What Fish in a Bottle does

Fish in a Bottle is a privately held UK games studio founded in 2000 and headquartered in Warwick, operating as a remote-first team of 11-50 employees. The company designs and develops bespoke digital games and interactive experiences across three primary verticals: branded entertainment (Roblox, brand IP games), purposeful learning (educational games, LMS gamification), and cultural installations (museum interactives). Under CEO Justin Eames, the studio has delivered 150+ titles for clients including the BBC, Nickelodeon, Activision, Sega, Bose, Channel 4, the Science Museum Group, and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, with named products such as Navigo (a personalised reading app built for the iRead consortium in four languages), Scoodle Play (a gamified layer on Plantyn's LMS), and BBC Bitesize: Atomic Labs.

The studio's technology stack centres on HTML5, PixiJS, and Three.js for cross-device web delivery, with bespoke work on the Roblox platform and notable expertise in COPPA and GDPR-K compliance for children's games. AI features are emerging rather than core: the firm uses custom GPTs for internal game-design productivity and is developing AI-driven learning systems for emergency-responder training, while Navigo incorporates a personalization/recommendation engine that adapts gameplay to individual children. No proprietary models, research publications, or data flywheel mechanics are disclosed.

The business model is professional services / commissioned development. Pricing is project-based and quote-driven, delivered under multi-year contracts for institutional clients and discrete project engagements for brand clients. Revenue is generated through direct enterprise sales, Roblox platform monetization (virtual items, pay-to-play, and emerging Shopify-enabled physical merchandise sales), white-label distribution through partners like Plantyn's LMS, and web/app store distribution. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, there is no external funding, and the company has no parent, subsidiaries, or M&A history.

Name

Fish in a Bottle

Legal name

fish in a bottle Limited

Website

https://fishinabottle.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fish in a Bottle is a UK-based, remote-first games studio that designs and develops bespoke digital games and interactive experiences for global entertainment brands, educational institutions, and museums, with specialization in children's game design under COPPA and GDPR-K compliance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leamington Spa

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Game Development Services: Fish in a Bottle generates revenue through commissioned game development for brands, entertainment companies, and educational institutions. They partner with clients to create Roblox games, brand games, educational games, and interactive installations under project-based contracts.
2. Brand Experience Development: Revenue from creating branded game experiences for major entertainment and learning brands. This includes developing experiences on platforms like Roblox where brands can monetize through virtual items, pay-to-play models, and in-game commerce.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fish in a Bottle is a purposeful games studio that partners with global entertainment brands, educational publishers, and cultural institutions to design and develop bespoke games and interactive experiences. Their work spans Roblox games, branded games, educational/purposeful games, gamification layers for learning management systems, and interactive installations for museums and visitor destinations.

Product overview

Fish in a Bottle is a purpose-built games studio offering a portfolio of game development services and named products. The core offerings span Roblox Games (social multiplayer experiences), Brand Games and Interactives (for global entertainment brands), Learning and Development Games (educational games with academic partnerships), Gamification of Learning Systems (adding game mechanics to LMS platforms), and Interactive Installations (for museums and retail). Notable named products include Navigo (personalised reading game app with 900+ activities), Scoodle Play (gamified LMS layer for Plantyn), BBC Bitesize: Atomic Labs (virtual science laboratory), and various museum interactives. The studio operates as a project-based service business rather than a SaaS platform, creating custom games for clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Roblox Games Bespoke Roblox game design and development service for brands and educators, leveraging Roblox's 70+ million daily active users to create multiplayer experiences centred on creativity, cooperation, and competition.
• Brand Games and Interactives Partnerships with global brands to design and develop games that engage millions of players, turning players into fans through positive, playful experiences that grow audience and market presence.
• Learning and Development Games Educational game design and development proven effective across learning environments from preschool to corporate settings, blending educational content with engaging gameplay in collaboration with teaching experts and academics.
• Gamification of Learning Systems Integration of game mechanics into existing learning management systems to transform traditional learning environments into dynamic, interactive spaces with boosted user engagement and measurable outcomes.
• Interactive Installations Digital installations for museums, arts venues, destinations, and retailers designed to captivate visitors through playful, immersive experiences that deliver key information and messages using accessible technology.
• BBC Bitesize: Atomic Labs
• Navigo reading game app
• Scoodle Play educational platform
• Oxford University Museum of Natural History Interactives
• The Great Fire of London Interactive Story
• Danger Mouse: Super Awesome Danger Squad
• Explore It, Make It!

