Game Co-Development

Embed senior Jagex-alumni Unity engineers directly into your team. We plug into your Jira, Slack, and sprint cycle.

Scale Your Unity Team. On Demand.

Game development schedules are volatile. When deadlines loom or technical debt piles up, hiring full-time staff takes too long, and freelancers are a gamble. That is why studios across the UK and Europe outsource to a trusted co-development partner instead. We provide embedded Unity engineering teams that integrate directly into your studio's workflow. Led by Jagex alumni, our developers are accustomed to working on massive, complex codebases like RuneScape. We don't just "take tickets" - we adopt your coding standards, join your Slack, and deliver production-ready code from Day 1. Whether it's building an MMO from the ground up or modernising a legacy SDK, our work ships under your brand with full white-label confidentiality. Looking for a dedicated Unity developer rather than a full team? See our Hire Unity Developers UK page for individual developer engagement options.

Our Co-Development Models

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Embedded Team Extension

We assign dedicated Senior Unity Developers to your project. They join your daily stand-ups, work in your Jira, and push to your repo - acting exactly like internal employees, but without the recruitment overhead.

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Feature Ownership

Hand off a specific, contained module to us. Whether it’s a Multiplayer Networking system, an Inventory UI overhaul, or a Console Port, we build it autonomously and merge it back into your main branch.

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LiveOps & Technical Debt Support

While your core team focuses on the “Next Big Thing,” we handle the maintenance of your live game. We squash bugs, implement SDK updates, and refactor legacy “spaghetti code” to keep the game stable.

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Transparent Pricing

We offer monthly retainers or fixed-scope agreements with no hidden fees. You know exactly what you are paying for before the first sprint begins. Use our cost estimator to get a ballpark figure.

Co-Development Models

"Co-development" means different things to different people. Some studios need an extra pair of hands on their existing team. Others need a specialist workstream handled end to end. Others have a project in trouble that needs rescuing. We offer all four models, and we are honest about which one fits your situation.

Embedded Team Extension

OVG developers integrate directly into your team, using your tools, processes, and communication channels. Daily standups, shared Jira or Trello boards, access to your repositories. It feels like hiring, but without the recruitment timeline, onboarding overhead, or employment commitments. You assign tickets and review pull requests exactly as you would with internal staff. Best for studios that need to scale up quickly for a production phase and scale back down afterwards. No long-term commitment required.

Workstream Ownership

OVG owns a defined workstream end to end. Examples: multiplayer networking, mobile porting, performance optimisation, or UI overhaul. Clear deliverables, milestones, and handover points. Your team focuses on core gameplay while we handle the specialist work. Best for studios that need specific expertise they do not have in-house. You define the outcome; we deliver it.

Full Project Delivery

OVG delivers a complete project from brief to launch. Regular milestone builds and client review cycles. We manage the production pipeline, QA, and platform submission. You maintain creative oversight without managing the day-to-day development. Best for publishers, IP holders, or businesses that need a game built but do not have an internal development team. Our Game Development service covers full project delivery in detail.

Rescue and Recovery

Taking over a project that has stalled, gone over budget, or lost its original development team. We start with a technical audit to assess the state of the codebase and identify the fastest path to a shippable state. Realistic re-scoping follows: what can be delivered within the remaining budget and timeline, and what needs to be cut. Best for studios or publishers with a project in trouble that needs experienced hands to get it back on track. See our Legacy Modernisation service for projects that also need engine or platform migration.

Why Co-Development Over Hiring or Freelancing

If you are reading this page, you are likely evaluating several options for getting development help. Hiring full-time, bringing in freelancers, and offshore outsourcing are all legitimate approaches. Here is an honest comparison of where co-development with a UK studio fits, and where it does not.

vs Hiring Full-Time

Hiring a senior Unity developer takes 2 to 4 months. OVG can start within weeks. There is no employment overhead: pension, benefits, equipment, office space, or management time. You scale up and down with project phases rather than carrying a fixed team through quiet periods. And you get access to a team with diverse specialisms rather than a single hire's skill set. The trade-off is that full-time hires build deeper institutional knowledge over years. If you need someone permanently embedded in your codebase for the long term, hiring may be the right call. Co-development is better when you need to move fast, need specialist skills for a defined period, or cannot justify a permanent headcount.

vs Freelancers

OVG is a studio, not an individual. If someone is unavailable, the project does not stop. A studio has a reputation, a portfolio, and a commercial relationship that creates accountability beyond a personal freelancer relationship. A single freelancer covers one discipline; OVG covers engineering, design, art direction, QA, and deployment. IP protection is handled through formal contracts, NDAs, and IP assignment as standard. The trade-off is cost. A senior freelancer is typically cheaper per hour than a studio. But if you factor in project management overhead, the risk of freelancer availability issues, and the breadth of skills you may need, the total cost comparison is closer than the hourly rate suggests. We break this down in our Co-Dev vs Freelancers vs Hiring blog post.

