Heavy Iron Studios
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 1999
- Employees
- 51-200
- Offices
- 1
About Heavy Iron Studios
Heavy Iron Studios is an American game development studio based in Manhattan Beach, California. Its work spans full-cycle development, AAA co-development, cross-platform engineering, and licensed entertainment adaptations for console, PC, and mobile platforms. The studio combines engineering, design, art, animation, and UI/UX production to support projects from initial concepts through release and post-launch updates.
Founded in August 1999 as an internal THQ development studio, Heavy Iron built its early portfolio around family and action-adventure games. Its licensed projects include SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and adaptations of Pixar films including The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up. These productions form a substantial part of the studio’s history alongside titles such as Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights and Evil Dead: Hail to the King.
The company became an independent, privately held studio on June 1, 2009. During its independent period, it expanded into gesture-recognition fitness software with UFC Personal Trainer, contributed to the Disney Infinity series, and developed the original action puzzler Fat City. Its portfolio also includes Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse and the Wii U port of Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.
Development and collaboration
Heavy Iron’s more recent work emphasizes partnerships on major game franchises. Its co-development credits include multiple Call of Duty titles, Fortnite, Rocket League, Marvel’s Avengers, Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2, and Killing Floor III. These engagements encompass technical, gameplay, interface, and art support alongside partner development teams.
The studio’s production capabilities include prototyping, engine and tool engineering, platform adaptation, character rigging, environmental modeling, technical animation, and motion capture integration. It also provides optimization, debugging, remastering, and post-launch content support.
Keywords Studios completed its acquisition of Heavy Iron in January 2021. Heavy Iron continues to operate within the group under its own studio brand, retaining its autonomy while contributing to Keywords’ game development services.
More about Heavy Iron Studios
Leadership
- Mark Pope — General Manager & VP of Technology.
- Scott Chiu — Studio Art Director.
- Diana Wu — Studio Production Director.
Lyle Hall served as President and CEO through the studio's independence and subsequent acquisition; the report distinguishes his historical role from current management.
Technology and working model
The studio's engineering work uses Unreal Engine 4/5, Unity, and proprietary frameworks for custom pipelines and multi-platform runtime adaptation. Its reported working model supports in-office, hybrid, and remote staff.
Historical origins
The studio's formation followed THQ's acquisition of Steve Gray's Chemistry Entertainment.
Notable credits
33 creditsOffices
Where Heavy Iron Studios is based
- MBS Media Campus, 1600 Rosecrans Ave., Building 7, Suite 300, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266, United StatesManhattan Beach, California, United States
Manhattan Beach Studio & Headquarters
HeadquartersAbout this office
Primary production facility and overall corporate headquarters, supporting game development, engineering, co-development, management, and hybrid production.
Open roles
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