23). "Why Pro MTB Athlete Matt Jones Set Out to Create an Authentic Open-World MTB Game". XBOX Wire. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ "Virtuos acquires co-developer Third Kind Studios". Game Developer. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (2026-06-07). "Stage Tour 'Developer Spotlight' trailer, latest details". Gematsu. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ Takahashi, Dean (2022-09-15). "Mythical Games launches Web3 title Blankos Block Party on the Epic Games Store". GamesBeat. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ "Klobrille (@klobrille) on X". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ "Virtuos acquires co-developer Third Kind Studios". Game Developer. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ "Online Industry Insight: Focus on games with Ubisoft and Third Kind Games". Games Careers Week. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ "Matt Jones". YouTube. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
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