Red Hot

Red Hot is a video game art outsourcing and digital production studio headquartered in Shanghai, with production operations across China and Indonesia. Established in June 2010, the studio supplies art and technical production support for PC, console and mobile games, working with international publishers and domestic Chinese developers.

Its work spans visual development, asset creation and integration into game engines. Production capabilities include characters and creatures, environments and architecture, props, weapons, vehicles and other hard-surface assets. The studio also produces concept art, hand-painted textures, animation and high-resolution marketing artwork, supporting projects across several stages of development.

Art production and technical integration

Red Hot combines 2D and 3D art production with technical art, rigging, real-time lighting and visual effects. Its technical services include pipeline scripting, photogrammetry processing and asset optimization, with integration support for Unreal Engine, Unity and CryEngine. This combination allows the studio to contribute both individual assets and production work that must fit a client's existing engine and pipeline.

The studio's reported contributions range from character and creature modeling to environment dressing, weapons, vehicles and architectural assets. Its portfolio includes work on major action, role-playing, shooter and simulation franchises. These credits reflect outsourced art contributions within larger development teams, with the scope varying by project.

Development and group relationship

Red Hot expanded from its original Shanghai operation into a network of regional production facilities. Its Indonesian operation provides a Southeast Asian production hub with a particular focus on 2D visual art, while its Chinese operations support both international and domestic game development.

In May 2017, Keywords Studios acquired Strongbox Ltd, the holding company behind the Red Hot CG business. Red Hot subsequently continued under its own brand within the group's Create and Art Service Line, retaining dedicated leadership and operational independence. Its role within that network remains focused on game art production and technical delivery.