Turtle Rock Studios

Turtle Rock Studios is an American AAA game developer focused on cooperative and competitive multiplayer experiences. Founded in 2002, the Orange County, California studio is known for building first-person shooters, asymmetrical multiplayer systems, bot AI, real-time visual effects, technical art, and interactive virtual-reality games.

The studio's early work included bot artificial intelligence and multiplayer-map design for Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Counter-Strike: Source. It conceived and co-developed Left 4 Dead, later creating the 4v1 asymmetrical shooter Evolve and the cooperative zombie shooter Back 4 Blood. Its additional releases include Leap Sheep!, Face Your Fears, The Well, Face Your Fears 2, and Journey of the Gods.

Development capabilities

Turtle Rock provides full-cycle AAA game design and production, with work spanning:

• Gameplay, engine, and network engineering
• 3D art, animation, level design, and technical art
• UX/UI systems architecture and implementation
• Multiplayer and live-operations strategy
• Community engagement and VR interactive entertainment

The studio works across PC, console, and VR platforms. Its current development focus includes an unannounced AAA multiplayer project being built with Unreal Engine 5.

Company history

After Valve Corporation acquired the team in 2008, it operated as Valve South. Co-founders Phil Robb and Chris Ashton re-established Turtle Rock Studios in 2010 under holding company Slamfire, Inc. Turtle Rock Garage, an experimental casual and mobile-games division, was launched that year with Leap Sheep!.

Tencent Holdings Limited acquired Slamfire, Inc. in December 2021. Turtle Rock Studios remains an active, autonomously run creative studio, led by President and General Manager Steve Goldstein alongside co-founders Robb and Ashton. The company supports hybrid, on-site, and remote work arrangements across North America.