Game studio · Custom development · Southern California

We build games, and the systems that run them.

Ennwise makes its own games and hires out the engineers who build them. We build games to your design, join your team on contract, and review engine, netcode and backend plans before you spend the money. We also write custom software for businesses.

Start a project See the work

Now building Codename Starwake, a space combat game for 100 pilots in four rival factions.

What we do

Four ways to hire us

The same engineers do all four. The people who review your netcode are writing the netcode for a hundred-pilot space game.

Game development

We make our own games and build games to your design, from paper prototype to a build you can ship. We put the most care into saves, progression, loot, AI and tools, the systems players only notice when they break.

CoversPrototypes, vertical slices, full production, Roblox and UEFN experiences, browser games, PC

Co-development & contract

Our engineers work in your repo and your tracker and show up to your standups. We take the gameplay systems, tools, UI, multiplayer or build work your team can't get to, and we document it before we hand it back.

CoversGameplay systems, engine and editor tools, multiplayer and backend, build and CI

Game technical consulting

Before you commit to an engine, a server design or a live-ops plan, we review it and write down what we'd change. We cover engine and stack selection, code and architecture audits, netcode, performance profiling and hosting. Every question in the report gets a recommendation.

CoversTech audits, engine selection, server architecture, performance, live-ops planning

Custom software

Web apps, desktop tools, APIs and integrations for the jobs your current software can't do. We also build AI agents and MCP tools that plug into the systems you already run.

CoversWeb and desktop apps, APIs and integrations, AI agents and MCP, automation

Selected work

Two games in development, and software already in use

The games are ours. The software was built for clients, for a community site we host, and for running our own shop.

Codename Starwake · Flagship, in active development

Top-down space combat with a hundred pilots in one arena

Every pilot flies for one of four factions and stays with it from match to match, so the grudges carry over. Bigger hulls mount heavier engines, shields and guns, which makes what you fit in the hangar as important as your aim.

  • CombatGuns, cannons, lasers, torpedoes and missiles, with afterburners for the chase and repair bots that keep a damaged squadron flying
  • ObjectivesFaction kill races, ore convoy escorts, building and defending platforms, and elimination rounds that end when one faction is left
  • ProgressionPilots keep their rank and hangar between sessions, and matchmaking only groups nearby ranks so veterans can't farm new players
  • SimulationA fixed-point C core that gives bit-identical results on every platform, so we can replay any match tick for tick
  • NetcodeThe server runs at 30 Hz and sends delta snapshots while each client predicts ahead. For instant-hit weapons the server rewinds up to 200 ms to check what the shooter saw, and it enforces that cap itself
  • StackGodot 4 client over a C++ GDExtension bridge, with golden replay tests in CI, hosted on our own cluster
100Pilots per arena
4Rival factions
25+Weapons
50+Ship components

Codename ARPG · In-house title, in active development

A build-heavy action RPG with more than a thousand passive nodes

A loot-driven action RPG with ascendancy classes, hundreds of skills and supports, and a campaign that feeds into a map-based endgame. We write it in Rust on Bevy. Skills, monsters and bosses live in data files that reload while the game runs, so a designer can retune a fight without rebuilding.

  • BuildsSeven classes, each with ascendancy specializations, share one passive tree, and supports change how each skill behaves
  • LootTiered affixes, item levels, uniques and a crafting economy run on currency items
  • WorldAn act-based campaign that opens into a procedural endgame of maps and pinnacle bosses
  • EngineSeeded runs anyone on the team can reproduce, crash-safe saves, and season content that ships as data with no engine changes
1,200+Passive nodes
15+Ascendancies
200+Skills
1,000+Unique items
100+Endgame maps

More work

  • Roblox game

    Outrun: Tag Arena

    A 3-2-1 countdown drops everyone into a rotating arena and marks one player IT. Everyone else sprints, dashes and rations stamina until the round timer runs out. The screen edges flare red when the hunter gets close, tagged players watch the rest of the chase, and global leaderboards track who lasts longest.

    Luau, Rojo, Aftman

  • Desktop app

    Ops overlay dashboard

    A desktop overlay for an IT director that stays on top of every window. It shows live tickets, searches the password vault, opens tools in one tap, and maps actions to buttons on a hardware control deck.

    Rust, Tauri, React, TypeScript

  • SaaS platform

    Directory-synced email signatures

    A multi-tenant service that builds every employee's email signature from the company's Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace directory. Change someone's title in the directory and their signature follows on the next sync.

