Blacksmith Studios

What Blacksmith Studios does

Blacksmith Studios is a privately held video game development studio founded in 2016 and headquartered in London, Ontario, Canada. The studio operates with 11-50 employees and is led by founder William Komer, with a leadership team covering operations, development, 3D art/animation, marketing, graphic design, and character design. The company develops VR, AR, 3D, and 2D games using Unity Engine and Unreal Engine, and has published 10+ titles on Steam targeting VR headsets (HTC Vive, with Oculus Rift versions referenced) and PC platforms. Core products include Desolate Sands (adventure puzzle VR), Camp Grizzly (VR survival), Show Me What You Got (VR juggling), Full Tilt (VR jousting), The Forge (VR metalworking), B-Chess I (3D chess), Insanity Mask, Minesweeper, and a custom VR Meditation experience. Desolate Sands received the Unreal Dev Grant from Epic Games in 2018.

The studio's most ambitious project is Metaverse London — a virtual replica of the city of London, Ontario built using 3D-scanned real-world data captured via DJI Phantom 3 Pro and DJI Mavic Pro drones and Canon cinema cameras. The platform is designed to allow users to create avatars, buy and sell products, chat, and interact in a digital twin of the city, with the explicit aim of onboarding local London, Ontario businesses as virtual tenants. Distribution is primarily through the Steam marketplace, with secondary marketing via gaming conventions (London Comic Con, Gamescom), a company blog, and community programs including summer camps run in partnership with Smart Start Camp and high school co-op programs with Campus Creative. The company also operates a secondary general office in Toronto used for events, including the Collision 2022 After Party.

The studio is founder-financed with no disclosed funding rounds, no institutional investors, and no public revenue figures. The business model is B2C-led via Steam game sales, with a prospective B2B virtual-commerce model emerging through the Metaverse London platform aimed at local businesses. Competitive positioning is built on proprietary VR/AR development expertise, a multi-engine technology stack, and a unique localized digital-twin asset, though the company faces structural scale and capital constraints relative to larger game studios.

Name

Blacksmith Studios

Legal name

Blacksmith Studios Inc

Website

https://blacksmithstudios.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Blacksmith Studios is a London, Ontario-based game development studio founded in 2016 that creates VR, 3D, and 2D video games for Steam and is developing Metaverse London, a virtual replica of the city for local businesses and consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Video Game Development

akta.pro primary industry

Narrative/Adventure & RPG Game Studios (MPAFAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social/UGC & Sandbox Game Studios (Roblox-like) (MPAFAAAF)

Keywords

• Video game development
• Virtual reality games
• Metaverse platform
• 3D game design
• Immersive gaming experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Blacksmith Studios is a video game development studio that designs, develops, and publishes 2D, 3D, and VR games for PC, mobile, and VR headsets (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift), with titles distributed via Steam. The studio is also building a metaverse platform that virtualizes the city of London, Ontario, enabling avatar-based interaction, virtual commerce, and chat. The portfolio spans adventure puzzle, survival, juggling, jousting, metal forging, chess, puzzle, and meditation experiences.

Product overview

Blacksmith Studios is a video game and VR development company creating 3D/2D offline and online games, virtual reality experiences, and a metaverse platform. Their product portfolio includes puzzle adventure games (Desolate Sands), survival/management VR games (Camp Grizzly), skill-based VR games (Show Me What You Got, Full Tilt, The Forge), traditional games (B-Chess I, Minesweeper), and a Metaverse platform virtualizing London, Ontario. The company develops games for PC, mobile, and VR headsets (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift), with several titles available on Steam.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Desolate Sands An adventure puzzle VR game set in the 1940s where players explore a tomb after their plane crashes nearby, featuring challenging puzzles and mysterious secrets.
• Camp Grizzly A VR survival game where players act as a camp counselor managing four children, keeping them entertained with guitar playing while defending against a roaming bear.
• Show Me What You Got A VR juggling game with two difficulty settings, free play mode, and four unique maps where players score points by juggling various items.
• Full Tilt A competitive multiplayer VR jousting game where players wield lances to fight in tournaments against other players or AI opponents.
• The Forge A VR workshop simulation game where players learn metal forging and shaping through hammering, pressing, and rolling to create objects like swords.
• B-Chess I A 3D chess game available on mobile and PC platforms with both single-player and multiplayer modes.
• Insanity Mask A 3D PC game developed by Blacksmith Studios.
• Minesweeper A 2D puzzle game created by the studio.
• Meditation A custom VR meditation and relaxation experience.
• Metaverse London A virtual world platform aiming to virtualize the entire city of London, Ontario, Canada, enabling users to create avatars, buy and sell products, chat with others, and interact in a digital environment.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Campus CreativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Blacksmith Studios works with Campus Creative to provide opportunities to test VR systems and learn how to play different games. High school co-op students learn how to create models and work towards game production. Blacksmith Studios creates opportunities to teach aspiring creative talents.
• Smart Start CampcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Blacksmith Studios partnered with Smart Start Camp to run a summer camp in 2022 for kids aged 6 to 15. The professional team helps kids create 3D models and prepare for the future metaverse using their imaginations with supervisor guidance.
• London Comic ConminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2018Blacksmith Studios participated in London Comic Con with a booth to demo Camp Grizzly VR and engage with potential customers at the gaming convention.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Resolution Games: VR-native studio developing multiplayer and social VR experiences. Comparable in delivering VR titles on Steam and in pursuing social/multiplayer mechanics relevant to Blacksmith's metaverse ambitions.
• Survios: VR game developer behind titles such as Creed and Electronauts. Comparable in VR development depth, multi-platform delivery, and Steam-publishing motion, though larger and better-capitalized.
• Polyarc: Indie VR studio behind the Moss franchise. Comparable in delivering narrative adventure VR experiences on Steam and Quest — directly aligned with Blacksmith's Desolate Sands adventure-puzzle genre.
• Fast Travel Games: VR-focused game studio publishing premium VR titles on Steam and Meta Quest stores. Directly comparable in catalog positioning, VR-first development model, and indie-studio go-to-market.
• Vertigo Games: VR game publisher and developer with a Steam-led catalog (e.g., After the Fall, Arizona Sunshine). Comparable in VR game development and Steam distribution focus.
• Schell Games: Independent VR/AR-focused game studio of similar size developing multi-platform immersive experiences. Directly comparable in VR game development depth, multi-engine workflow, and indie-studio commercial profile.
• nDreams: VR-first game studio publishing multiple VR titles on Steam and Quest. Closely aligned with Blacksmith in VR catalog focus, distribution via Steam, and indie-studio scale.

Broad incumbents

• Roblox Corporation: Dominant UGC/sandbox metaverse platform with avatar creation, virtual commerce, and developer ecosystem. The benchmark incumbent for Blacksmith's metaverse ambitions and the primary competitive gravity in that space.

Emerging players

• Rec Room: Social VR platform with UGC world creation, avatar systems, and virtual commerce. Comparable to Blacksmith's metaverse vision (avatar creation, buy/sell, social interaction) but operating at vastly larger scale.
• Manticore Games (Core): UGC game creation platform (Core) with avatar, social, and creator monetization features. Comparable to Blacksmith's metaverse/social UGC ambitions at a more mature stage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blacksmith-studios
• Xx.com/BlcksmthStudios
• Facebookfacebook.com/blacksmithstudios.ca

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 Blacksmith Studios