Clever Plays
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2013
- Employees
- 1-10
- Offices
- 2
About Clever Plays
Clever Plays is an independent Montreal-area video game developer and publisher founded in September 2013. Operating as Studio Clever Plays Inc., the Quebec studio creates original PC and console games that move between genres while emphasizing unconventional concepts, player engagement, and distinctive mechanics.
Its early release, Leap of Fate (2016), is a fast-paced isometric cyberpunk roguelite. The studio followed it with Operation: Tango (2021), an asymmetric two-player cooperative spy adventure in which players take complementary roles as a field agent and remote hacker. The game was built with Unity and supported in part by the Canada Media Fund. Clever Plays is now developing Happy Bastards, an open-world tactical RPG with turn-based squad combat.
Game development focus
Clever Plays combines game design, production, publishing, and live-operations work for its own titles. Its supported capabilities include:
- Asymmetric cooperative multiplayer mechanics
- Action roguelite and tactical RPG development
- Cross-platform gameplay and porting integration
- Unity development and C# architecture
- 3D animation, character rigging, and Blender-based pipelines
The studio develops for the interactive entertainment market across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. Its work ranges from cyberpunk action and cooperative espionage to tactical role-playing, reflecting a stated interest in exploring ideas beyond fixed genre conventions.
Independent operation
Clever Plays is a privately held Quebec corporation with no identified parent company. It operates a hybrid development model centered on its Montreal studio, where the team collaborates in person while supporting remote work. The company also has a registered legal head office in Saint-Lambert, Quebec.
Alongside development, the studio has strengthened its self-publishing and business-development capacity through its relationship with Indie Angels Marketing Services, an affiliated marketing firm established by co-founder and studio head Angela Mejia. The arrangement supports Clever Plays’ internal marketing needs while Indie Angels also serves other independent game studios.
More about Clever Plays
Founders and creative background
Clever Plays was founded by Matthieu (Mattieu) Bégin and Angela Mejia. Before co-founding the studio, Bégin worked as a AAA game designer and developer at Ubisoft Montreal after an earlier career as a geneticist and biologist. Mejia brought executive management, marketing, and business-development experience from small-to-medium enterprises.
Recognition and working approach
- Leap of Fate earned an 80 Metacritic score and three Canadian Video Game Awards nominations.
- Operation: Tango reached more than one million players and received Best Multiplayer Game at Gamescom 2020.
- The studio describes its workplace approach as inclusive and people-first, with flexible remote and hybrid workflows rooted in mutual respect.
Industry support
Indie Angels Marketing Services was established in 2021 by Angela Mejia to provide marketing, PR, and business-development support both to Clever Plays and to other independent game studios.
Notable credits
3 creditsOffices
Where Clever Plays is based
- Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada
Saint-Lambert Head Office
HeadquartersRegistered corporate seat (siège social).
- 486 Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, Suite 200, Montréal, QC H3B 1A6, CanadaMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Montreal Studio
Primary operating location for game development, team collaboration, and hybrid meetings.
Open roles
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