    Python, Docker, Microsoft Graph, Google APIs

  • AI tooling

    Agile Flow

    A project management API that breaks stories into tasks and hands the board to AI agents as MCP tools. An agent can plan its own work, pick up tasks and mark them done.

    Python, FastAPI, SQLModel, MCP

  • Community infrastructure

    SoylentNews operations

    SoylentNews ran on a pile of hand-maintained servers. We moved every service into its own Docker container, patched each one to its latest release, and now run the site day to day. We monitor it, fix bugs, ship new code to production, and try every change on a separate test cluster first. We automated backups and restores, and our playbooks and scripts let a new admin rebuild the site on their first day if they have to.

    Perl, Docker, Proxmox, monitoring, ops playbooks

How a project runs

Six stages, with a playable build from the second one on

These are the milestones game teams already use. You can bring us in at any of them, whether you have a pitch to test, a slice to finish or a live game that needs running.

  1. Concept

    We pin down the core loop, scope and target platform on paper before anyone writes code.

    You get a one-page design and a risk list

  2. Prototype

    A rough build of the core loop, made to find out whether the game is worth making.

    You get a playable greybox

  3. Vertical slice

    One level at final quality, which you can pitch, fund and staff around.

    You get a pitch-ready build

  4. Production

    Content and systems at full scale, with a new build to play every sprint.

    You get alpha, then beta

  5. Launch

    Certification, store pages, load testing, and the servers the game runs on.

    You get the gold master

  6. Live ops

    Patches, events, monitoring and hosting, handled by the people who set up the servers.

    You get ongoing support

Engagement models

Three ways to pay for it

Studio project

Best for a game or product you want built

We run the project against a scoped milestone plan. You sign off on each playable milestone before we start the next one.

  • Fixed-scope milestones
  • Playable build at every milestone
  • Source and assets are yours on delivery

Embedded co-dev

Best for teams that need more hands

Our engineers join your team and work in your tools, billed monthly or hourly.

  • Works in your repo and tracker
  • Gameplay, tools, backend, CI
  • Scale up or down month to month

Consulting sprint

Best for a decision you need to get right

A fixed-length review of your code, architecture or plan. You get a written report that ranks what to fix first.

  • Tech & architecture audits
  • Engine / server stack selection
  • Performance and scaling reviews

Toolbox

What we build with

Our own games run on Godot, Bevy and Roblox. On client work we use whatever engine your team already has.

Engines & platforms

  • Unreal Engine
  • Unity
  • Godot
  • Bevy
  • Roblox (Luau + Rojo)
  • Fortnite UEFN (Verse)
  • Web (Three.js · Phaser)

Languages

  • Rust
  • C# / .NET
  • C++
  • TypeScript · Node.js
  • GDScript
  • Python

Apps & services

  • React
  • Tauri
  • FastAPI
  • PostgreSQL · Redis
  • MCP / AI agents

Infrastructure

  • Docker
  • Proxmox · Ceph
  • NixOS
  • Cloudflare
  • Azure · Microsoft 365

Infrastructure & IT

We run our own servers, and we can run yours.

Ennwise started as an infrastructure and security company and still runs its own hardware. The people who build your backend, build pipeline and hosting run production systems every day, and they've restored those systems after ransomware attacks.

  • Game servers & hostingDedicated servers, backends and databases on our own cluster or in your cloud, sized to your player counts.
  • Build & CI infrastructureSelf-hosted Git, build runners and artifact storage. Backups go to append-only storage, and we test them by restoring them.
  • Security before launchMFA, endpoint detection and response, and locked-down networks, so a stolen password or a ransomware hit doesn't take your project with it.

About Ennwise

A game studio that started in IT and security

Ennwise is an independent game and software studio in Southern California with clients across the country. We make our own games, and we build games, tools and software for other people.

Our simulations are deterministic, so we can replay any match or bug exactly. Saves survive crashes, the server has the final say in multiplayer, and every server gets hardened before launch.

You deal directly with the engineers writing your code. You get an estimate before work starts, a playable build at each milestone, and a straight answer when something isn't worth building.

Start a project

Tell us what you're building.

Send us a pitch, a prototype that needs finishing, a team that needs more hands, or one technical question. Tell us where the project stands and we'll tell you what we'd do and what it would cost.