Magic Fuel Games
Magic Fuel Games is a small, privately held indie studio in San Leandro developing a single unreleased title — Star Trek: Outposts Unknown — an outpost-builder game licensed from the Star Trek IP and published via Playstack on Steam for consumer PC gamers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersSan Leandro, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Magic Fuel Games does
Magic Fuel Games is a privately held, independent video game development studio founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Leandro, United States. The company operates with a small team (1-10 employees) led by co-founder and CEO Kevin Shrapnell, alongside co-founder and Art Director Chi Chan, Chief Product Officer and founder Kip Katsarelis, and Chief Technology Officer Rajan Tande. The studio is single-product by structure: its entire disclosed pipeline is concentrated on Star Trek: Outposts Unknown, an outpost-builder game set in the Star Trek universe's 23rd-century X'Lehari System, in which players construct research facilities, manage crew morale and assignments, develop officers, and navigate an original narrative alongside the era depicted in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Technically, the company relies on a publishing and distribution partner, Playstack, which manages marketing, social channels, and the game's Steam store listing (app ID 3469910). The core game engine is not specified in available sources. The business model is a one-time premium purchase (one-time license) on Steam targeting consumer PC gamers, with pricing not yet publicly disclosed and a release date listed as 'To be announced.' The studio raised approximately $2.4 million in a February 2016 financing round (investors undisclosed in source data); no subsequent funding, revenue, or customer-acquisition metrics have been disclosed, and the company remains pre-launch and effectively pre-revenue at the time of analysis.
The studio's customer base is a single persona — Star Trek franchise fans who play strategy, builder, and management simulation games — and the entire commercial outcome is tied to the performance of one unreleased title and its licensed IP. Distribution is concentrated on a single channel (Steam), with no disclosed console or mobile plans, and there is no evidence of AI/ML, patents, certifications, awards, or M&A activity. Ownership structure, institutional investors, and current capital position are also undisclosed, representing material data gaps for any investor diligence.
Magic Fuel Games firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Magic Fuel Games
- Website
- https://magicfuelgames.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Magic Fuel Games is a small, privately held indie studio in San Leandro developing a single unreleased title — Star Trek: Outposts Unknown — an outpost-builder game licensed from the Star Trek IP and published via Playstack on Steam for consumer PC gamers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Magic Fuel Games industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Video Games (PC Strategy/Simulation)
- SIC
- Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Virtual Worlds & Social Sandbox Experiences (persistent social spaces) (MPAFAIAG)
Keywords
Where Magic Fuel Games is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Leandro
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Magic Fuel Games business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Game Sales Revenue: Magic Fuel Games develops and sells video games. Star Trek: Outposts Unknown is planned for release on Steam as a premium PC game title, suggesting a one-time purchase revenue model.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Magic Fuel Games product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Magic Fuel Games develops and sells video games. Its core product is Star Trek: Outposts Unknown, an outpost builder game set in the Star Trek universe where players construct research facilities across strange new worlds, explore technology and building trees, and manage crew and officers while navigating an original 23rd-century Star Trek storyline in the X'Lehari System. The game is published by Playstack and distributed on Steam as a premium PC title.
Product overview
Magic Fuel Games develops a single core product: Star Trek: Outposts Unknown, an outpost builder game set in the Star Trek universe. Players construct research facilities across strange new worlds, explore technology trees, manage crew morale and assignments, and navigate an original Star Trek storyline in the 23rd century X'Lehari System while facing a cosmic threat to civilization.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Star Trek: Outposts Unknown An outpost builder video game set in the Star Trek universe where players construct complex research facilities across strange new worlds, explore diverse technology and building trees, lead crews through dangerous encounters, assign tasks and develop officers, and experience an original Star Trek narrative set in the 23rd century X'Lehari System alongside the era depicted in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Targeted at Star Trek fans and PC gamers who enjoy strategy, builder, and management simulation games. Distributed on Steam through publisher Playstack.
