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Technology & Development

Top Game Development Companies in Ireland (Updated August 2026)

The companies in this list are ordered alphabetically by name. That is the only ordering applied, so a company's position implies no ranking, preference or assessment of quality.

Most of Ireland's game industry does not make its own games. The largest studios here work in co-development, taking a slice of a publisher's title, whether that is the art, a platform port or engineering support, rather than owning a product. A smaller group develops original intellectual property it funds and keeps, which can mean it is not available for hire at all. Published rates sit at 45 euro an hour or below.

Can this studio even take your project?

  • Original IP or co-development. It determines whether the studio can take your project at all.
  • Shipped credits. Ask what they shipped and exactly what they did on it. Games credits are specific and checkable.
  • Team scale against scope. Two people and 999 people are both on this list.
  • Who owns the engine work. Tools and technology built during a project can be retained by the studio unless the contract says otherwise.
  • Whether the output is a game at all. The same engines and much of the same talent produce headset work, which is the VR and AR companies list, while cinematics and trailers are usually a separate commission with the animation studios.

Scope creep is worse in games than in any other software category, because the product is judged on feel rather than function. Agree what "done" means in writing before development starts.

Reading shipped credits, and who owns the tools

Choosing a game studio in Ireland means choosing between two structurally different businesses, and the wrong pick simply cannot take your project.

  • Confirm they take commissioned work at all. Several studios here build only their own IP and are not available for hire in the way a typical dev shop is.
  • Weigh team size against your scope. A two-person independent studio and a 250 to 999 person group both appear on this list. Neither is wrong, but they suit very different projects.
  • Ask for platform-specific credits. Mobile, PC and console are different disciplines. A studio strong on mobile ports is not automatically strong on original console titles.
  • Get engine and tooling ownership in writing. Custom tools built during your project can be retained by the studio afterward unless the contract says otherwise.
  • Treat reviews as thin evidence here. Only two studios on this list carry verified reviews, so shipped credits matter more than directory ratings.

Full-cycle development versus a slice of someone else's title

Scope covers game design, engineering, art production, porting between platforms, quality assurance and post-launch support. Some studios here work in co-development, taking on a slice of a publisher's title, such as art, a specific platform port, or engineering support, rather than owning the whole product.

Outside the scope for most: publishing, marketing and user acquisition, which usually sit with the publisher or the studio's own separate team.

A good share of brand briefs that reach these studios are not games at all. If the requirement is points, streaks and progression inside a marketing programme, gamifying a loyalty programme is a different build with different economics, and two firms on this list do that work rather than titles. Businesses typically bring in an external studio when an internal team lacks a specific discipline, such as console porting or live-ops support, or when a project needs more capacity than an in-house team can supply on schedule.

Why games are quoted on scope, and scope moves

Few studios in this list publish rates at all, and the ones that do quote hourly rather than by project. Whimsy Games Group, Boon Studios, Pewter Games and TADCO publish €25-€45 an hour. Vela Games and Squareroot Solutions publish under €25 an hour. Black Shamrock, Magic Media, Cyrex and ORB Media publish no rate at all.

That gap is not accidental. The studios with published hourly rates are the smaller, independent and app-adjacent teams, where scope is easier to define upfront. The larger AAA and co-development studios quote per contract, because a publisher engagement is negotiated on scope, milestones and platform rather than billed by the hour. Expect a fixed-scope proposal from the larger names rather than a rate card.

We have selected and reviewed these companies based on factors such as their services, industry experience, reputation, client portfolio, pricing where publicly available, market presence, and other relevant business metrics. The information and pricing mentioned are based on details available at the time of publication and may change over time. We recommend verifying the latest information directly with each company.

  1. 1. Black Shamrock - A Virtuos studio

    Best for AAA co-development

    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Team size
    50 - 249
    Founded
    2015

    Black Shamrock is a Dublin studio founded in 2015 and acquired by the international group Virtuos in 2017. With 50 to 249 staff it is the largest co-development studio operating in Ireland.

    Scale and track record

    Co-development means taking a slice of someone else's title rather than owning a product: RPG and action-adventure work inside major franchise production pipelines, to the delivery standards those publishers set.

    Sectors are gaming and entertainment. No rate is published. It suits a publisher that needs additional capacity or a specific discipline on an existing title. It is not a studio to approach with an original concept, because that is not the business model.

    Services

    • AAA Co-Development
    • RPG & Action-Adventure Development

    Industries

    • Gaming
    • Entertainment

  2. 2. Boon Studios Ltd.

