adminThe FreeAnimal creative agency brings seven Keywords Studios businesses together under one organisation, giving game developers, publishers and brands a single point of contact for creative and production services. The launch combines established teams while allowing clients to draw on expertise from across the group.
Image credit: FreeAnimal/Keywords
FreeAnimal creative agency combines seven businesses
The new organisation includes creative agencies Ichi, KWM, Fire Without Smoke and Gnet, alongside media production studios TrailerFarm, Maverick and Big Farmer. Together, the businesses operate across Los Angeles, London, Brighton, Montreal and Quebec.
The companies announced the change as the beginning of a new chapter as one creative agency. Their existing client contracts remain in place. For new work, FreeAnimal can bring together capabilities from across the seven businesses, rather than limiting a project to one studio’s individual team.
A shared team for different project needs
FreeAnimal global head John Rosenberg said the organisation serves ambitious gaming brands and draws on the different perspectives, locations and experience of its constituent agencies. He described its model as bringing together specialist teams at the scale required for each client’s challenge.
For developers and publishers considering a project, the practical change is a central route into the combined network. The range of participating businesses may be relevant when a brief involves creative agency work as well as media production. Clients with current agreements should continue to follow their existing contracts; the announcement does not say those arrangements have been replaced.
Keywords Studios’ wider expansion
Founded in 1998, Keywords Studios began acquiring related companies in 2014, starting with voice production studio Liquid Violet. Since then, it has acquired 70 companies as it expanded its services across areas including audio, art, localisation, quality assurance (QA), functional QA, engineering, player support, trailer production, marketing and data analysis.
The company’s acquisitions in 2024 included Certain Affinity, a co-developer of Halo, and work-for-hire studio Wushu Studios. Earlier this year, it also brought together its public relations firms Fortyseven Communications and Indigo Pearl after Fortyseven, which is based in the United States, opened a London office.
What the FreeAnimal launch means for clients
FreeAnimal creates a unified organisation from seven existing businesses, but the announcement does not indicate that the individual companies’ work or current client agreements have ended. Prospective clients can assess the network’s locations and service areas against their project requirements, while existing clients can refer to their current contracts for details.
Overall, the FreeAnimal creative agency gives Keywords Studios a combined structure for creative and media production work, connecting specialist businesses across several locations while maintaining existing client arrangements.