Quantifiable outcome

• Traffic on Scoodle Play education hub increased approximately sevenfold in a single day during COVID-19 pandemic, with servers scaling appropriately and APIs handling the increase
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 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

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• iRead ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFish in a Bottle is a member of the iRead consortium, a group of designers, education researchers and industry partners working together to develop personalised technology that supports primary children in developing their reading skills. They produced Navigo, a reading game app developed as part of this consortium.
• Plantyn (Infinitas Learning)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlantyn is a Belgian educational publisher and division of Infinitas Learning. Fish in a Bottle built Scoodle Play, a gamified educational hub layered on Plantyn's Scoodle Learning Management System. The platform rewards students for completing digital learning activities and integrates with Plantyn's existing content delivery infrastructure.
• RobloxcoreTechnology or IntegrationFish in a Bottle is a Roblox game development studio, creating branded experiences on the Roblox platform. They leverage Roblox's platform features including virtual commerce, community tools, generative AI creation tools, and the platform's 79.5 million daily active users.
• ShopifystrategicTechnology or IntegrationRoblox's partnership with Shopify enables brands to sell physical merchandise directly within Roblox experiences. Fish in a Bottle creates Roblox games that can potentially leverage this integration for in-game commerce connecting virtual engagement to real-world product sales.
• Okehampton CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFish in a Bottle enlisted Rob Kelly, Head of Physics at Okehampton College, to provide classroom experience and practical insight for BBC Bitesize: Atomic Labs development, ensuring learning content was pitched at the right level for learners.
• Roblox EducationstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoblox provides support for teachers and educational content for classroom use. Fish in a Bottle develops games for Roblox that can be used in educational settings, and writes about Roblox's classroom initiatives and educational potential.
• Science Museum GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFish in a Bottle created Explore It, Make It! for the Science Museum Group, supporting their strategic ambition of growing science capital. This is part of Wonderlab+, the online companion to the Science Museum Group's Wonderlab gallery.
• Oxford University Museum of Natural HistorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFish in a Bottle has collaborated with OUMNH since 2016 on four digital interactive installations: Brain Diaries, Settlers, Bacterial World, and First Animals. Each installation presents complex scientific research in accessible interactive formats.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Filament Games: US educational game developer building learning games for schools, museums and educational publishers. Directly comparable as a 'purposeful games' studio serving institutional education buyers with custom game development.
• Schell Games: Long-established US studio that builds serious and educational games alongside entertainment work, including VR and location-based experiences. Comparable in blending education/learning outcomes with commercial game development for institutions and brands.
• Preloaded (LEGO Group): UK-based purposeful games studio acquired by the LEGO Group; historically operated in the same educational and brand games niche as Fish in a Bottle, working with major broadcasters and museums. Highly comparable in mandate, customer profile and delivery model.
• Kuato Studios: UK game studio focused on purposeful educational games for children, working with publishers and schools. Highly comparable in mission, geographic base and customer profile (education publishers and parents/schools).
• Player Three: Award-winning UK games studio that develops branded and purposeful games for global entertainment brands and broadcasters. Directly comparable service offering, geography and client mix.
• Dubit: UK children's digital media and games studio developing branded Roblox experiences and games for kids' media owners. Closely comparable in operating segment (kids' branded games on platforms including Roblox) and client base.
• Gamefam: Leading Roblox-focused game studio building branded experiences on the Roblox platform for major global brands. The closest direct competitor on the Roblox brand-experiences wedge that Fish in a Bottle is pursuing.

Others

• Unit9: Award-winning digital experience studio producing interactive installations, branded content and experiential campaigns for global brands. Comparable as an adjacent 'purposeful interactive experiences' provider, especially on the museum/cultural installation side of Fish in a Bottle's portfolio.

Emerging players

• Hopscotch: Children's coding and game-creation platform with a creator community used in primary schools. Adjacent/emerging peer in the kids' purposeful-games category, focused on enabling children to build their own games versus a custom-development services model.

Broad incumbents

• Toca Boca (Spin Master): Major children's games and digital play brand (now owned by Spin Master). Wider-scale incumbent in the children's purposeful-play space; comparable as a competitor for children's brand-game commissions and COPPA-compliant output, but at much greater scale and via owned IP rather than services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fishinabottle

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Fish in a Bottle