Disbelief
Disbelief is a privately-held US game development services studio founded in 2014, providing embedded co-development, console porting, performance optimization, and procedural content tooling to AAA and mid-tier game studios, with deep specialization in Unreal Engine across consoles, PC, VR, and Mac.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersCambridge, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Disbelief does
Disbelief is a privately-held US game development services studio founded in 2014 and organized as Disbelief, LLC, operating from offices in Boston, MA (headquarters) and Chicago, IL. Rather than publishing its own titles, the firm sells embedded co-development, porting, remastering, and performance optimization services to game studios and publishers, with a stated specialization of 25+ years in Unreal Engine and 10+ years on Epic Games' Technical Advisory Board. The founding team — Steve Ellmore (President) and Steve Anichini (CTO) — along with several senior leaders came from the Core Technology Team of BioShock Infinite at Irrational Games and from Midway Chicago, anchoring a roster of 11–50 employees with multi-generational console shipping experience.
The company's service portfolio spans seven core offerings: Console and PC Game Development, Ports & Remasters (including Mac SKUs and VR), Procedural Content Tools (roads, weather, foliage, lighting, FX, runtime level generation, DCC tools), VR/AR Development, Multiplatform Cross-Play, UI/UX Development, and Performance & Quality Optimization. Notable technical achievements include getting Unreal Engine 3 (which has no native VR support) running on PSVR for Borderlands 2 VR, nativizing Blueprints to cut memory in Marvel's Deadpool VR, and delivering procedural world-building and a cloudscape system for Borderlands 4.
Disbelief operates a pure professional services / contracting revenue model, with quote-based pricing tailored to each engagement and no publicly disclosed rates or productized subscription revenue. It targets enterprise buyers — specifically AAA and mid-tier video game studios and publishers requiring technical co-development support, console porting, cross-platform first-party compliance, and VR adaptation — and distributes through direct sales (founder-led historically, now increasingly via a CRO function), GDC-level industry networking, and a portfolio website. The GTM motion is enterprise field sales: Disbelief engineers are either virtually embedded in client teams or work autonomously on carved-out tasks, with project-based contract economics. Twenty-plus publicly credited projects include Borderlands 2/3/4, the Gears of War post-2016 franchise, Minecraft (Vibrant Visuals), Marvel's Deadpool VR, Pacific Drive, and Jackbox Party Packs.
Disbelief firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Disbelief
- Legal name
- Disbelief, LLC
- Website
- https://disbelief.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Disbelief is a privately-held US game development services studio founded in 2014, providing embedded co-development, console porting, performance optimization, and procedural content tooling to AAA and mid-tier game studios, with deep specialization in Unreal Engine across consoles, PC, VR, and Mac.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Disbelief is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Disbelief business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Contracting and Consulting Services: Disbelief offers contracting and consulting services targeted for client needs. Expert team develops and ships titles on Console, PC, VR, and Macs. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting engagements where they are virtually embedded in client teams or work autonomously on carved-out tasks.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Disbelief product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Disbelief provides B2B contracting and consulting services to video game studios and publishers, offering co-development, console/PC/VR porting, game remastering, performance optimization, procedural content tooling, UI/UX development, and Unreal Engine technical advisory. Engineers are either virtually embedded in client teams or work autonomously on carved-out tasks to ship titles across Console, PC, VR, and Mac platforms.
Product overview
Disbelief is a technology-focused game development studio providing contracting and consulting services. Rather than a single unified product, the company offers a portfolio of specialized technical services including Ports & Remasters, Procedural Content Tools, UI/UX Development, VR/AR Development, Multiplatform Cross-Play, Performance & Quality optimization, and Unreal Development. These services work together as an embedded or autonomous extension of client development teams, helping ship games on Console, PC, VR, and Mac platforms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Ports & Remasters
- Procedural Content Tools
- UI/UX Development
- VR/AR Development
- Multiplatform Cross-Play
- Performance & Quality Optimization
- Unreal Engine Co-Development and Technical Advisory
Quantifiable outcome
- Highest-rated console ports delivered
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Disbelief
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Disbelief technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Disbelief partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Twisted Pixel GamescoreCo-development partner for Marvel's Deadpool VR. Disbelief provided co-development resources including gameplay performance optimization, Blueprint nativization, memory improvements, and feature support. The game was developed exclusively for Meta Quest 3/3S.
- Gearbox SoftwarecoreLong-standing co-development partner working on multiple Borderlands titles. Collaborated on Borderlands 4 including procedural world building, cloudscape systems, procedural authoring tools, and engine enhancements. Also provided optimization and feature support for Borderlands 3, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, and Borderlands 2 VR.
