The best game companies in Chicago cluster around a few well-known names: NetherRealm Studios (the WB Games team behind Mortal Kombat), Jackbox Games, Iron Galaxy Studios, High Voltage Software in nearby Hoffman Estates, Phosphor Studios, and Wargaming's Chicago-Baltimore office. The city's game scene is smaller than California or Seattle but concentrated, senior, and unusually strong in fighting games, party titles, and co-development work.
If you are a Chicago-based studio scoping outsourcing or team extension, talk to Game-Ace.
Why Chicago matters as a game development city
Chicago is not the biggest US game hub, and it doesn't try to be. What it has is depth in specific genres and a strong cluster of senior studios that stay in the city rather than migrating to the coasts. The Entertainment Software Association consistently lists Illinois among the top US states for game industry employment, and much of that headcount sits inside the Chicago metro.
Two things shape the local scene. First, the Midwest talent pool: DePaul University, Columbia College Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Northwestern all feed graduates into local studios. The Illinois Innovation Network coordinates a lot of that pipeline across the state system. Second, corporate anchors: WB Games (via NetherRealm) and Wargaming keep senior producers, designers, and engineers in the region.
The practical outcome for buyers: Chicago is a good market for hiring domain-specialist producers, fighting-game designers, and party-game writers. It is a weaker market for cheap junior headcount, which is where outside partners come in.
10 game companies in Chicago worth knowing
The list below focuses on studios that are either currently active in Chicago or historically important to the city's game industry. It is intentionally not a ranking.
NetherRealm Studios
part of WB Games since 2010, the studio behind Mortal Kombat and Injustice, founded in Chicago as Midway's in-house team.
Jackbox Games
formerly Jellyvision Games, a Chicago-native studio that built a global category around living-room party games with The Jackbox Party Pack series.
Iron Galaxy Studios
Chicago's best-known co-development and porting specialist, with credits including Killer Instinct, Skyrim on Switch, and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection.
High Voltage Software
based in Hoffman Estates in the Chicago metro, a long history of licensed and work-for-hire projects.
Phosphor Studios
a smaller Chicago studio historically active in mobile, VR, and licensed console projects.
Wargaming Chicago-Baltimore
the Chicago-Baltimore office of Wargaming Group, supporting World of Tanks from the US side.
Robomodo
Chicago-founded, best known for the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD revival, cited as part of the historical map.
Day 1 Studios (historical)
founded in Chicago, acquired by WB as WB Games Chicago before closure in 2014, seeded senior talent that stayed in the region.
SomaSim
a Chicago indie studio founded in 2013 by Robert Zubek, known for management and simulation titles like Project Highrise and City of Gangsters.
Midway Games (historical)
the Chicago coin-op giant behind Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, and Defender, folded into Warner Bros. after its 2009 bankruptcy, with NetherRealm carrying its legacy forward.
How Chicago game companies compare by studio type
Chicago has four practical tiers, each with a different engagement pattern, IP posture, and best-fit buyer profile.
| Studio type | Example | IP posture | Best fit for |
| Major-publisher subsidiary | NetherRealm (WB Games) | Publisher-owned IP | Not available as vendor |
| Mid-size independent, IP-owning | Jackbox Games | Studio-owned IP | Licensing, distribution deals |
| Co-development and porting specialist | Iron Galaxy | Client-owned IP | Studios needing a US-based console partner |
| Outsourcing / team extension partner | Game-Ace (external to Chicago) | Full IP transfer to client | Chicago studios scoping external capacity |
For a Chicago-based producer, the practical takeaway: NetherRealm and Jackbox are not options as vendors. Iron Galaxy is an option if you need a US-based partner with console credentials. External outsourcing partners fit best when the goal is added capacity or full-cycle turnkey delivery outside the local hiring market.
What Chicago studios typically outsource
Chicago teams tend to keep design, direction, and senior engineering in-house and outsource around them.
- Art production: characters, environments, props, UI, and animation.
- Co-development on live titles, feature work, ports, and platform updates.
- QA and compatibility testing across device matrices.
- Backend and live-ops engineering when the local team is engine-focused.
- Team extension for specific roles (Unity, Unreal, tools engineering).
Local senior rates are high, junior pipelines are competitive with Silicon Valley for the same graduates, and studios prefer to keep headcount lean between projects. That maps well to co-development and team-extension models rather than pure fixed-price work.
How a Chicago studio actually engages an outside partner
Three engagement models cover most of what Chicago studios ask for.
- Team extension: external developers or artists work inside the client's tools, repo, and sprint cadence. Best for filling defined roles.
- Co-development: external team owns a scoped part of the project. Best when the client team is engine-heavy but capacity-limited.
- Full-cycle development: the external partner delivers a full title or module against a GDD. Best for spin-offs, ports, and side projects.
Game-Ace uses all three. See game development outsourcing for the general model, full-cycle game development for turnkey delivery, game co-development when the client keeps direction, and hire game developers or staff augmentation for role-based extension.
Chicago compared to other US game hubs
Chicago is not competing with Los Angeles or Seattle on volume. It competes on senior density and cost of living. For a broader US map, the top game companies in the USA list covers the coasts and the Texas cluster in more detail. Engine choice in Chicago mirrors the US average: heavy Unreal for large-scale console and PC work, Unity for mid-size and mobile. Studios evaluating engine trade-offs can start with the game engine comparison article.
For Chicago studios exploring adjacent verticals, slot and casino work exists in the Midwest but is more concentrated in Vegas and Malta, the top slot game companies piece maps that market. Budget-planning reading: how much does it cost to make a video game.
When to talk to Game-Ace about a Chicago-based game project
Talk to Game-Ace when a Chicago studio needs more hands than the local market can give in a reasonable time, when a co-development partner has to slot into an existing US pipeline without ceremony, or when a full production track has to be handed off cleanly. Founded in 2005, 120+ in-house specialists, 200+ delivered games, strict NDA and full IP transfer. HQ in Cyprus with US business hours overlap that works for Central Time. Learn more about the wider studio at Game-Ace, a game development studio.
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