Beartwigs
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersLinköping, Sweden
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
Beartwigs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Beartwigs
- Legal name
- Beartwigs AB
- Website
- https://beartwigs.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Beartwigs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Game Development Software
- NAICS
- Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (33993)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Social/UGC & Sandbox Game Studios (Roblox-like) (MPAFAAAF)
Keywords
Where Beartwigs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Linköping
- HQ country
- Sweden
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Beartwigs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Game Sales: Developing and selling video games directly to consumers, starting with their first title 'Romestead' - an action-adventure survival game for 1-8 players set in post-Roman civilization
- Engine/Tool Licensing: The Candide Engine and associated development tools may be licensed to other game developers
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Beartwigs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Beartwigs is a game development studio that builds both proprietary game development technology and games on top of it. Its core offerings are the Candide Engine — a 3D graphics engine purpose-built for 2D retro-style games with pixel-art-to-3D conversion tools and an integrated real-time level editor — and Romestead, an action-adventure survival game for 1–8 players set in a post-Roman civilization.
Product overview
Beartwigs is a game studio and technology company based in Linköping, Sweden that develops games and the underlying technology to power them. Their portfolio consists of the Candide Engine—a 3D graphics engine designed specifically for 2D retro style games with tools for converting pixel art to 3D models and an integrated level editor—and their first game title Romestead, an action-adventure survival game for 1-8 players featuring Roman civilization rebuilding themes.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Candide Engine: A 3D graphics engine for 2D retro style games. Includes tools for quickly creating 3D models from pixel art. Comes with an integrated level editor with real time testing for rapid game development.
- Romestead
Products and services
- Candide Engine A proprietary 3D graphics engine designed specifically for creating 2D retro-style games. Includes tools for quickly creating 3D models from pixel art and an integrated level editor with real-time testing for rapid game development. Intended for use by game developers building retro-style titles.
- Romestead An action-adventure survival video game for 1–8 players set in a post-Roman civilization. Players fight, build towns, earn favor with Roman gods, or farm crops. Targeted at gamers who enjoy retro pixel-art style with modern 3D capability.
Companies that use Beartwigs
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Beartwigs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Beartwigs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- East Sweden GamecoreEast Sweden Game is a business incubator in Linköping that supports game development companies. Beartwigs is part of this incubator and has participated in their ESG Accelerator program. The incubator provides workspace at Ebbepark where Beartwigs maintains their offices.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Beartwigs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- LÖVE: Open-source 2D game framework popular with indie and pixel-art developers. Comparable to Candide Engine as a free, community-driven alternative for retro-style game creation.
- ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley): Solo-developed indie hit combining farming, building, and light civilization mechanics in a retro pixel-art style. Comparable to Romestead in aesthetic, scope, and small-team execution.
- PICO-8 (Lexaloffle): Fantasy console and toolset purpose-built for retro game creation. Comparable to Candide Engine as a niche, opinionated toolkit for the retro game development community.
- Iron Gate AB (Valheim): Swedish indie studio behind Valheim, a multiplayer survival/civilization-building title. Most directly comparable small-team Swedish studio shipping a co-op survival game in a similar genre to Romestead.
- RPG Maker (Kadokawa): Long-standing game creation suite tailored for retro-style games. Competes with Candide Engine for indie creators seeking purpose-built tooling for nostalgic aesthetics.
- GameMaker (YoYo Games / Opera Gaming): Established commercial 2D game engine popular with indie developers of pixel-art and retro-style games. Comparable as a development platform targeting similar creators.
- Ghost Ship Games (Deep Rock Galactic): Danish indie studio behind Deep Rock Galactic, a cooperative action-survival game. Highly relevant genre peer to Romestead and a useful small-studio scaling benchmark.
- Godot Engine: Open-source game engine widely used for 2D and pixel-art indie titles. Directly comparable to Candide Engine as an alternative development platform for retro-styled games.
Regional players
- Thunderful Group: Swedish game developer and publisher headquartered in the Nordics. Regional industry peer providing context on the local game ecosystem and potential publishing/partnership pathways.
- Coffee Stain Studios: Swedish studio (Goat Simulator, Satisfactory, Deep Rock Galactic publishing). Regional peer illustrating the trajectory a Swedish indie studio can take from small team to established publisher.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Beartwigs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Beartwigs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Beartwigs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Beartwigs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Beartwigs
What does Beartwigs do?
Beartwigs is a game development studio that builds both proprietary game development technology and games on top of it. Its core offerings are the Candide Engine — a 3D graphics engine purpose-built for 2D retro-style games with pixel-art-to-3D conversion tools and an integrated real-time level editor — and Romestead, an action-adventure survival game for 1–8 players set in a post-Roman civilization.
Is Beartwigs a public or private company?
Beartwigs is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Beartwigs founded?
Beartwigs was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Beartwigs based?
Beartwigs is headquartered in Linköping, Sweden, in the Europe region.
How does Beartwigs make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Game Sales are the primary driver. The others are engine/Tool Licensing.
Who are Beartwigs's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are LÖVE, ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley), PICO-8 (Lexaloffle), Iron Gate AB (Valheim), RPG Maker (Kadokawa), GameMaker (YoYo Games / Opera Gaming), Ghost Ship Games (Deep Rock Galactic) and Godot Engine. Regional players are Thunderful Group and Coffee Stain Studios.
Does Beartwigs have an API?
No public API is recorded for Beartwigs.
What industry is Beartwigs in?
Beartwigs's product category is Game Development Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAAAF, Social/UGC & Sandbox Game Studios (Roblox-like). Its NAICS code is 33993 and its SIC code is 7990.