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Joey Drew Studios

Games & Interactive
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Founded
2015
Employees
1-10
Offices
1

About Joey Drew Studios

Joey Drew Studios is an independent video game developer and entertainment studio based in Ottawa, Canada. Its work combines narrative-driven horror, character design and interactive storytelling, with a distinctive visual identity influenced by 1930s rubber-hose animation. The studio develops games and intellectual property alongside animation, multimedia production and merchandising activities.

The business began in 2015 as theMeatly Games. Its breakthrough project, Bendy and the Ink Machine, appeared episodically during 2017–2018, pairing first-person survival horror with sepia-toned environments and the imagery of vintage animation. The contrast between cartoon characters and unsettling settings became central to the studio’s best-known franchise. Its portfolio subsequently expanded through mobile games, additional horror experiences and a mainline sequel.

Games and creative direction

The studio’s released projects include Bendy in Nightmare Run, Boris and the Dark Survival and Bendy and the Dark Revival. Released in November 2022, Dark Revival continued the mainline series. Earlier work also includes MeatlyMakes and the marionette-themed stealth-action game Showdown Bandit, which was released under the Kindly Beast label in 2019 and later delisted.

Its capabilities span game design, programming, animation and multimedia production. Across its work, the company emphasizes atmospheric environments, original characters, episodic storytelling and narrative-driven action and adventure. The supplied research identifies further franchise projects in development or pre-production, including Bendy: The Cage, Bendy: Lone Wolf, Bendy: The Silent City and Bendy and the Ink Factory.

Corporate evolution

The business incorporated as TheMeatly Games, Ltd. in 2017 and adopted the Joey Drew Studios name in 2018. Kindly Beast was established that year as an umbrella for non-Bendy properties. Following expansion and substantial restructuring in 2019, the Kindly Beast brand was retired in 2020 as the business refocused on Bendy. In August 2021, the two corporations amalgamated into the continuing Joey Drew Studios Inc., which remains active as a compact independent studio.

More about Joey Drew Studios

Leadership

  • Paul Crawford (theMeatly): Co-founder, lead game designer and director.
  • Michael R. Desjardins (Mike Mood): Co-founder, chief executive officer and director.
  • Stephen Crawford (Bookpast): Brand manager, creative director and director.

Collaboration and expansion

Karman Interactive co-developed Bendy in Nightmare Run before its acquisition in February 2019. The acquisition supported a move toward simultaneous development of multiple projects; Karman's operations were later absorbed following restructuring.

Rooster Teeth Games served as an external publishing partner for console ports of Bendy and the Ink Machine.

Notable credits

10 credits
  • Bendy and the Ink Machine
  • Bendy in Nightmare Run
  • Showdown Bandit
  • Boris and the Dark Survival
  • Bendy and the Dark Revival
  • MeatlyMakes
  • Bendy: The Cage (in development)
  • Bendy: Lone Wolf (in development)
  • Bendy: The Silent City (in development / pre-production)
  • Bendy and the Ink Factory (in development)

Offices

Where Joey Drew Studios is based

1 location

  • Ottawa office

    Headquarters
    c/o Andrews & Co. Accountants, 540 Lacolle Way, Ottawa, ON K4A 3M3, CanadaOttawa, Ontario, Canada
    About this office

    Overall company headquarters in the Ottawa / Kanata area. The published address is its registered legal office at Andrews & Co. Accountants; the report does not establish that production takes place at that address.

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