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Put your studio structure in order before an investor comes on board

We help gaming studios and development teams build a secure ownership, decision-making and investment model, enabling the business to grow without the chaos, conflicts and risks that can block financing.

Let’s discuss your studio’s structure

The studio is growing. Projects are accelerating. An investor, new shareholder or next title is on the horizon.

Yet the legal and business structure may still rely on informal arrangements that were once sufficient but now create risk.

A disorganised structure can slow down an investment round, complicate discussions with a partner, trigger conflict between founders or undermine the studio’s credibility during due diligence.

Our role is to translate the studio’s business objectives – growth, financing, future titles and expansion – into a corporate model that works in practice: clear, secure and understandable to the management board, founders and investors. The service includes, among other things, a structural audit, selection of the appropriate corporate model, structuring relationships between founders and investors, and preparing corporate and investment documentation.

Mateusz Sawaryn

Managing Partner Counsel

Most common problems / challenges

The most common problems we solve

The company structure is not keeping pace with the studio's growth The studio started as a project team, but now operates as a business: it hires staff, develops several workstreams, speaks with investors and plans further games. Its original structure is no longer sufficient.

We help assess the current ownership and organisational structure, then design a model suited to the scale of operations, financing plans and future changes.

Business benefit: greater control over the studio's growth and fewer ad hoc decisions.

Risk of inaction: the studio may enter investment or partnership talks with a model that will not withstand due diligence.

Unclear rules between founders At the start, trust is enough. When success, time pressure or an investor arrives, the lack of formal rules starts working against the company.

We define and document rules on shares, control, responsibility, decision-making, exit from the company and conflict situations.

Business benefit: fewer tensions between shareholders and greater predictability of decisions.

Risk of inaction: a founder conflict can block financing, a project launch or a strategic partnership.

The studio is not ready for an investor An investor looks not only at the game and the team. They check the structure, documents, rights, governance, control model and the ability to exit the investment.

We prepare the studio for investment conversations: we organise documents, the structure, capital-entry scenarios and the key rules of cooperation with an investor.

Business benefit: greater credibility and a smoother investment process.

Risk of inaction: the round may be delayed by questions that should have been resolved before talks began.

Rights, shares and projects are dispersed IP, founder contributions, rights to the game, the roles of individual entities and project financing are often arranged in a way that does not give full control.

We map rights, relationships and dependencies between entities, founders, projects and investors. Then we recommend a structure that organises ownership, financing and decision-making.

Business benefit: clarity on what belongs to the studio, who has influence and how subsequent projects can be financed.

Risk of inaction: dispersed rights can reduce the studio's value or make investor entry harder.

No model for future titles and scaling A single game can operate within a simple structure. Multiple projects, publishing, international collaboration or new funding rounds require a more robust framework.

We design a corporate-governance and financing model that accounts for studio growth, subsequent projects, possible shareholder changes and future investment scenarios.

Business benefit: the structure grows with the business instead of holding it back.

Risk of inaction: each subsequent project increases chaos, decision costs and the risk of disputes.

Our solution

From informal arrangements to a structure ready for growth and investment

We do not start with documents. We start by understanding how the studio operates, what it aims to achieve and where its structure may block decisions, financing or scaling. Only then do we design a practical, implementable model that makes sense for the business.

From informal arrangements to a structure ready for growth and investment

We do not start with documents. We start by understanding how the studio operates, what it aims to achieve and where its structure may block decisions, financing or scaling. Only then do we design a practical, implementable model that makes sense for the business.

  • map of the current structure
  • list of risks
  • prioritised recommendations for improvements

Audit of the ownership and organisational structure

  • analysis of the current company or project-team structure,
  • review of relationships between founders, shareholders and key people,
  • identification of decision-making, ownership and investment risks,
  • verification of documents and informal arrangements.

 

  • Map of the current structure
  • List of risks
  • Recommendations on priorities to address

Designing the optimal company model

  • selection of the legal form and operating model,
  • recommendation of a structure for the current stage of growth,
  • allowance for investment plans, subsequent projects and scaling,
  • organising roles, responsibilities and decision flow.

 

  • Recommended corporate structure model with a business rationale

Preparing the studio for investors

  • organising corporate and investment documents,
  • preparing the structure for an equity investment,
  • support during investor negotiations,
  • analysing risks that may arise during due diligence.

 

  • package of recommendations and documents to prepare the studio for investor discussions

Przygotowanie studia do inwestora

  • defining who makes which decisions and within what scope,
  • designing oversight, consent and authority mechanisms,
  • clarifying the responsibilities of the management board and shareholders,
  • adapting the rules to the scale of the organisation.

 

  • corporate governance model

Governance, kontrola i zasady decyzyjne

  • analysing relationships between projects, rights and entities,
  • recommending how to organise several titles or business lines,
  • supporting the funding model for future projects,
  • organising key dependencies from an investor’s perspective.

 

  • a clear model for projects, rights and funding that supports the studio’s continued growth

Who this service is for

For studios that want to grow without improvising their structure

The service is for teams with a clear business objective: securing an investor, scaling up, launching a new project, changing the shareholder structure or putting their operating rules in order.

For studios that want to grow without improvising their structure

The service is for teams with a clear business objective: securing an investor, scaling up, launching a new project, changing the shareholder structure or putting their operating rules in order.

Gaming studio CEO / COO

When you need clear decision-making rules, accountability and control over the company’s growth.

Studio founder / creative director / co-founder

When you want to protect your shareholding, rights and influence over the project without limiting the business’s flexibility.

Stages of work

A straightforward process from diagnosis to implementation

We work so that the management board and founders can quickly see where the risks lie, what options are available and what must be implemented first. The process covers diagnosis, structure design, implementation and ongoing support with investors and structural changes.

Situation assessment

We analyze the studio’s structure, documents, founder relationships, decision-making model, rights and business objectives.

Structure design

We develop a recommended legal and business model covering the company, ownership relationships, governance, investment scenarios and control rules.

Implementation

We prepare, organize or update corporate and investment documents. We set rules between the parties so the structure works in practice.

Stabilization and ongoing support

We support the studio through further changes, including investor discussions, growth, new projects, shareholder changes or changes to the funding model.

Contact us

Check whether your studio's structure is ready for an investor

One conversation will identify where the greatest risks sit: in shares, decision-making, documents, IP, founder relationships or the model for investor entry.

Fill in a short form. We will ask about the studio’s stage of growth, ownership structure, investment plans and the most important challenges. On that basis we will come back with a proposal for the next step.

Mateusz Sawaryn

They will follow up with any questions or recommend a next step.

Quick response

We usually respond within two hours on business days.

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