- The Coalition StudiocoreCo-development partner for Gears of War franchise. Worked on Gears of War 4 (co-op networking, load time optimizations), Gears 5 (major rendering features, engine optimizations), Gears Tactics (rendering features, optimizations), Gears of War Ultimate Edition, and Gears of War: Reloaded.
- MojangminorCo-developed the Vibrant Visuals feature in Minecraft.
- Ironwood StudiosminorAssisted in shipping Pacific Drive on PS5 & PC by providing tech art and programming support including vehicle effects, performance improvements, and bugfixing.
- Jackbox GamesminorPorted Jackbox's renderer to PS5 and provided support for Android renderer across multiple Party Pack titles.
- ProletariatminorExtensive work on SpellBreak Xbox and PS4 console versions from start to finish.
- Deep End GamesminorPorted Perception to PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
- AspyrminorPorted Torn to PS4/PSVR with optimizations for this award-nominated VR title.
- Meta (Oculus)minorProvided optimizations, bug fixes, and productized user interface for Oculus Dreamdeck VR experience.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Disbelief competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- High Voltage Software: Veteran multi-generational console co-development and porting studio with deep publisher relationships and full-game development history. Overlaps with Disbelief on portable/multi-platform work and long-tenured AAA service delivery.
- Certain Affinity: Austin-based co-development and support studio that contributes content, systems, and engineering to major shooter franchises (Halo, DOOM, Call of Duty). Comparable as a deeply embedded senior engineering services partner for AAA publishers.
- Aspyr Media: Specialist in porting and remastering AAA titles to Mac, Linux, consoles, and VR; a current Disbelief customer (Torn PS4/PSVR). Highly comparable on console/VR porting services and publisher-facing contracting model.
- Phosphor Games Studio: Chicago-based Unreal-focused studio developing original and co-development titles, including VR experience. Comparable as a small, technically specialized Unreal shop that ships cross-platform games and VR content for publishers.
- Saber Interactive: Large-scale co-development and porting studio known for Switch, Xbox Series, and PS5 ports as well as full co-development on major franchises (Halo, NBA Playgrounds, World War Z). Mirrors Disbelief's emphasis on multi-platform ports and major-publisher co-development engagements.
- Iron Galaxy Studios: Long-running multi-gen porting and co-development studio that co-shipped Borderlands: The Handsome Collection with Disbelief and works with many of the same AAA publishers. Directly comparable on Unreal Engine services, ports/remasters, and embedded co-development.
- Bluepoint Games: Elite remakes/remasters studio (Shadow of the Colossus, Demon's Souls) now part of Sony PlayStation Studios. Most direct comparison on remaster expertise and AAA-portfolio depth, though at much larger scale.
Broad incumbents
- Keywords Studios: Publicly listed global games services conglomerate covering engineering, art, QA, localization, and player support. Adjacent competitor for engineering co-development mandates and a likely consolidator of smaller specialists like Disbelief.
- Virtuos Games: Global-scale co-development and art/engineering outsourcing firm with thousands of staff across studios. Competes with Disbelief for AAA co-development and porting mandates but at materially larger scale and broader service menu.
- Sumo Digital: UK-based multi-studio co-development group (now Tencent-owned) delivering work-for-hire engineering on AAA titles. Overlaps with Disbelief on embedded engineering services for major publishers at significantly larger scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Disbelief social profiles
Digital presenceDisbelief financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Disbelief leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Disbelief funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Disbelief 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 Disbelief
What does Disbelief do?
Disbelief provides B2B contracting and consulting services to video game studios and publishers, offering co-development, console/PC/VR porting, game remastering, performance optimization, procedural content tooling, UI/UX development, and Unreal Engine technical advisory. Engineers are either virtually embedded in client teams or work autonomously on carved-out tasks to ship titles across Console, PC, VR, and Mac platforms.
Is Disbelief a public or private company?
Disbelief is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Disbelief founded?
Disbelief was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Disbelief based?
Disbelief is headquartered in Cambridge, United States, in the North America region.
How does Disbelief make money?
One revenue line is on record: contracting and Consulting Services.
Who are Disbelief's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are High Voltage Software, Certain Affinity, Aspyr Media, Phosphor Games Studio, Saber Interactive, Iron Galaxy Studios and Bluepoint Games. Broad incumbents are Keywords Studios, Virtuos Games and Sumo Digital.
Does Disbelief have an API?
No public API is recorded for Disbelief.