A new studio from two players who got tired of waiting. Games shaped by the people who play them — tested in the open, built on real feedback, and made to be loved again.
The first people on this list are the founding players: first access, first say, and first in line when preorders open. This is the fleet, forming.
Welcome to the First Wave. Your spot is saved — watch your inbox for first access, first say, and first word on preorders.
Scroll — follow the wake
The people behind it
RedWake Games starts with two founders — no boardroom, no focus group. Just two people who love games enough to build their own.
Co-founder — RedWake Games
Bodybuilder and coach by trade, founder by habit. I’ve spent years building companies from nothing — most recently Iris AI Labs, making AI that actually works for the person using it. Games were always what I came home to. RedWake is where both lives meet: I build worlds by voice from a pair of smart glasses with an AI crew working beside me, and I playtest everything like a player who paid full price. If it isn’t fun, it doesn’t ship.
Co-founder — RedWake Games
Journeyman lineman, IBEW Local 145, out of Viola, Illinois. I work with my hands, and I know working people can spot fake in about ten seconds. I got tired of games that felt fake — built for a spreadsheet instead of the person holding the controller. So we’re building our own, and we’re building them with the players, not at them.
Why RedWake exists
We saw what AI could do.
Then we looked at games — and saw what wasn’t happening.
So instead of paying for games we didn’t love, we decided to build our own.
Built in the open. Tested by real players. Shaped by real feedback.
The goal is simple: games people love again.
Get involved
However you want in, there’s a door with your name on it. Each door takes you straight to its own tab — tiers, beta testing, and joining the crew all live one click away.
Door One — Everyone
The First Wave. Founding players and testers who hear everything first and help decide what RedWake becomes.
Door Two — Players
Play early builds, give real feedback, and help shape games before anyone else sees them. Testers are subscribers — $10 sign-up plus $20/month while testing — and earn it back, and then some, from the cuts. The game is yours free at launch.
Door Three — Builders
Making a game of your own? We’ll help you get it in front of real testers, gather honest feedback, and get it listed — the same wake, carrying more boats.
Preorders
Unbound — heading to beta · Nine Candles — playable now
Unbound is heading to beta and Nine Candles is playable now on mobile. We’re not announcing a date or a price for Unbound today — we’d rather show you a game worth loving than sell you a promise. Preorder interest opens to the First Wave first.
No fine print games
That’s the commitment at the heart of RedWake. The beta model is stated plainly on this page — testers subscribe, share in the cuts, and get the game free at launch — and the full legal details will be published before any subscription opens. No payment is taken on this page.
Straight answers
A new game studio founded by Matthew Redfearn and Alex Wakeland. We saw what AI could do, saw what wasn’t happening in games, and decided to build our own — with players involved from the start instead of at the checkout.
The first people who join us. First Wave members are our founding players and testers: first access to what we’re building, first say through feedback, and first in line when preorders open. Joining the waitlist puts you in it — free.
Yes — Nine Candles is playable now on mobile, an easy game for wasting time on a long storm or just because you enjoy this type of game; its graphics and animations are still being polished. Unbound is in development and heading to beta — Captains can register on the Beta Testers tab. A third title is still unannounced.
You play early builds, tell us honestly what works and what doesn’t, and help shape the game before release. Beta testers are subscribers: $10 sign-up, then $20/month while you test. You earn it back — and then some — from the cuts: the tester with the most hours, notes, and impact earns a 10% cut, and every other tester shares in a 10% pool, split by their contribution. The game is yours free at launch. Shares are tracked by hours, notes, and impact, and a tracking system for this is being designed so it stays fair. No payment is taken on this page — the forms here register interest only.
In plain terms: beta testers subscribe — $10 sign-up plus $20/month while testing — and earn it back, and then some, from the cuts. The tester with the most hours, notes, and impact earns a 10% cut. Every other tester shares in a 10% pool, split by their contribution — tracked by hours, notes, and impact, with a fair tracking system being designed for exactly that. Testers also get the game free at launch. Separately, after the real costs of releasing a game, a studio fee covers getting games listed and promoted and equipping the studio. The remaining legal details are being finalized properly and will be published before any subscription opens; no payment is taken on this page.
You can register preorder interest — that holds your place in line, First Wave first. There’s no price and no charge today for Unbound. We won’t take money for a game we haven’t shown you.
Use the Use the “Bring Us Your Game” form above.ldquo;Bring Your GameUse the “Bring Us Your Game” form above.rdquo; form on the Join the Crew tab. We help indie builders get their games in front of real testers for honest feedback, and help them get listed. Tell us what you’re making and what you need — testing, listing, or both. On shares: if we’re only helping list your game, RedWake’s share is 10%; it steps up from there based on how much input and computing power we contribute, and the exact share is agreed up front, in writing, before work starts.
The library
Three games are in the works at RedWake. Unbound is heading to beta, Nine Candles is playable now on mobile, and a third title is still under wraps. Pick a game below: join its waitlist, or register preorder interest for that specific game. The First Wave hears first.
In development — heading to beta
Bind the Wyldlings — wild Fae beasts no god owns — raise them, evolve them, and fight beside them. You’re a half-blood blessed by every god at once, cast out by every people. Survive, learn what you are, and build a home for everyone they cast out.
See the Unbound showcaseThe Wildwood is full of Wyldlings: wild Fae beasts that belong to no people and no god. Weaken them, bind them with the Binding ring, and they’re yours — to raise from babies, evolve into workers and fighters, put to work in your town, and take into battle at your side. Over a hundred forms are already modelled, and every line grows up differently. Collect them. Bond with them. Find the ones nobody else has.
