Soft Chaos

What Soft Chaos does

Soft Chaos Cooperative is a worker-owned game design studio headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, legally incorporated in 2021. The studio operates with a small core team of three co-founders — Allison Kyran Cole, Dr. Jess Rowan Marcotte, and D. Squinkifer — and delivers three service lines: full-service custom game development (specializing in small browser-based digital games), interactive experience design consultation (playtesting, scope management, and design direction for experimental theatre and art installations), and teaching/workshops/talks (curriculum design and facilitation from K-12 through professional game designers, including neurodiversity-affirming programs for autistic and AuDHD learners).

Technically, the studio builds on Godot (an open-source, cross-platform game engine), with additional capabilities in custom hardware interfaces, RFID-enabled hybrid physical/digital play, audio-guided experiences, and alternative controllers. Its portfolio includes original games (Strangers on the 'Net, Cadences, THIS IS FINE, In Tune, TRACES, Cartomancy - The Fool's Fairytale, rustle your leaves to me softly, Thunder Only Happens When It's Raining), the open-source Intrinsink interactive theatre platform (built on Ink narrative scripting), and client projects such as FamilyVille (Egale Canada / Ontario Ministry of Education), Radio Ghost (ZU-UK), Crossroads Chronicles (AMES), and NSF-funded game design workshops (Tech Kids Unlimited).

The business model is predominantly project-based professional services sold direct to nonprofits, arts organizations, and educational institutions via inbound leads from the website, community referrals, festival presence, and earned media. Pricing is custom and not publicly disclosed; the studio offers a free initial consultation and an explicit 8-step process from problem definition through delivery. A secondary, smaller revenue stream comes from original game sales through itch.io and Steam. The cooperative is financially supported by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Canada Council for the Arts. Customer concentration is distributed across at least six visible client engagements with no single dominant account, and the studio's award track record (Golden Cobra 2019, Lumen Prize 2022, IndieCade 2014 finalist) functions as primary credibility signaling in the niche indie/interactive-theatre market.

Name

Soft Chaos

Legal name

Soft Chaos Cooperative

Website

https://softchaos.games

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Soft Chaos Cooperative is a Montreal-based worker-owned studio designing custom browser-based games, interactive theatre experiences, and neurodiversity-affirming workshops for nonprofits, schools, and arts organizations across North America and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Game Development Services

NAICS

Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Casual/Hypercasual Game Studios (MPAFAAAG)

Keywords

• Custom game development
• Interactive experience design
• Game design workshops
• Educational game studio
• Indie game publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Full-Service Game Development: Soft Chaos designs, programs, narrates, and delivers complete custom games for clients ranging from local community organizations to major not-for-profits. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts with fees based on scope, timeline, and resources. They specialize in small digital games playable in a web browser.
2. Interactive Experience Design Consultation: Consulting engagements where Soft Chaos provides expertise on interactive experience design for digital games, experimental art installations, or theatrical productions. Clients include theatre companies, museums, and event organizers.
3. Teaching, Workshops, and Talks: Educational services ranging from single talks to full curriculum design and course delivery. Target audiences span primary school-aged learners to working game designers. Revenue generated through workshop fees, curriculum development contracts, and speaking engagements.
4. Original Game Sales: Soft Chaos publishes original games (tabletop, digital, hybrid) through platforms such as itch.io and Steam. Games like Cadences and This Is Fine are sold directly to consumers.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Soft Chaos is a worker-owned cooperative that designs, develops, and delivers custom games, interactive theatre experiences, and educational workshops for clients ranging from nonprofits and educational institutions to theatre companies. They specialize in small browser-based digital games, hybrid physical-digital experiences, and full-service engagement from concept through delivery. They also publish original games through itch.io and Steam.