    Best for original mobile games

    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Team size
    10 - 49
    Hourly rate
    €25 - €45
    Founded
    2015

    Boon Studios is an independent Dublin developer founded in 2015, led by co-founder and chief executive Martin Harte, with a team of 10 to 49.

    Scale and track record

    Its own title, Puzzle Gods, was released as an exclusive on Netflix alongside a free-to- play version on the mobile app stores. A platform deal with Netflix is a checkable commercial fact rather than a claim about quality, and it is rare on this list.

    Rates are 25 to 45 euro an hour. Sectors are gaming and mobile apps. It suits a project in casual or puzzle mobile games, where the studio has shipped and placed its own product. Studios with a live title of their own split attention between it and client work, so ask what the team allocation would be.

    Services

    • Original Mobile Game Development
    • Puzzle Game Design

    Industries

    • Gaming
    • Mobile Apps

  3. 3. Cyrex Ltd.

    Best for game and application security

    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Rating
    5.0 (1 review)
    Team size
    50 - 249
    Founded
    2015

    Cyrex is a Dublin company of 50 to 249 people that secures and load-tests games rather than building them, founded in 2015.

    Scale and track record

    The services are penetration testing, load testing, and blockchain and smart contract audits: in practice, checking a game holds up under attack and under simultaneous player load at launch. Named clients are Amazon Games, Tencent and EA.

    Sectors are gaming and blockchain. The listing shows 1 verified review at 5.0, which is too small a sample to read. No rate is published. It suits a developer or publisher approaching a launch date. It will not build or design your game, so it sits alongside a studio rather than replacing one.

    Services

    • Penetration Testing
    • Load Testing
    • Blockchain & Smart Contract Audits

    Industries

    • Gaming
    • Blockchain

  4. 4. Magic Media

    Best for large multi-discipline production

    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Team size
    250 - 999
    Founded
    2016

    Magic Media is an international gaming and entertainment group headquartered in Dublin, founded in 2016, with 250 to 999 staff — the largest headcount on this list.

    Scale and track record

    Services span full-cycle game development, game art and animation, and porting, which means the group can take a project end to end or supply a single discipline into someone else's pipeline.

    Sectors are gaming, entertainment and technology. No rate is published, and the listing carries no named credits or clients, which is a gap worth closing before briefing at this scale. It suits a project large enough to need several disciplines at once; ask which studio in the group would actually staff the work.

    Services

    • Full-Cycle Game Development
    • Game Art & Animation
    • Game Porting

    Industries

    • Gaming
    • Entertainment
    • Technology

  5. 5. ORB Media

    Best for interactive commerce experiences

    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Team size
    10 - 49
    Founded
    2018

    ORB Media is a Dublin firm founded in 2018 with 10 to 49 people, using game engine technology for commercial applications rather than consumer games. It is backed by Enterprise Ireland.

    Scale and track record

    The output is 360-degree and VR shopping experiences and gamified e-commerce, and the practical detail is delivery: these run on an ordinary phone or desktop browser rather than requiring a headset, which removes the main barrier to a retail audience actually using them.

    Sectors are retail, events and marketing. No rate is published. It suits a retailer or brand that wants an interactive experience customers can open from a link. It is not a games studio, so a consumer title brief belongs elsewhere on this list.

    Services

    • 360° & VR Shopping Experiences
    • Gamified Ecommerce

    Industries

    • Retail
    • Events
    • Marketing

  6. 6. Pewter Games Studios

    Best for narrative-driven original IP

    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Team size
    2 - 9
    Hourly rate
    €25 - €45
    Founded
    2013

    Pewter Games Studios is an independent Dublin developer founded in 2013 by Christopher Conlan and Ben Clavin, with a team of two to nine.

    Scale and track record

    The shipped titles are the evidence: The Little Acre, a hand-drawn adventure game that drew international press, and The Filthy Animals: Heist Sim, a multiplayer title. Both are original properties the studio owns rather than service work.

    Rates are 25 to 45 euro an hour. Sectors are gaming and entertainment. It suits a narrative or adventure project where hand-drawn craft and writing carry the game. A team of two to nine running its own IP has limited room for client work, so capacity is the first question.

    Services

    • Narrative & Adventure Game Design
    • Original IP Development

    Industries

    • Gaming
    • Entertainment

  7. 7. Squareroot solutions

    Best for cost-effective mobile builds

    • App Development Company of the Year (2022, 2023)
    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Team size
    10 - 49
    Hourly rate
    < €25
    Founded
    2016

    Squareroot Solutions is a Dublin agency founded in 2016 with 10 to 49 people, building mobile applications and custom software rather than games specifically.

