A Games Ark product
Shipyard™ — Where Game Studios Build.
Build. Test. Launch. Discover.
Project and studio management built for the realities of starting a game studio.
The demo is an early interactive prototype of the platform — a look at how Shipyard™ is shaping up, not a live product. The pilot is a real, working version for invited studios: sign in to add your own game, run playtests and test other studios’ builds.
Shipyard™ is currently in development.
Shipyard is being built to help early-stage game studios manage projects, teams, time and contributions. Nothing on this page is available to buy or use yet. Registering your interest helps us shape what we build first.
MADE FOR INDIE GAME STUDIOS
The Shipyard™ ecosystem
All are in development
Harbour
In developmentTest the Waters.
Playtesting: recruit playtesters, run test sessions, collect feedback, report bugs and build tester communities.
- Recruit playtesters
- Run playtests
- Feedback & surveys
- Bug reporting
- Tester communities
Dock
In developmentWhere Games Come Ashore.
Release and publishing support: release planning, builds, store assets, platform requirements and launch checklists.
- Release planning
- Builds
- Store assets
- Platform requirements
- Launch checklists
- Press materials
ARKADE
Coming soonDiscover Games. Discover Studios.
A future discovery platform focused on emerging and independent studios — game pages, studio profiles and the stories behind them.
- Game pages
- Studio profiles
- Demos & wishlists
- Discovery
- Developer stories
The problem
Starting a game studio isn't a normal project.
Traditional project management tools are often designed around a simple model: users, tasks, deadlines and a cost per seat.
Early-stage game studios often work differently.
People may have different availability, contribute different amounts of time, work part-time, volunteer, work for revenue share, join temporarily, leave projects or move between roles.
That makes it difficult for studios to understand what is actually happening across the project.
Shipyard is being designed around those realities.
How it works
What Shipyard™ is designed to solve.
Time tracking is intended to help teams understand project capacity and contribution — not simply to monitor people.
Project Management
Tasks, milestones, dependencies, priorities, deadlines and project progress in one place.
Time & Commitments
Expected weekly commitment, actual time contributed, available hours, project timelines and changes in availability.
Flexible Business Models
Volunteer development, revenue-share teams, part-time development, traditional employment, hybrid teams and incubation programmes — the studio chooses the model that reflects how its team actually operates.
Contribution Visibility
Who is contributing, how much time is being committed, how much work has actually been completed, and how that compares with the project timeline.
Onboarding
Role, responsibilities, team assignment, project access, expected commitment, documentation, agreements and an introduction to the project.
Offboarding
Outstanding tasks, current responsibilities, documentation, file and project access, knowledge transfer, handover requirements, ownership of unfinished work and removing access.
Handover
When someone leaves a project or changes role, Shipyard should help the team understand what they were responsible for, what remains unfinished, who needs to take over and what information needs to be transferred. The aim is to make it easier for studios to handle people leaving without losing project knowledge.
An important limit
Where appropriate, Shipyard may allow teams to model how contribution relates to agreed revenue-share arrangements. It does not determine legal ownership, wages or contractual entitlement — those remain matters for a studio and its agreements.
Built for early-stage studios
Built for the way small studios actually work.
Volunteer Studios
Teams where people contribute their time without traditional employment.
Revenue-Share Studios
Teams where contribution may form part of an agreed revenue-sharing model.
Part-Time Studios
People building games around other jobs, education or commitments.
Incubation Teams
Teams developing games while learning how to operate as a studio.
Hybrid Studios
Teams combining different working and compensation models.
Traditional Startups
Early-stage commercial studios that still need lightweight production and team management.
One studio subscription
One studio. One workspace. Your whole crew.
Traditional project management software often charges per user. That can become expensive for early-stage studios with large, changing teams.
Shipyard is being designed around a studio-based subscription rather than simply charging for every person who needs access.
The aim is to make professional project management accessible to early-stage game studios, including teams with large or changing contributor numbers.
Pricing
Pricing will be announced closer to launch.
Games Ark Foundation
Free during Games Ark incubation
People participating in The Games Ark Foundation’s incubation programmes will have access to Shipyard during their programme at no additional cost. Teams can use the same tools they are learning with, which also helps The Games Ark understand how teams are progressing through their development journey.
Programme leaders can gain appropriate visibility into project progress, while teams retain ownership of their day-to-day work.
The ARK Framework™ and Shipyard™
The Framework tells you how. Shipyard helps you do it.
The Games Ark Framework provides standards and good practice for responsibly running volunteer-led and incubation game programmes.
Shipyard is the practical software layer designed to help teams put those practices into operation.
The ARK Framework™
Responsible studio practice
Shipyard™
Practical studio management
Game Studio
Build → Develop → Ship
Planned / In Development
What we’re working towards.
These are planned or in development. None of them should be assumed to be available today.
- Task management
- Kanban boards
- Project timelines
- Time tracking
- Weekly commitments
- Team capacity
- Contribution tracking
- Revenue-share modelling
- Onboarding
- Offboarding
- Handover workflows
- Studio dashboards
- Project health
- Production reporting
- Incubation programme reporting