Deck 1 · CEO & Location
Build your studio
Choose your CEO and your city. They set your budget and your starting edge.
Heading to Kickstarter late 2026 · waitlist open
Studio Showdown: build a game studio, ship a hit, beat your friends.
Studio Showdown is a strategic card-based tabletop game for 2 to 4 players, ages 13 and up, about running an indie video game studio, made by people who have run studios. A game takes 15 to 45 minutes and ends with a pitch: a few minutes, out loud, four questions, usually ending in laughter. Get the Kickstarter launch date first, and lock in 25% off with a $1 reservation.
Also follow the Kickstarter page. Kickstarter notifies followers the minute we launch, and every follow helps the campaign get seen.
You are on the waitlist.
Progress updates and the launch date are on their way. Two more things help: follow the Kickstarter page so Kickstarter pings you at launch, and reserve your copy with a $1 deposit to claim 25% off when the campaign opens.
A studio game with a pitch round
How Studio Showdown plays: run a studio, pitch a game, sabotage your rivals
Every player is a hungry indie studio CEO trying to ship the next big hit. Build your game out of absurd feature cards, react to market shifts, and make the calls that separate "visionary" from "bankrupt with great vibes." If Dominion and Munchkin had a baby and it grew up to pitch on Shark Tank.
01
Build your dream game
Pick a CEO and a city, take five feature cards, from Non-Linear Story to Wall Running, and stitch them into a game that somehow makes sense.
02
Ride the market chaos
Keep your cash alive until launch. Just when your cash flow looks stable, Market Adjustment makes you pay for every feature on your board, and Scope Creep hits anyone with four or more features on theirs.
03
Sabotage your "friends"
Nobody is safe. A Planted Bug deletes a rival's feature, a Studio Restructure doubles their burn, and they will do the same to you.
04
Win the Grand Pitch
After three rounds you launch: flip the market, roll for sales, then pitch your game to the investor. Hit, flop, or total bankruptcy.
Deck 2 · Gameplay Features
Develop & launch
Pick smart features, watch your burn, and be ready when launch round comes.
Deck 3 · Market
Pitch & outsmart
Three market cards decide what sells. Match them, roll for sales, then pitch live against your rival.
Players2 to 4
Play time15 to 45 min
Ages13 and up
In the box222 cards
From the developers of
This team has shipped before.
The team behind Studio Showdown has spent decades shipping successful games, including the ones here. This is not their first launch, and they know how to finish one.
Why we made this
We spent twenty years shipping games. Then we made one about shipping games.
Every studio meeting is already a game. We drew the cards, and a live pitch at the table decides who wins.
Real playtesters · real words
What players told us while we were building it
Real quotes from people who played Studio Showdown, from Las Vegas to New York.
My experience playing Studio Showdown? 10/10, baby! I will absolutely recommend this to my friends
9/10! Improvising wild stories with endless characters and crazy outcomes is just too much fun. 10/10 would recommend!
An absolute 10/10! We had the most chaotic, amazing time playing, so we are definitely telling all our friends they need to grab a copy ASAP!
With this game, you give yourself the Time or Permission to let your Imagination Run Wild in coming up with your OWN Game Concept
As a GAMER, I loved the Strategy, Min-Maxing Battle around Sandbox, Action, different Genres
Very Unique Plot. Completely different from ANY game which I've ever played before
This game really challenged my creativity, and super competitive to battle others. Had a GREAT Time
Really LOVED the Rogue-like Open World experience, where I get to CHOOSE and Create a Game concept which is PERSONALIZED to ME.
I HIGHLY recommend this game to anyone with a Creative Mind, to ad lib something, in a Fast Paced Quick Resolving Strategy game
The Strategic MIN-MAXing making everything work TOGETHER, looking my opponent IN the EYE to figure out THEIR Strategy... to WIN the Game. SUPER Appealing to a Big Nerd like me who loves Pokemon
LOVE that the process of pitching a Concept Game is EXACTLY like the game pitch competitions which I've seen at GenCon or Origins!
The randomness of my competitor's Sabotage Actions, plus how I CHOOSE to play MY hand and my own Sabotage, gives me a sense of AGENCY. But You just don't know how the Game will turn out, until the very end. SUPER FUN!
The Discord is open
Talk to the people making it, before it hits Kickstarter.
Join the Studio Showdown Discord and talk directly with the creator and the team as we take the game to Kickstarter. Ask questions, tell us what you think of the cards, and hear the news as it happens.
One game in 60 seconds
A whole game of Studio Showdown, start to finish.
