Clever Beans

Clever Beans is an independent video game development studio based in Manchester, England. Founded in 2010 by Martin Turton and Andrew Newton, the studio develops games for PC and consoles, combining original game development with publisher partnerships, technical engineering and remastering. Its founders brought experience from AAA development at companies including Sony Computer Entertainment, THQ, Juice Games, Treyarch/Activision and Warthog.

The studio's capabilities span full-cycle development, cross-platform multiplayer architecture, console conversion, engine optimization, concept art and asset production. Its portfolio includes multiplayer action, racing remasters and dark fantasy combat, reflecting work on both original properties and established game series.

Original games and cross-platform development

Clever Beans began with a second-party development relationship with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Its debut game, When Vikings Attack! (2012), used the studio's proprietary Beans Tech engine. The title combined cross-platform multiplayer, cross-buy and cross-save functionality between PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The studio followed it with When Vikings Attack! - When Vikings Relax in 2013, adding competitive arenas and modes.

In 2021, Clever Beans released Gods Will Fall, an original dark fantasy action game published by Deep Silver. Combining hack-and-slash combat with roguelite dungeon crawling, it launched across Windows PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Google Stadia.

Remastering and collaborative development

Clever Beans also co-developed WipEout Omega Collection alongside Sony XDev Europe and EPOS Game Studios for Sony Interactive Entertainment. Released in 2017 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro, the collection brought together tracks, ships and modes from WipEout HD, WipEout HD Fury and WipEout 2048.

The studio's contribution included remastering and visually overhauling material from those games, with the collection achieving native 4K output at 60 frames per second on PlayStation 4 Pro. This work complements its original game production with experience in updating existing game content for newer console hardware.