Keywords Studios has launched FreeAnimal, a new organisation combining seven of its creative agencies, to serve as a single point of contact for developers, publishers, and brands.
The group includes creative agencies Ichi, KWM, Fire Without Smoke, and Gnet, plus media production studios TrailerFarm, Maverick, and Big Farmer. They form a network across Los Angeles, London, Brighton, Montreal, and Quebec.
All seven firms shared LinkedIn posts telegraphing the move, describing the start of a new chapter as one creative agency. Contracts remain in place with existing clients, while new projects will draw from the collective abilities of the new FreeAnimal organisation.
“Collectively, we work with the world’s most ambitious gaming brands,” said FreeAnimal global head John Rosenberg.
“By fusing seven agencies’ perspectives, geographies, and experiences from across the games industry, we’ve created a wildly effective creative organisation that combines boutique strike teams with global scale.”
“At FreeAnimal we simply call the approach The Right Team for Every Game, bringing together the right specialists, at the right time, to solve the right challenge for every client.”
Founded in 1998, Keywords Studios is an outsourcing company that began acquiring related firms in 2014, starting with voice production studio Liquid Violet.
Since then, Keywords has acquired 70 companies to expand its services, including audio, art, localisation, QA, functionality QA, engineering, player support, trailer production, marketing, and data analysis.
Its latest acquisitions include Halo co-developer Certain Affinity and work-for-hire studio Wushu Studios, both acquired in 2024.
Earlier this year, Keywords combined two of its PR firms – Fortyseven Communications and Indigo Pearl – after the US-based Fortyseven opened a new office in London.