Set up your studio
Pick a CEO and a city. They set your starting cash and your burn rate. Take five feature cards and pick the two genres they fit best.
Round 1: build
One action: swap a feature, roll to draw fresh ones, or fire your CEO's ability. Then pay your burn. A turn takes about a minute.
Round 2: chaos
Draw a Sabotage card and play it right away. Planted Bug deletes a rival's feature. Studio Restructure doubles your burn. Pay your burn again.
Round 3: launch
Flip three market cards. Every genre you match adds a die. Roll them all: that is your sales. Leftover features sell as co-dev work.
The pitch
Pitch your game to the investor in four questions: who it is for, three comparables, how big the market is, and why it is a 99 on Metacritic. The investor funds you. Most cash wins.
An investor scores your pitch: another player or the AI judge. Want it faster? Skip the cash tracking and play for the best pitch.
Kickstarter offer · late 2026 · limited to 500
Reserve for $1. Get 25% off.
A $1 deposit holds one of 500 spots and counts toward your pledge. Details in the FAQ.
The Shark Whisperer tier includes
- Base game, 222 cards
- Expansion pack
- Art poster
Demystified Studios · For gamers, by gamers
The Demystified Studios team
Graphic novel and anime art, all human-made. Every card, character, and box panel is drawn by hand by the team's artists.
Studio Showdown is made by Demystified Studios with VGCD Academy, based in San Ramon, California.
Questions
Studio Showdown FAQ
Click a question to open the answer.
Kickstarter and the offer
When does the Kickstarter launch?
We are targeting a Kickstarter launch in the fourth quarter of 2026. Follow the Kickstarter page and Kickstarter notifies you at launch. Join the waitlist and we email you the day before.
What does the waitlist get me?
Progress updates and the launch date before anyone else. Reserve with a $1 deposit and you also lock in one of 500 offers for 25% off the Shark Whisperer tier: base game, expansion, and poster.
What is the $1 deposit for?
It holds one of the 500 spots in your name and counts toward your pledge. See the refund policy.
How do I claim the 25% off on launch day?
The 25% off is delivered via a secret link, which is only made available to $1 reservation backers. The 25% off is only available to the (pre-VIP discounted) support tiers of $75 and $99. It is not available to the $49 tier. We give backers a 48-hour window within which to use the 25% off private link and lock in the early VIP backer price.
How many 25% off offers are there?
There are only 500. Sign up for the waitlist and reserve for $1.
Where do I pay the deposit, and how do refunds work?
[TEAM: where the deposit is paid.] To ask for a refund, see the refund policy.
What does the Shark Whisperer tier cost?
The Shark Whisperer tier is $99 to backers on Kickstarter.
What happens to my deposit if the campaign does not fund?
If the campaign does not reach its funding target, the deposits are refunded to their original forms of payment, minus any service fees.
Where do you ship, and what does shipping cost?
We can ship anywhere in the world. Shipping costs are assessed case by case, backer by backer. We estimate shipping costs to be approximately $20, payable by backers on Kickstarter at the time of their pledge.
When will backers receive the game?
Estimated delivery is summer 2027 (by August 2027), though we will make every effort possible to deliver early.
Can I order after the campaign ends?
There will be a late pledge, without the VIP early-bird discounts, available after the official Kickstarter campaign ends. With the commercial success of the game, we expect Studio Showdown to reach both big-box retailers like Amazon and Target, and other online destinations.
The team
Who made Studio Showdown?
Studio Showdown was made by key developers and publishers behind AAA and indie titles like Mass Effect, FIFA FC, RuneScape, Monopoly Go, and Dragon Age, who know what it's like to make and publish a commercial breakout hit.
Which games has the team shipped?
Executive Producer Michael Chang was on the production and publishing teams (at EA) of a Mass Effect mobile game and FIFA Ultimate Team FC, and (at Jagex) of RuneScape.
What are Demystified Studios and VGCD Academy?
Demystified Studios is an indie board and digital game developer and publisher, founded in 2021 by veterans of AAA games like Star Wars Galaxy and FIFA FC, and also indie games like RuneScape and CrowFall. Its founders also created interactive game development and entrepreneurship content under the brand Video Game Careers Demystified (VGCD) Academy.
The game
How many players, and how long?
Two to four players, fifteen to forty-five minutes. An investor scores each pitch: another player or the AI judge. Ages thirteen and up.
Is any of the art AI-generated?
No. The artwork, from the box art, the CEO and Location art, the Market cards, the Genre cards, and the Sabotage cards, and even the digital scoresheet (Cashflow Statement and Pitch Template), is all 100% human-made, using a combination of digital creation and rendering tools (like Adobe Creative Suite and Canva) and manual illustrations.