Companies that use Magic Fuel Games
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Magic Fuel Games technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Magic Fuel Games partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- PlaystackcorePlaystack serves as the publisher for Star Trek: Outposts Unknown, developed by Magic Fuel Games. Playstack handles the publishing, marketing, and distribution of the game, including maintaining the official game page, social media presence, and Steam store listing.
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Magic Fuel Games competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- 11 bit studios: Developer and publisher of Frostpunk and Frostpunk 2, leading reference title in the colony/survival-builder genre on PC. Closest direct comparable to Magic Fuel Games' outpost-building, crew-management mechanics.
- Haemimont Games: Developer of Surviving Mars, Tropico 6, and Surviving the Aftermath — specialists in base/settlement-building simulation games on PC and consoles. Directly comparable genre, scale, and single-purchase model.
Broad incumbents
- Frontier Developments: Developer/publisher of Elite Dangerous, Planet Coaster, Jurassic World Evolution, and F1 Manager — combines space-themed simulation with builder/management games. Directly adjacent in space-experience themes and management-builder gameplay.
- Paradox Interactive: Publisher of Stellaris, Cities: Skylines, and Surviving Mars — owns the center of gravity in PC management/strategy. Comparable as the publisher of incumbent titles in Magic Fuel's target genre.
- Ubisoft (Anno franchise): Developer/publisher of the Anno series (1800, 2070, 2205) — deep colony/economy-builder franchise. Provides the high-end production-quality benchmark in the base-building genre Magic Fuel targets.
- Klei Entertainment: Developer of Don't Starve, Oxygen Not Included, and Grounded — survival-management specialists on PC/console. Comparable in crew/resource management mechanics and art-driven indie game development.
- Firaxis Games: Developer of Civilization and XCOM franchises — strategy/management depth and crew/assignment mechanics (XCOM) are thematically aligned with Magic Fuel's crew-development gameplay loops.
- Daedalic Entertainment: Publisher and developer of management/strategy PC titles (including Shadow Tactics, Deponia). Comparable as a mid-sized European-headquartered indie publisher/developer competing on Steam.
Others
- Devolver Digital: Independent publisher that built its business on premium indie PC titles on Steam. Comparable ecosystem role to Playstack and indicative of the publisher-tier Magic Fuel Games is positioned against through its Playstack partnership.
- Raw Fury: Independent publisher focused on premium indie titles across management, strategy, and simulation. Comparable as an indie publisher in the same Steam-marketplace ecosystem that Magic Fuel Games' Playstack partnership targets.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Magic Fuel Games social profiles
Digital presenceMagic Fuel Games financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Magic Fuel Games leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Magic Fuel Games funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Magic Fuel Games M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Magic Fuel Games
What does Magic Fuel Games do?
Magic Fuel Games develops and sells video games. Its core product is Star Trek: Outposts Unknown, an outpost builder game set in the Star Trek universe where players construct research facilities across strange new worlds, explore technology and building trees, and manage crew and officers while navigating an original 23rd-century Star Trek storyline in the X'Lehari System. The game is published by Playstack and distributed on Steam as a premium PC title.
Is Magic Fuel Games a public or private company?
Magic Fuel Games is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Magic Fuel Games founded?
Magic Fuel Games was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Magic Fuel Games based?
Magic Fuel Games is headquartered in San Leandro, United States, in the North America region.
How does Magic Fuel Games make money?
One revenue line is on record: game Sales Revenue.
Who are Magic Fuel Games's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are 11 bit studios and Haemimont Games. Broad incumbents are Frontier Developments, Paradox Interactive, Ubisoft (Anno franchise), Klei Entertainment, Firaxis Games and Daedalic Entertainment. Others are Devolver Digital and Raw Fury.
Does Magic Fuel Games have an API?
No public API is recorded for Magic Fuel Games.
What industry is Magic Fuel Games in?
Magic Fuel Games's product category is Video Games (PC Strategy/Simulation). Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAIAG, Virtual Worlds & Social Sandbox Experiences (persistent social spaces). Its SIC code is 3944.