Machinations

What Machinations does

Machinations is a browser-based collaborative platform that enables game studios and systems designers to design, simulate, and predict the behavior of complex game economies and feedback systems without writing code. The product is organized around four core modules — Design (visual playable diagrams), Predict (Monte Carlo simulations), AI Balancer (Bayesian Optimization for parameter tuning), and Integrate (spreadsheet connectivity) — supplemented by AI Builder (text-to-diagram generative AI), a Unity3D plugin with real-time 2-way sync, the Tokenomics Design Module for Web3 economies, and a LiveOps Framework for post-launch game management. Underlying technology is a proprietary visual framework rooted in Joris Dormans's 2012 PhD research, deployed as a SaaS application with browser-native, no-install access and ISO 27001 / GDPR-compliant infrastructure.

The company monetizes via tiered per-seat subscriptions: a free Community plan (50K events/user/month, public diagrams), a $20/month Starter plan (private accounts, 200K events/user/month), and a $200/month Pro plan (4M events/user/month, SSO, team management, live video support), with annual billing offering 3 months free and usage-based event top-ups. Go-to-market combines product-led growth (self-serve freemium with 73,392 designer profiles and 71,559 public diagrams as a community-led acquisition funnel), enterprise field sales to game studios, and an Academia Program with LinkedIn certifications across 700+ institutions including MIT, NYU, USC, and UC Berkeley. Named enterprise customers include Amazon Games, Animoca Brands, Zynga, Hasbro Gaming, Wooga, FunCom, Behaviour Interactive, Big Fish Games, and Chess.com, alongside Web3 customer TAU Labs. Revenue is supplemented by an affiliate program (up to 15% recurring commission) and a Certified Partners program.

Machinations is incorporated as Machinations S.àr.l in Luxembourg, was founded by Mihai Gheza, Dana Gheza, Radu Craciun, Alin Moldovan, and Joris Dormans, and is backed by Hiro Capital (Series A, 2022), GapMinder (seed, 2020), Seedcamp (pre-seed, 2019), Sony, and the Fit4Start Accelerator (grant, 2018). The company positions itself as the standard for game economy modeling across gaming, iGaming, Web3, and adjacent industries (Finance, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Energy, Healthcare, Marketing, E-commerce).

Name

Machinations

Legal name

Machinations S.àr.l

Website

https://machinations.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Machinations is a browser-based SaaS platform that lets game studios and systems designers visually design, simulate, and predict complex game economies and feedback systems using no-code diagrams, Monte Carlo simulations, and AI-powered parameter optimization. It serves gaming, iGaming, Web3, and academic customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Game Economy Modeling Platform

akta.pro primary industry

Game UI/UX, Scripting & Visual Authoring Tools (MPAFAFAK)

Keywords

• Game economy design
• System simulation software
• Monte carlo simulation
• Tokenomics design platform
• Game prototyping tool

Headquarters

HQ city

Mamer

HQ country

Luxembourg

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription - Community (Freemium): Free forever plan offering public diagram creation with 50K events/user/month, 1x single-thread simulation performance, and AI Balancer Starter. Generates community engagement and top-of-funnel conversion.
2. Subscription - Starter Plan: $20/month/user, private accounts, 200K events/user/month, 5x multi-thread simulation, AI Balancer, human chat support (max 3 work days response time). Tiered per seat with volume events shared across team members.
3. Subscription - Pro Plan: $200/month/user, private accounts, 4M events/user/month, 20x multi-thread simulation, AI Balancer, human chat support (max 1 work day), live video support (1h/month), team management, SSO authentication.
4. Event Top-up Purchases: Usage-based top-up events for exceeding monthly allocations. $0.00020/event (Community), $0.00016/event (Starter), $0.00010/event (Pro). Volume discounts available. Top-up events never expire.
5. Affiliate Commission: Partners earn up to 15% commission for every successful referral that signs up and pays for a subscription through their affiliate link.
6. Academia Program: Free plan for academic institutions (teachers, researchers, students) in exchange for adoption and certification pipeline. Custom plans tailored to needs, budget, and educational goals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Machinations is a browser-based collaborative platform that enables game designers and systems designers to visually create, simulate, and predict the behavior of complex systems and game economies. It provides no-code tools for diagramming interactive system models, running Monte Carlo simulations, AI-powered parameter balancing, and integrating spreadsheets for live data ingestion, primarily serving game studios and Web3 enterprises.