Every people in the world outlaws half-bloods. You choose which people you’re half of — Fae, witch, vampire or dragon shifter — and then every god blesses you at once, with far more magic than any body should hold. Turned away by all of them, you survive the Wildwood, learn Control, and found a town for everyone they cast out. Win the peoples over one by one, or stand against them — and face your own people’s leader at the end. The sun hasn’t shown its face in a thousand years. You might be the reason it finally does.
“Every god of the Fae world blessed one child. Then every people in it turned that child away.”
“Survive. Learn what you are. Then build a home for everyone they cast out.”
Creature art: the fighter forms of three Unbound starter lines — Pyrewing (Cindermote), Dawnraptor (Lumkin) and Hoarfang (Rimefawn). This is creature art, not gameplay screenshots.
Pick how you want in on this one, then save your spot. Interest only — no price, no charge, nothing owed. Want to test it? Captains can also register on the Beta Testers tab.
Your spot for Unbound is saved. When beta opens, you’ll hear it here first.
Playable now — polishing
An easy mobile game for wasting time on a long storm — or just because you enjoy this type of game. Pick it up, settle in, and let the time pass.
Nine Candles is built to be easy to start and easy to stay with — the kind of game you pull out when you’re stuck waiting out a long storm, or when you simply enjoy this type of game.
Pick how you want in on this one, then save your spot. Interest only — no price, no charge, nothing owed.
Your spot for Nine Candles is saved. When there’s news on this one, you’ll hear it here first.
To be announced
A third game is in the works. It’s not ready to be shown yet — when it is, the First Wave hears first.
Pick how you want in on this one, then save your spot. Interest only — no price, no charge, nothing owed.
Your spot for the Unannounced Title is saved. When this one is ready to be shown, you’ll hear it here first.
Two ways in
Two paths in. The Free Tier is the First Wave itself — free, first, and open to everyone: waitlist, news, and community. The Captains’ Tier is for beta testers: a $10 sign-up plus a $20/month beta subscription while testing — and testers earn it back, and then some, from the shared cuts. The game is yours free at launch.
Tier One — Everyone
$0 — no card, ever
The front door to RedWake. Join free and you’re in the First Wave from day one.
Free to join. No spam — just first word when there’s something worth playing.
Welcome to the First Wave — Free Tier. Your spot is saved.
Tier Two — Beta Testers
$10 sign-up + $20/month while testing
Beta testers are subscribers: $10 to sign up, then $20/month while you test. You earn it back — and then some — from the cuts: the top tester earns 10%, and the rest of the flotilla shares a 10% pool, split by contribution. Shares are tracked by hours, notes, and impact; a tracking system for this is being designed so it stays fair. The game itself is yours free at launch. This form registers interest only — no payment is taken on this page.
Register your interest and you’ll hear first when testing rounds open — including the subscription terms and how hours, notes, and impact will be tracked.
You’re on the Captains list. When testing rounds open, captains hear first — and the game is yours free at launch.
Beta testers — the captains
Captains are subscribers. Sign your ship up for $10, then $20/month while you test — and earn it back, and then some, from the shared cuts. RedWake is the flagship — the boat out front, leaving the red wake. Beta testers are captains of their own smaller ships, sailing in that wake as a flotilla. Each captain scouts ahead, reports the rough water — the bugs and broken things — and charts where the good sailing is: what players actually love. Independent ships, one fleet. And captains share in the take: the top captain — by hours, notes, and impact — earns a 10% cut, and every other captain shares a 10% pool, split by contribution. The game is yours free at launch. Shares are tracked by hours, notes, and impact; a tracking system for this is being designed so it stays fair. In plain terms: this is the beta tester signup — play early builds, give real feedback, help decide what ships.
This is the beta tester signup form. Testers are subscribers — $10 sign-up plus $20/month while testing — and earn it back, and then some, from the cuts: the top tester by hours, notes, and impact earns a 10% cut, every other tester shares a 10% pool split by contribution, and the game is yours free at launch. Shares are tracked by hours, notes, and impact, and a tracking system for this is being designed so it stays fair. This form registers your interest only — no payment is taken on this page.
You’re registered as a RedWake beta tester — a captain in the flotilla. When a build is ready for outside eyes, captains hear first.
Join the crew
This is the join-the-team tab, for fellow indie developers and builders. Aboard RedWake, nobody gets “hired” — you sign on with the crew, take a real post, and build games people love again. And the oldest rule of the articles still holds: crews share. Under the articles, the crew shares in the take — the full model is published before any money is involved, same as everywhere else on this site. Two ways to sign on: take a post aboard, or bring your own ship alongside.
Track One — Take a Post Aboard
Crew posts are real posts: Developer · Artist · Music & Sound · Writer — and the other hands a ship needs. This form signs you up to join the RedWake team. Write your name like you mean it.
Welcome aboard. Your application to join the crew is saved — we read every signature, so watch your inbox.
Track Two — Your Own Ship
In plain terms: Bring Us Your Game. Sail your game under the fleet’s flag — we’ll help you get it in front of real testers, gather honest feedback, and get it listed. The same wake, carrying more boats.
How RedWake’s share works — plain terms: RedWake takes a percentage of the game, scaled to how much RedWake puts in. If RedWake is only helping list the game, our share is 10%. From there it steps up based on how much input and computing power RedWake contributes to the game. The exact share is agreed up front, in writing, before work starts — in the spirit of signing the articles: no surprises, nothing sprung on you later.
Your ship is alongside the fleet now. We read every pitch — watch your inbox.