Product overview

Soft Chaos is a worker-owned cooperative offering three core service lines: Full-Service Game Development, Interactive Experience Design Consultation, and Teaching/Workshops/Talks. Their portfolio includes original games (Strangers on the 'Net, Cadences, THIS IS FINE, In Tune, TRACES, Cartomancy, rustle your leaves to me softly, Coffee: A Misunderstanding, Thunder Only Happens When It's Raining), original platforms (Trans Games Zine, Intrinsink open source tool), and client projects (FamilyVille educational game, Radio Ghost interactive theatre, Crossroads Chronicles visual novel, NSF game design workshops). They specialize in hybrid physical-digital experiences, LARPs, interactive theatre, and neurodiversity-affirming educational games.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 28 out of 40 students created their own game in the NSF workshop program — the highest number of any year in the program.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Tech Kids Unlimited / NSF Research GroupcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 March 2023Soft Chaos was engaged by an NSF-funded research group led by Kristen Gillespie to design and deliver game design workshops for autistic and AuDHD students. The engagement included curriculum development, workshop facilitation, and research data collection support across two cohorts of approximately 20 students each.
• Access to Media Education Society (AMES)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 April 2022Soft Chaos provided co-development support for AMES's first educational game (Crossroads Chronicles), a branching visual novel about anti-oppression for marginalized youth. Services included workshops, script editing, sensitivity reading, and mentorship. AMES has expressed plans for future collaboration.
• ZU-UK (Zecora Ura Theatre Company)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021Soft Chaos provided interactive experience design consultation for Radio Ghost, an original ZU-UK production. The engagement involved playtesting, feedback, and design direction for a complex interactive theatre piece that guides players through a mall using a phone app. The collaboration was extended from an initial single session to an ongoing relationship based on the value delivered. Radio Ghost went on to win the 2022 Lumen Prize for Art and Technology.
• HumanosminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHumanos brought together multidisciplinary teams from industry, academia, government, and not-for-profit sectors. Soft Chaos guided a team of Montreal youth in designing a small game addressing vaccine hesitancy, delivering game design classes and implementing youth-created art and stories into a final playable product.
• SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation (Concordia University)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe SHIFT Centre commissioned Soft Chaos to build an online version of a storytelling and mapping activity for their social transformation programs. Squinky developed a custom game featuring a goat named Gertie traversing a landscape with reflective prompts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Funomena: San Francisco indie studio known for impact-oriented, experimental, and play-focused games including educational and social-emotional learning titles. Highly comparable values-driven positioning and custom educational game work.
• Filament Games: Madison, WI-based studio focused exclusively on educational and learning game development for schools, nonprofits, and research institutions. Direct peer in custom educational game services and institutional client base.
• Giant Sparrow: Los Angeles indie studio behind artistically ambitious narrative experiences (What Remains of Edith Finch). Comparable in small team producing distinctive, award-validating narrative/experimental games.
• ustwo games: London-based indie studio (creators of Monument Valley) known for artistically driven, narrative-focused games including commissioned work. Comparable in artistic indie-game sensibility and selective custom commission model.
• Schell Games: Pittsburgh-based independent game studio with deep practice in educational, VR, and transformative game experiences for institutional clients. Comparable in custom development and educational expertise, though at greater scale.
• Moment Factory: Montreal-based multimedia studio specializing in immersive, interactive installations and experience design for public spaces, museums, and brands. Highly comparable to Soft Chaos in Montreal roots, scale, and focus on interactive experience design, though significantly larger.
• Third Rail Projects: New York-based immersive theatre company (creators of Then She Fell) producing site-specific interactive performances. Direct peer in designing interactive, audience-participatory theatre experiences for cultural clients.
• Vectorpark: Independent design and game studio producing artistic, playful interactive experiences for museums, brands, and cultural institutions. Direct peer in custom interactive/experiential commissions for arts and cultural clients.

Emerging players

• Cardboard Computer: Two-person collaborative studio producing intimate narrative games (Kentucky Route Zero, Where Cards Fall). Comparable in tiny team, narrative-led design philosophy, and indie prestige positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Annapurna Interactive: Major independent game publisher funding and distributing artistically distinctive indie titles across platforms. Adjacent comparable as the dominant commercial channel for the type of narrative/experimental games Soft Chaos produces.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/soft_chaos
• Facebookfacebook.com/SoftChaos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soft-chaos

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Soft Chaos