vs Offshore Outsourcing

Same timezone (UK-based, GMT/BST). No 8-hour communication lag. Native English communication with no translation overhead or misunderstanding risk on design and creative briefs. Cultural alignment with UK, European, and US clients, including understanding of Western market expectations, platform norms, and player behaviour. The trade-off is that offshore studios typically offer lower hourly rates. But lower total cost is not the same as lower hourly cost. Fewer communication cycles, less rework, and faster decision-making often mean that a UK-based co-dev partner delivers for a comparable or lower total project cost despite the higher day rate. We break down the true cost comparison in our True Cost of Outsourcing blog post.

What We Bring to a Co-Dev Engagement

Why OVG specifically, not just any co-development studio? These are the technical capabilities and experience we bring to the table.

Unity Specialists

10+ years of Unity development across mobile, PC, console, and WebGL. Deep experience with Unity 6, ECS/DOTS, Addressables, Shader Graph, and the new Input System. C# as primary language with advanced patterns including async/await, Source Generators, and Span-based optimisation.

Multiplayer and Networking

FishNet, Mirror, and Photon Fusion experience. Server-authoritative architecture for cheat prevention and competitive integrity. Scaling from small lobbies to MMO-scale: Domi Online demonstrates our ability to build and maintain networking for 1,000+ concurrent users.

Mobile and Cross-Platform

iOS, Android, WebGL, PC, and console development from a single Unity codebase. Platform-specific optimisation and certification compliance. Our Mobile Development and Console Porting services are frequently delivered as workstreams within larger co-development engagements.

Performance and Optimisation

GPU instancing, draw call batching, memory profiling, and shader optimisation. Mobile-specific expertise including thermal management, battery optimisation, and minimum-spec device targeting. Our Performance Optimisation service is often part of a co-dev engagement, whether as a dedicated workstream or as part of the quality standard we apply to all code we write.

How a Co-Dev Engagement Works

If you have not worked with an external development studio before, the process can feel uncertain. Here is exactly what happens from first contact to handover.

Step 1: Scoping Call

Understanding your project, team structure, and what you need help with. We identify the right engagement model (embedded, workstream, full delivery, or rescue) and discuss timeline and budget expectations. No commitment required at this stage. Prepare for this conversation with our free Brief Builder. It helps you capture your requirements in a structured format that makes the scoping call more productive.

Step 2: Technical Assessment

Reviewing your codebase (if applicable) to assess architecture, code quality, and integration points. Identifying technical risks and dependencies. Estimating effort based on the actual state of the project, not assumptions. For rescue projects, this step is critical: it determines what is salvageable and what needs replacing.

Step 3: Proposal and Onboarding

Detailed proposal with scope, milestones, timeline, and pricing. Onboarding to your tools and processes, or setup of shared tools if you do not have them. NDA and IP assignment agreements are signed before any code is exchanged. Get a ballpark cost estimate with our Cost Estimator before the scoping call.

Step 4: Delivery

Regular milestone builds, sprint reviews, or daily standups depending on the engagement model. Transparent progress tracking via shared project management tools. Direct communication with the developers doing the work, not just an account manager. You have the same visibility and control as you would with internal team members.

Step 5: Handover

Clean code with documentation. Knowledge transfer sessions with your team covering architecture decisions, build pipeline, and areas requiring ongoing attention. Build pipeline and deployment documentation delivered as standard. A post-handover support period for questions and minor fixes ensures a smooth transition back to your internal team.

Co-Development Portfolio

Every project in our portfolio was delivered through one of the co-development models described above. Here are specific examples that demonstrate how we work as a partner studio.

Domi Online: Long-Running Embedded Partnership

Domi Online is a live MMORPG where OVG has served as the embedded development partner for an extended engagement. We provide multiplayer engineering, server architecture, Unity version migrations, and performance optimisation for a game with 1,000+ concurrent users. This is the embedded team extension model at its most involved: we operate as the core engineering team while the client focuses on game direction and community management.

Empires Rise: Full Project Delivery

Empires Rise is a 4X strategy game delivered from concept through to mobile launch. OVG managed the entire development pipeline: game design, engineering, art direction, testing, and store submission. This is the full project delivery model: the client defined the vision and reviewed milestone builds, while OVG handled production.

Jagex and fish in a bottle: Large Team Experience

Our founders spent years working as part of large, multi-discipline teams at Jagex (RuneScape) and fish in a bottle (Cambridge University Press, Museum of London, BBC). That experience, working within established codebases, adapting to existing team cultures, and delivering under live-service pressure, is what informs our co-development approach. We have been on the other side of the table, and we know what good integration looks like. Read more about the challenges of working on an established codebase: 5 Signs You Need a Co-Development Partner.

