Drinkbox Studios

Drinkbox Studios is an independent Toronto game developer and publisher founded in April 2008 by Chris Harvey, Ryan MacLean, and Graham Smith. Formed after the closure of local developer Pseudo Interactive, the team initially operated as Not a Number Software before adopting the Drinkbox Studios name and focusing on original game properties.

The studio develops stylized action games that combine expressive hand-crafted art, character animation, comedic storytelling, and inventive mechanics. Its work spans 2D and 3D action RPGs, Metroidvania-style platformers, dungeon crawlers, and games designed for PC, console, handheld, and mobile platforms.

Original games and design

Drinkbox financed its early work through contract development for publishers including Activision and Electronic Arts, alongside support from Ontario media funding programmes. It launched its first original game, Tales from Space: About a Blob, in 2011, followed by Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack in 2012.

The studio gained international recognition with Guacamelee! in 2013, a folklore-infused action-platformer set in a magical alternate Mexican universe. The series later expanded through enhanced editions and Guacamelee! 2.

Other releases include Severed, a first-person dungeon crawler built around gesture-driven touchscreen combat, and Nobody Saves the World, a top-down action RPG centred on character form-swapping and procedural modifier systems.

Capabilities

• Full-cycle game design and development
• Game programming, physics, and gameplay systems
• 2D and 3D art, concept art, interface design, and animation
• Internal self-publishing and platform distribution
• Cross-platform development and porting through a proprietary game-engine architecture

Drinkbox continues to develop original projects, including Blighted, a psychedelic 3D action RPG with music by composer Jim Guthrie.