    Scale and track record

    Cross-platform frameworks are the stated approach: one build deployed to both iOS and Android. The listing records more than two hundred applications delivered, and consecutive App Development Company of the Year wins in 2022 and 2023.

    Rates are under 25 euro an hour, the lowest on this list. Sectors are technology, mobile apps and startups. It suits a startup or business that needs an app built economically, including one with game mechanics in it. For a commercial game title, the studios here that ship games are the right brief.

    Services

    • Mobile Game Development
    • iOS & Android App Development

    Industries

    • Technology
    • Mobile Apps
    • Startups

  8. 8. TADCO

    Best for app development with game elements

    Location
    Galway, Ireland
    Team size
    10 - 49
    Hourly rate
    €25 - €45
    Founded
    2017

    TADCO is a Galway technology and app development company founded in 2017 by Daragh Molloy, with a team of 10 to 49.

    Scale and track record

    The relevance to this page is gamification rather than games: loyalty apps, internal management tools and educational platforms that use game mechanics to hold user attention. That is a different engineering problem from building a title.

    Rates are 25 to 45 euro an hour. Sectors are mobile apps, technology and gaming. It suits a business that wants points, streaks or progression inside a working app. No named client work appears on the listing, so ask for examples in your sector.

    Services

    • iOS & Android App Development
    • Mobile App Development

    Industries

    • Mobile Apps
    • Technology
    • Gaming

  9. 9. Vela Games

    Best for original multiplayer game development

    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Team size
    2 - 9
    Hourly rate
    < €25
    Founded
    2017

    Vela Games is an independent Dublin studio founded in 2017 by people who previously held roles at Riot Games and Electronic Arts, with a team of two to nine.

    Scale and track record

    The studio coined "MOCO", multiplayer online co-op, for the category its own game sits in. Naming a genre is a positioning claim rather than a credential, but the founders' prior studios are checkable and relevant to multiplayer work specifically.

    Rates are under 25 euro an hour. The sector is gaming. It suits an original multiplayer project, and the founder background is the reason to consider it over a larger service studio. With a team this size building its own title, availability for external work is the thing to establish first.

    Services

    • Original IP Development
    • Multiplayer Co-Op Game Design

    Industries

    • Gaming

  10. 10. Whimsy Games Group LTD

    Best for full-cycle and porting work

    Location
    Bailieborough, Ireland
    Rating
    4.9 (32 reviews)
    Team size
    50 - 249
    Hourly rate
    €25 - €45
    Founded
    2016

    Whimsy Games Group works from Bailieborough with 50 to 249 people, founded in 2016, building games for mobile, PC and console. It offers full-cycle development or will join an existing project mid-flight.

    Scale and track record

    Porting is a named specialism: moving a PC title to PlayStation, or adapting it for mobile so the controls suit the new platform. The listing records more than one hundred titles delivered for clients worldwide.

    Rates are 25 to 45 euro an hour, and it holds 32 verified reviews at 4.9 — by far the strongest review evidence on this page, where most studios have none. It suits a project needing an end-to-end partner or a platform port, and the review volume is the reason to shortlist it.

    Services

    • Full-Cycle Game Development
    • Co-Development
    • Game Porting

    Industries

    • Gaming
    • Mobile Apps

A well made game gets players in and keeps them playing session after session, which is its own hard problem. What it doesn't always solve is why a player should stick with one studio's next release over a rival's. Engagement inside a game and loyalty to the brand behind it are different things. Brandfire designs and builds loyalty and rewards programmes for brands across Ireland, the kind of work that carries a player's loyalty from one release to the next.

Frequently asked questions

How much does game development cost in Ireland?
No Irish studio publishes rates, and game budgets vary by orders of magnitude. A small mobile title and a co-developed AAA contract are not comparable products. Studios quote on scope, and scope in games expands more than in any other software category.
What is co-development in games?
It means working on someone else's title, usually a publisher's, taking on art, engineering or porting rather than owning the game. Ireland's largest studio works this way. It is where most Irish game employment sits, and it is a service business rather than a product one.
Can an Irish studio build my game from scratch?
Several here develop original titles, but most independent studios are working on their own IP rather than taking commissions. Full-service commissioned development is more available from the larger groups and the full-cycle studios than from small independents.
How do I evaluate a game studio?
Shipped titles, not showreels. Ask what they shipped, what their specific contribution was, and whether it launched on time. Only two studios here carry directory reviews, so credits are the evidence that matters.

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