Why Choose Us?

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Zero Ramp-Up Time

We are senior engineers, not juniors. We know how to navigate large, undocumented codebases and complex version control (Git/PlasticSCM) environments immediately.

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White-Label Integration

We work under your brand with full confidentiality. Our code matches your style guide, we sign strict NDAs, and all deliverables are owned by you from day one. As far as your players, publishers, and investors are concerned, the work was done entirely in-house.

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AAA Pedigree

Our team brings experience from major studios like Jagex. We understand the rigour required for MMORPGs and high-DAU live-service games. We don’t break the build.

The Collaboration Stack

We slot seamlessly into your existing toolchain:

Slack

Microsoft Teams

Jira

GitHub

GitLab

Perforce

Plastic SCM

Our Integration Workflow

We treat co-development as a partnership, not a transaction. Here is how we integrate into your pipeline:

1. Onboarding & Access

We sign the NDA/MSA and get set up in your environment. We configure access to your Version Control (Git/Perforce), Project Management (Jira/Trello), and Communication channels (Slack/Discord/Teams).

NDA & MSA Signing: Legal agreements executed before any code or documentation is shared.
Environment Setup: Access configured for your Version Control (Git/Perforce), Project Management (Jira/Trello), and Communication channels (Slack/Discord/Teams).
Toolchain Onboarding: Our developers install your build tools, SDKs, and custom editor extensions on Day 1.

2. Architecture Review

Before writing code, we review your existing architecture and coding standards. We ensure our contributions match your project’s structure (e.g., DOTS, Zenject, or custom frameworks).

Codebase Audit: We study your project structure, naming conventions, and dependency graph.
Standards Alignment: Our code matches your style guide, whether you use DOTS, Zenject, or custom frameworks.
Knowledge Transfer: We document any tribal knowledge gaps so nothing is lost in translation.

3. Agile Execution

We work in your sprint cycles (typically 2 weeks). You treat us like your own devs - assigning tickets, reviewing PRs (Pull Requests), and providing feedback during retrospectives.

Sprint Integration: We join your existing sprint cycles, typically 2-week cadences.
Ticket Ownership: You assign tickets and review our PRs exactly as you would with internal developers.
Retrospective Feedback: We participate in retros and continuously improve our integration.

4. Documentation & Handover

We don’t leave black boxes. All our code is fully commented and documented. If our contract ends, your internal team can pick up exactly where we left off without confusion.

Inline Documentation: All code is fully commented with clear explanations of design decisions.
Technical Handover: Comprehensive documentation ensures your team can continue without confusion.
Zero Lock-In: When our engagement ends, your internal team picks up exactly where we left off.

Need senior Unity developers on your project? Let’s discuss your team’s needs.

Book a Technical Consultation

What Our Clients Say

“Initially hired David to review code for the game at a very early stage and was blown away by his abilities. After a round with the board we hired David as lead developer for the project. He brought with him other developers who also did great work and I can say with full confidence there would be no Domi Online without their expertise.”

“David and Adam's workflow is always carried out with sophistication and passion, providing our team with vast expertise of the industry whilst maintaining a high standard of work and pride in each component fulfilled. Dedicated members who always go above and beyond expectations to deliver. Great asset to any team!”

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Free interactive tools to help scope your project.

Build your project briefCapture your requirements, timeline, and team structure in a structured brief before the scoping call.Try it free →Estimate your project costGet a ballpark figure for your co-development engagement based on scope and duration.Try it free →

Read: Co-Dev vs Freelancers vs Hiring →Read: 5 Signs You Need a Co-Dev Partner →Read: True Cost of Outsourcing →View all development services →

Frequently Asked Questions

We can typically deploy a senior developer or a small squad within 1–2 weeks of signing an agreement, compared to the 3–6 months it takes to hire full-time staff.

For Co-Development, we recommend a Monthly Retainer or Day Rate. This gives you the flexibility to change priorities and assign different tasks as your production needs shift.

You do. Under our Master Services Agreement (MSA), all code, assets, and intellectual property created by Ocean View Games during the contract belong 100% to your studio.

While we specialise in Unity, our engineering fundamentals allow us to adapt to custom C# frameworks. However, our peak efficiency is within the Unity ecosystem.

We are UK-based (GMT/BST), which allows for significant overlap with both US East Coast (morning overlap) and European/Asian (full day overlap) studios.

Have more questions about our services?

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Case Studies

Domi Online

Scalable MMORPG Architecture Case Study

How we scaled Domi Online, a blockchain MMORPG built in Unity with FishNet networking. Covers server architecture, performance optimisation, and multiplayer infrastructure.

Read the Case Study