Product overview

Machinations is a browser-based game design platform that provides a unified system for designing, simulating, and predicting game economies and complex systems. The core product consists of four integrated modules: Design (visual system diagramming), Predict (Monte Carlo simulations), AI Balancer (Bayesian Optimization for parameter tuning), and Integrate (spreadsheet connectivity). The platform is supplemented by AI Builder for generative diagram creation, the Unity3D Plugin for real-time 2-way sync with game engines, and a Community Platform hosting 71.6k public diagrams. Pricing tiers include Free, Starter ($20/month), and Pro ($200/month) plans. The platform serves diverse industries including Games, iGaming, Financial, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Energy, Healthcare, Marketing, and E-commerce, with specialized solutions for Tokenomics Design and an Academia Program for educational institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Design Module Visual system design module for creating playable diagrams representing complex systems and game economies. Enables feedback loop and resource flow visualization without coding.
• Predict Module

Quantifiable outcome

• 34% less time spent in preproduction for game studios using Machinations predictive simulations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MITcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMassachusetts Institute of Technology uses Machinations for academic research and teaching of game design and systems thinking. Listed as a university partner in the Academia Program.
• NYU (New York University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYU uses Machinations for academic teaching and research in game design programs. Listed as a university partner in the Academia Program.
• USC (University of Southern California)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Southern California uses Machinations for game design education and research. Listed as a university partner in the Academia Program.
• UC BerkeleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of California, Berkeley uses Machinations for academic teaching. Listed as a university partner in the Academia Program.
• Academic Institutions Network (700+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 700 academic institutions worldwide use Machinations in classroom teaching and research. Includes London Metropolitan, Osaka University, SMU, Isart Digital, SAE Institute, University of Montreal, Columbia, Cornell, Breda University, RIT, PUCPR, and others.
• Prof. Edward CastronovacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProf. Edward Castronova, inventor of the virtual economics field, teamed up with Machinations in 2022 to define 'The Machinations Manifesto For Building Sustainable Game Economies – The Design Pillars'.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• GameAnalytics: Game-focused analytics platform tracking player behavior, retention, and in-game economy metrics across mobile and PC games. Closely related gaming-economy insight tool frequently co-used with Machinations in the same LiveOps pipelines; co-founder Dana Gheza came from GameAnalytics.

Direct peers

• AnyLogic: Multi-method simulation platform supporting agent-based, discrete-event, and system dynamics modeling. The closest direct competitor to Machinations in the visual simulation space; Machinations maintains a dedicated 'AnyLogic vs. Machinations' comparison page, indicating overlapping enterprise and academic customer bases.
• Ventity (isee systems): System dynamics platform targeting business strategy and sustainable-system modeling. Direct peer in visual system modeling, explicitly listed by Machinations as a comparison competitor.
• Simul8: Discrete-event simulation platform used across manufacturing, healthcare, and process optimization. Direct competitor in the simulation-software category with which Machinations maintains a public comparison page.
• Simile: System dynamics modeling tool with both visual and scripted interfaces. Direct competitor in the same feedback-loop modeling niche, also called out explicitly by Machinations in its competitive comparison pages.
• Vensim (Ventana Systems): Long-established system dynamics modeling software for feedback-loop analysis in business and research. Direct competitor in the same visual feedback-loop modeling category, with a larger installed base and longer enterprise references.
• GoldSim: Probabilistic simulation software for engineering and environmental systems modeling. Direct peer in the visual simulation market; Machinations runs a 'GoldSim vs. Machinations' comparison, signaling overlapping technical and customer narratives.
• Stella Architect (isee systems): Pioneering system dynamics tool used in policy, business, and academic modeling. Machinations explicitly compares against Stella Architect, sharing the same no-code visual-diagramming paradigm and academic/education positioning.

Regional players

• GameMaker (Opera / GameMaker Studio): Widely-used 2D game development platform with strong indie and education penetration. Adjacent game-design authoring tool rather than system-dynamics competitor, but competes for the same designer-tooling budget and academic-adoption channels at universities such as those in Machinations' academic program.

Broad incumbents

• Unity (Unity Technologies): Dominant game engine and development platform with embedded analytics and LiveOps tooling. Unity is a broad incumbent in Machinations' primary gaming vertical and increasingly bundling economy/analytics capabilities that compete with Machinations' Unity3D Plugin.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/machinationsio
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCnui50w5BC_P7pfrF0XwoKg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/machinations-io/mycompany

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors9 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Machinations