What is in the box?
The Shark Whisperer tier is $99 on Kickstarter. It includes the base Studio Showdown game (with 222 cards in the box: a CEO/Studio Locations deck with locations ranging from NYC and San Francisco to Berlin and Quebec City, through Manila and Kuala Lumpur; a Genre deck, from Sandbox and Horror to Sports, Action, and Adventure; and a Gameplay Features deck, from PvP Competition, Recoil, and Non-Linear Story to Parkour Movement, Character Customization, and Broadcast Commentary). The expansion content (in both the $75 and $99 tiers) adds the ALT-CEO/Locations Expansion Pack, which adds world locations like Dubai, San Salvador, London, and Tokyo. And at the $99 tier, each supporter gets a beautiful laminated Key Characters Art poster, digitally signed by the entire game studio team!
How does the Grand Pitch work?
The Grand Pitch is judged by another player. In a 3- to 4-player mode, we ask one player (player 3 of 3 or 4 of 4) to become the designated Investor-Judge. This player (similar to a Dungeon Master in D&D) judges each competitor's pitch, based on the merits of the game ideated and pitched, both in terms of the powerful emotional pull of the game's back/meta story and the quantitative investment-worthiness based on revenue potential and ROI.
What does one turn look like?
Short. In round one you take a single action, such as swapping a feature card or using your CEO's ability, then pay your burn. In round two you draw a Sabotage card, play it right away, and pay your burn. In round three you flip three market cards, roll dice for every genre match, add up your sales, then pitch. About a minute per turn, a few minutes for the pitch.
Can we skip the pitch round?
Yes, the game can be played without the roleplay and pitch round. In that case, the winner is whoever gets the highest cash balance after the competitive strategic min-max and the twisted, fast-paced sabotage rounds, when each player gets to upend and turn the gameplay upside down to their competitive advantage.
Is there a rulebook or a print-and-play demo?
Yes, we will have a digital rulebook.
What is in the expansion?
The ALT-CEO/Locations Expansion Pack adds world locations like Dubai, San Salvador, London, and Tokyo. It is included in the $75 and $99 tiers.
Quick answers
What is Studio Showdown?
Studio Showdown is a fast-paced Card-based Tabletop Game which combines D&D-style roleplaying, strategic resource management of Rich Dad, and competitive pitching of Shark Tank.
When does Studio Showdown come out?
Studio Showdown is coming to Kickstarter before the end of 2026. Join the waitlist or follow the Kickstarter page to get the date.
How much does Studio Showdown cost, and where can I buy it?
Studio Showdown will first be available on Kickstarter at three backer support levels: $49, $75, and $99.
How do you play Studio Showdown?
Studio Showdown starts when each player chooses to roleplay as the CEO of their own indie video game studio, choosing between archetypes like Seasoned Tech founders and Finance Gurus from global studio locations ranging from New York and San Francisco to Berlin, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur. Then comes the random drawing of Gameplay Features (e.g. Character Customization, Real-Time Commentary, and PvP Competition). Based on the Gameplay Feature cards drawn, they choose two Genres (Action, Sandbox, Horror, Sports, Adventure) which best represent their competitive competency (horror dev, or sports game experts). Then the fun begins, which lets each player strategically min-max (with random and blind draws) and sabotage friends and family alike with curveballs like Key Dev Departures, Geopolitical Instability, and CEO Scandals. Then there is one final round of high-stakes storytelling and pitching, to convince the investor-judge that they have the best, most epic, investment-worthy hit video game! See the full walkthrough above.
Is it good for families, teens, or classrooms?
Yes. Ages thirteen and up, and the pitch round rewards storytelling as much as strategy. Playtesters report fourteen-year-olds beating the adults. It also doubles as a hands-on lesson in cash flow and pitching, which is why VGCD Academy uses it.
What games is Studio Showdown most like?
Imagine if Game Dev Tycoon, Rich Dad's Cashflow, and Shark Tank had a hyperactive-ADHD baby. That is Studio Showdown.
We have been hard at work.
Studio Showdown is heading to Kickstarter in late 2026. Before it does, join the waitlist for progress updates and the launch date, and follow the Kickstarter page so you are notified the moment it opens. A $1 reservation locks in one of a limited number of 25% off offers for the Kickstarter launch. That is the lowest price the game will have on Kickstarter.
You are on the waitlist.
Progress updates and the launch date are on their way. Two more things help: follow the Kickstarter page so Kickstarter pings you at launch, and reserve your copy with a $1 deposit to claim 25% off when the campaign opens.
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