What Socialudo does

Socialudo Ltd is a Stirling-based social enterprise (company limited by guarantee) founded in 2019 by University of Stirling academics Professor Vikki McCall and Professor Alasdair Rutherford. The organisation designs, develops, and delivers co-produced serious games that turn research into practical training and strategic-planning tools for housing associations, charities, public-sector bodies, and Scottish schools. Its core methodology combines evidence-based research with co-production principles and interactive gameplay mechanics, producing games that are grounded in the lived experience of frontline participants and sector research.

The product portfolio comprises eight named serious games — Hopetown (housing and ageing strategic planning), GadgetMatch (technology for later life), SocialDeal (social enterprise entrepreneurship), Pathways Paradox (homelessness systems), Roll for Impact (charity risk management), The Future Imperative (climate change), All Hands (community resilience), and Domino Park (accessible public spaces) — plus a Hopetown Training Suite for housing associations and a bespoke game development service. Products are sold as physical card or board games via an e-commerce storefront at price points from £29 to £449, and training is delivered as facilitated in-house or away-day events at £250 per person.

Revenue is generated through three streams: one-time physical game sales, facilitated training services, and bespoke game development commissions. Distribution is a mix of direct-to-consumer e-commerce for individual and SMB buyers, direct enterprise sales for housing-association training, and Scottish Government-funded workshops in schools. Operational reach is UK-wide with a Scottish concentration, supported by partnerships with Social Bite, the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), the National Centre for Resilience, and the Scottish Government. The team remains small — approximately five core employees plus a network of associates and facilitators — and the company is actively recruiting.

Name

Socialudo

Legal name

Socialudo Ltd

Website

https://socialudo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Socialudo is a Stirling-based social enterprise that designs and delivers co-produced serious games and training for housing associations, charities, public-sector bodies, and Scottish schools, using eight research-led games to tackle housing, ageing, homelessness, risk, and community-resilience challenges.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Serious Games and Social Impact Training

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Hobby Games & Miniatures Retail (Tabletop RPGs, Wargaming) (CRALAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family/Party Board Games Retail (CRALALAB), Party Games, Activities & Interactive Entertainment (HSACACAJ)

Keywords

• Serious game design
• Social impact training
• Strategic planning facilitation
• Housing sector workshops
• Co-production methodology

Headquarters

HQ city

Stirling

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Game Product Sales: Sale of physical serious game products including card games and board games. Products sold as one-time purchases with no recurring fees. Pricing ranges from £29 to £449 depending on product and bundle size.
2. Training Services: Facilitated training sessions delivered using serious games. Training offered as one-day events for housing sector at £250 per person, including lunch, refreshments, materials, and training event report.
3. Bespoke Game Development: Custom serious game design and development services tailored to specific organisational challenges. Includes design, development, testing, delivery, and production of materials.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Socialudo designs, develops, and delivers serious games (physical card and board games) along with facilitated training sessions and bespoke game design services. The portfolio of games addresses complex social challenges such as housing and ageing, technology adoption in later life, social enterprise entrepreneurship, homelessness systems, charity risk management, climate change, community resilience, and accessible public spaces. Customers include housing associations, schools, charities, and public sector organisations, primarily in the UK with a Scottish focus.

Product overview

Socialudo is a social enterprise offering a portfolio of serious games designed to turn research into real-world change. The core product portfolio includes eight named games: Hopetown (housing and ageing strategic planning), GadgetMatch (technology for later life), SocialDeal (social enterprise entrepreneurship for schools and adults), Pathways Paradox (homelessness and employment systems), Roll for Impact (charity risk management), The Future Imperative (climate change mega-game), All Hands (community resilience), and Domino Park (accessible public spaces). Products are available as standalone purchases, facilitated sessions, or as part of a training suite for housing associations. Bespoke game development services are also offered for organisations seeking custom serious games.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hopetown: A serious game about housing and ageing that supports planning and collaboration amongst health, housing, and social care sectors.
• GadgetMatch
• SocialDeal
• Pathways Paradox
• Roll for Impact
• The Future Imperative
• All Hands
• Domino Park

Products and services

• Hopetown

Quantifiable outcome

• Hopetown pilot demonstrated ability to bring together and support development of local housing partnerships, strengthening and building relationships between organisations.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Social BitecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-produced Pathways Paradox, a large-scale game about navigating housing, benefits, employment and support systems for people experiencing homelessness. The game draws on real-life stories from Social Bite's Jobs First participants, and the partnership continues with joint conference appearances.
• Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted formal evaluation of Hopetown pilot programme, demonstrating game's effectiveness in building local housing partnerships. Published evaluation report and hosted webinar on 'Developing a plan for housing older adults'.
• PAXsimsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginator of Derby House Principles for inclusion and diversity in serious gaming, which Socialudo officially endorses. Reference source for professional wargaming standards.
• Scottish Borders and Clackmannanshire CommunitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipatory game development with community members, resilience professionals, housing staff, and emergency responders in Scottish Borders and Clackmannanshire to develop All Hands community resilience game.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• PAXsims: Research network developing serious games and simulations for conflict, peacebuilding, and humanitarian response. Already a named partner of Socialudo (originator of the Derby House Principles) and operates in the same niche of academically rigorous, co-produced tabletop simulations for social impact.
• Sponge UK: UK gamified elearning and custom digital learning provider serving regulated industries and the public sector. Comparable in delivering engaging, game-based learning experiences to corporate and public-sector buyers in the UK.
• Triseum: Serious games studio spun out of Texas A&M that develops educational tabletop and video games for higher education and corporate training. Closely comparable in academic-roots methodology and focus on serious-game design for learning outcomes.
• PlayGen: London-based serious games studio producing applied games for health, education, and social impact, with clients across government, NGOs, and academia. Comparable in using game mechanics for behaviour change and social research translation.
• Gamelearn: Vendor of game-based corporate training courses (soft skills, compliance, management) sold globally to enterprises. Comparable business model of monetising serious games via training buyers, though at a much larger scale.
• Tiltfactor: Academic research lab (based at Dartmouth College) that designs and studies social-impact games for prosocial behaviour, bias, and civic engagement. Comparable academic-rooted methodology and commitment to co-produced games that address social problems.
• Caspian Learning: UK-based serious games studio that designs and develops 3D simulations and games for corporate training, public sector, and education. Closely comparable product model (custom serious games for behavioural and skills outcomes) and similar target buyers in UK public and third sector.

Emerging players

• The Training Arcade: Gamified learning platform enabling organisations to create game-based training quickly. Adjacent in serving training and L&D buyers with interactive game mechanics, though positioned as tooling rather than bespoke serious-game design.
• Mezur.io: Early-stage serious-games venture using interactive simulations to measure and improve social and emotional skills. Comparable in pairing game-based assessment with social outcomes, though focused on individual skill measurement rather than multi-stakeholder policy games.

Broad incumbents

• Games for Change: US-based nonprofit ecosystem supporting the development and distribution of social-impact games. Comparable in advancing serious games as a vehicle for social change, but operates as a movement/incubator rather than as a direct games studio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/socialudo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Socialudo