Focus Games

What Focus Games does

Focus Games Ltd is a privately held UK serious game studio founded in 2004, headquartered in Glasgow with a London office. The company designs, develops, and publishes evidence-based game-based learning solutions — physical board games, card games, online games, and facilitated gamified workshops — for healthcare, education, corporate, and government clients. Its portfolio of more than 150 titles covers clinical training domains (Sepsis, Dysphagia, Drug Round, Stroke, Care Certificate, NEWS2), corporate induction and behavior change (McDonald's Welcome Game, Heineken blended learning, Camaraderie, Team Resilience), public sector and policy use cases (Organogame with UK Policy Lab, Rail Disruption Game with RSSB/Chiltern Railways), and humanitarian training (Surgical Shift with Médecins Sans Frontières). Technology blends traditional board game mechanics with tablet-based digital facilitation and browser-based online games; notable architecture is the Rail Disruption Game's hybrid physical/digital format.

Revenue is generated through three streams: one-time sales of ready-made games via the company's e-commerce shop (shop.focusgames.com) and third-party platforms (mynursedegree.com); bespoke custom game development engagements sold directly to enterprise clients via multi-year, quote-based contracts; and professional services including gamified workshops, educational escape rooms, rapid games design workshops, and game publishing services. The go-to-market is sales-led, targeting NHS trusts, hospitals, universities, schools, local government, and corporations, with NHS LPP DPS Supplier 2025 status enabling framework-based procurement. Cumulative reach exceeds 2.1 million users across 40 countries. The company operates a ZeST Games sub-brand and is founder-owned with no disclosed institutional investment.

Name

Focus Games

Legal name

Focus Games Ltd

Website

https://focusgames.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Focus Games is a UK serious game studio founded in 2004 that designs and publishes over 150 board, card, and online games for game-based learning across healthcare, education, corporate, and government clients in 40 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Serious Games and Game-Based Learning

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912)

SIC

Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Games, Hobbies & Collectibles (Board Games, Chess, Model Building) (EDAAAGAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Board Game & Puzzle Specialty Retailers (CRALALAA)

Keywords

• Serious games development
• Game-based learning
• Healthcare training games
• Educational board games
• Gamified training solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Board Games Sales: Sale of physical educational and training board games for healthcare, education, and corporate clients. Games are sold directly through the company's shop and to organizations for training purposes.
2. Custom Game Development: Bespoke game development services where Focus Games works with clients to design and develop custom serious games tailored to specific organizational needs and learning outcomes.
3. Gamified Workshops: Facilitated workshop services using serious game methodologies to help organizations address specific challenges such as induction programs, diversity training, and process improvements.
4. Online Games: Digital game products including online games and interactive web-based experiences for training and education purposes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Focus Games develops, publishes, and custom-designs serious games and game-based learning solutions for organizations in healthcare, education, corporate, and government sectors. The company sells a portfolio of over 150 ready-made board games, card games, and online games through its e-commerce shop and direct enterprise sales, and offers bespoke custom game development, gamified workshops, rapid games design workshops, educational escape rooms, and game publishing services. Products are used for staff training, clinical education, patient safety, induction programs, diversity training, and organizational design.

Product overview

Focus Games is a game-based learning company that has developed over 150 educational game titles since 2004. The portfolio is organized as a portfolio of individual serious games rather than a unified platform, including board games, card games, online games, and gamified workshops. Key product lines include: Healthcare games covering clinical topics such as Sepsis Game, Dysphagia Game, Drug Round Game, NEWS2 Game, Stroke Game, Care Certificate Game, and various PAIR-UP card games; Educational games for children including Bug Off, Emotion Game, Sickle Cell Card Game, and Sleep Game; Corporate training games such as McDonald's Welcome Game, Heineken blended learning games, and team building games like Camaraderie and Team Resilience; Government and public sector games including Organogame with UK Policy Lab, Sand River Game, and the Rail Disruption Game with Chiltern Railways; Facilitation tools including Chiji Cards, Chiji Processing Dice, and Chiji Guidebook. Services offered include custom board game development, online games development, gamified workshops, rapid games design workshops, educational escape rooms, and game publishing services. The company has empowered over 2.1 million people through game-based learning across 40 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ZeST Games: Game-based learning products under the ZeST brand

Products and services

• Custom Board Games Development

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2.1 million people empowered through game-based learning
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Chiltern RailwayscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChiltern Railways partnered with Focus Games, RSSB, and Aston University to co-develop the Rail Disruption Game - a unique educational board game combining physical game elements with digital tablet facilitation for rail staff training during service disruptions.
• Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRSSB collaborated with Focus Games, Chiltern Railways, and Aston University to develop the Rail Disruption Game for improving rail staff competency in managing information during service disruptions.
• Aston UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAston University worked with Focus Games to research systemic management of disruptive incidents and co-developed the Rail Disruption Game with Chiltern Railways and RSSB. Professor Ben Clegg leads the academic partnership.
• UK Policy LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK Policy Lab partnered with Focus Games to explore whether serious games could support organization design in government, resulting in the development of Organogame - a facilitated serious game for testing design scenarios.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Academy for HealthcarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSF partnered with Focus Games to co-design Surgical Shift - a portable simulation-based board game for humanitarian surgical team training that reflects realities of field surgery and enables teams to practice decision-making.
• NHS EnglandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHS England partnered with Focus Games to develop The Dysphagia Game and accompanying online game for improving awareness and management of dysphagia among healthcare staff.
• NutriciaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNutricia collaborated with NHS England and Focus Games on the Dysphagia Game project for healthcare staff education on swallowing disorders.
• British Burn AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBritish Burn Association partnered with Focus Games to develop The Burns Game for improving initial management of burn injuries and broadening knowledge base of burn care.
• Health Education EnglandminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHealth Education England endorsed the Care Certificate Game as one of the resources to support employers in healthcare training, providing credibility and market access through NHS networks.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gamelearn: Gamelearn develops serious video games for corporate training in soft skills and compliance, directly comparable to Focus Games' corporate custom game development and workshop-based serious games offerings.
• Triseum: Triseum builds serious games for higher education and corporate learning, comparable to Focus Games' evidence-based serious game portfolio targeting universities and training institutions.
• Schell Games: Schell Games is a serious games studio with experience in healthcare, education, and corporate training simulations, comparable to Focus Games' custom development and game-based learning methodology.
• PlayGen: PlayGen is a UK-based serious games studio developing game-based learning and behavior change simulations for health and public-sector clients, directly comparable to Focus Games' NHS- and government-focused serious games work.
• Filament Games: Filament Games is an educational game studio that designs and develops game-based learning products for K-12, healthcare, and corporate clients, comparable to Focus Games as a custom serious-game development peer.
• Classroom, Inc. Classroom, Inc. develops interactive educational simulations for literacy and life skills, comparable to Focus Games' portfolio of game-based learning products targeting measurable learning outcomes.

Broad incumbents

• Kahoot!: Kahoot! is a global game-based learning platform used in classrooms and corporate training, comparable to Focus Games as a higher-scale, platform-driven competitor in the same game-based learning category across education and enterprise.
• TalentQuest (game-based learning modules): TalentQuest is a broader corporate learning and talent management provider incorporating game-based learning elements, comparable to Focus Games' corporate L&D use cases for induction and engagement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FocusGames

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Focus Games