Free Range Games
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2009
- Employees
- 11-50
- Offices
- 2
About Free Range Games
Free Range Games is an independent video game developer founded in 2009 and headquartered in Sausalito, California. Established by veteran developers following the closure of Shaba Games, the studio combines original game development with external co-development for other studios. Its work spans PC, consoles, mobile devices, and virtual and mixed reality platforms.
The company provides full-cycle development across pre-production, game design, narrative, engineering, level creation, and release management. Alongside its own projects, it contributes engineering, art, gameplay systems, and optimization to partner productions. Its technical capabilities include real-time production with Unreal Engine and Unity, supporting projects with different platform and production requirements.
Original games and collaborations
The studio developed The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, a survival crafting adventure centered on dwarves in Middle-earth’s Fourth Age and published by North Beach Games. The game debuted on PC and PlayStation 5 in late 2023, reached Steam and Xbox Series X|S in 2024, and surpassed one million units sold worldwide. Subsequent development included sandbox and story updates.
Its broader original portfolio includes the tactical card RPG Labyrinth, Spelldrifter, SummitX Snowboarding, and Freefall Tournament. In collaboration with The Rube Goldberg Institute, the studio developed Rube Goldberg Workshop, a mixed-reality physics-building game released for Meta Quest in 2023. Its development slate also includes the skateboarding action sandbox Wrekless.
External production work includes contributions to Striking Distance Studios’ The Callisto Protocol and co-development with Oddworld Inhabitants on Oddworld: Soulstorm. These projects reflect the studio’s continuing combination of original intellectual property and development support for external partners.
Performance capture and audio
Through its directly operated Free Range Creative facility, the company also supports internal games and third-party entertainment productions with body, facial, and hand performance capture. Complementary capabilities include virtual cameras, real-time virtual production, sound recording, Foley, music composition, and dedicated voiceover and ADR sessions.
More about Free Range Games
Leadership and working practices
- The report identifies co-founders Chris Scholz as CEO and Bradley Fulton as Creative Director. Scott Gagain leads Free Range Creative as Executive Producer / Head of Operations.
- The studio describes its culture as prioritizing sustainable work-life balance while developing complex interactive projects.
Capture technology and heritage
- The capture facility features a 40' × 60' volume with 56 OptiTrack Prime cameras, FaceWare head-mounted cameras, and StretchSense 2.0 gloves. Its real-time pipelines connect Unreal Engine and MotionBuilder.
- The facility occupies the historic structure where Carroll Shelby once built Cobras.
Recent operating history
Following staffing reductions in April 2025, the studio laid off an approximately 80-person development team in July 2025 after an external publisher withdrew project funding.
Notable credits
10 creditsOffices
Where Free Range Games is based
- 80 Liberty Ship Way, Suite 1, Sausalito, CA 94965, United StatesSausalito, California, United States
Sausalito Headquarters
HeadquartersOverall company headquarters housing executive offices, project management, game design, core programming, and administration.
- 1038 Princeton Dr., Suite A, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, United StatesMarina del Rey, California, United States
Free Range Creative / Free Range Performance Capture Studio
About this office
Specialized performance-capture and virtual-production facility operated directly under Free Range Games, LLC, serving internal games and third-party media productions.
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