Bonfire Studios
Bonfire Studios is an independent video game developer with 97 employees, currently developing its first title, a team-based PvP game called Arkheron. The company raised $25M in a Series B round in January 2025, with backing from Riot Games and Andreessen Horowitz among others.
The growth story
Bonfire Studios grew from 32 to 97 employees between 2021 and 2026, raising $25M along the way, most recently a Series B in January 2025.
About
Bonfire Studios makes multiplayer video games focused on competitive team play and community building. Their debut game Arkheron is in private playtesting, targeting players who want deep, rewarding gameplay in persistent worlds.
The company has grown to nearly 100 employees since its 2016 founding, with recent Series B funding suggesting expansion. Their investor list includes strategic backer Riot Games alongside VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Founders Fund.
Founders and leadership
Engineering is the largest function with 21 staff. The company operates with a lean team structure, averaging 2 years median tenure across its workforce.
The Bonfire Studios org chart
Nicholas Carpenter (Co-founder) leads 23 mapped leaders with 7 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Arts and Design 36 (-10% YoY), Engineering 27 (+17% YoY), Media and Communication 6 (0% YoY), Marketing 5 (+25% YoY), Business Development 4 (0% YoY), Community and Social Services 4 (+300% YoY).
Talent flow
Over a third of analyzed hires came from Blizzard Entertainment, with Riot Games and EA also major talent sources. Alumni have founded several gaming startups including Bad Robot Games (121 employees) and Imagendary Studios.
Most common previous employers of Bonfire Studios staff: Blizzard Entertainment (35), Riot Games (12), Electronic Arts (EA) (7), Respawn Entertainment (7), Turtle Rock Studios (3), Wildlight Entertainment (3). Former Bonfire Studios employees most often moved to Bad Robot Games (2), Giant Skull (2), Lightspeed L.A. (2), Super Mega Lab (2), Lone Rider Recruiting (1), Yellow Brick Games (1).
Alumni worth knowing
The Bonfire Studios mafia
Former employees have started 4 known companies, including Bad Robot Games (121 staff) and Super Mega Lab (2 founders).
5Anna Sweet, was Business | People | Operations until 2020Wei Wang, was Principal Artist until 2019Gia Nguyen, was Concept Artist until 2019Marc Hanson, was Programming Department Lead until 2010Andrew Foster, was Software Engineer until 2010Web traffic
Traffic mix: 22% direct, 68% search, 4% social, 0% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at Bonfire Studios: Game Development (43), Video Games (43), Adobe Photoshop (33), Autodesk Maya (28), Game Design (25), C++ (21), Unity (20), Texture Mapping (17).
Where the team actually sits
Bonfire Studios people are concentrated in California, United States (42), Los Angeles Metropolitan Area (11), United States (4), Canada (3).
Search footprint
Bonfire Studios attracts about 1,078 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $0K a month if bought through ads. It gained 26 ranking keywords and lost 15 in the last period.
What employees say
- Compensation
- 5.00 / 5
- Career opportunities
- 4.70 / 5
- Senior management
- 5.00 / 5
- Work-life balance
- 5.00 / 5
Frequently asked
Bonfire Studios has 97 employees as of September 2026.
Bonfire Studios has raised $25M in total, most recently a Series B round in January 2025.
Bonfire Studios was founded in 2016 by Nicholas Carpenter.
Nicholas Carpenter (Co-founder) sits at the top of Bonfire Studios's reporting structure, with 7 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current Bonfire Studios staff are Blizzard Entertainment (35 people), Riot Games (12 people), Electronic Arts (EA) (7 people).
Former Bonfire Studios employees most often move to Bad Robot Games (2), Giant Skull (2), Lightspeed L.A. (2).
At least 4 companies have a founder who previously worked at Bonfire Studios, including Bad Robot Games, Imagendary Studios, NUEN MOTO.
Bonfire Studios attracts about 1,078 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $0K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Bonfire Studios staff are Game Development, Video Games, Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk Maya, Game Design.
Bonfire Studios staff are concentrated in California, United States (42), Los Angeles Metropolitan Area (11), United States (4).
Bonfire Studios has about 36 people in Arts and Design, down 10% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Bonfire Studios has about 27 people in Engineering, up 17% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 79 current and 74 former Bonfire Studios profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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