We forge competitive games that players refuse to put down.
AppBattleForge is a hands-on mobile game studio and esports workshop. We prototype, balance, and ship multiplayer titles — then run the tournaments that keep them alive.
- 40+
- Titles shipped
- 9.2M
- Matches played
- 120+
- Tournaments run
A studio built like a forge, not a factory.
We started AppBattleForge in a Surry Hills warehouse with two arcade cabinets and a stubborn belief: great competitive games are hammered into shape through relentless playtesting, not spun out on a schedule. Today our team of designers, netcode engineers, and tournament producers works elbow-to-elbow with studios across Australia and the Asia-Pacific.
Every project starts on the studio floor — real controllers, real players, real stakes. We measure fun in retention curves and rematch rates, then tune until the numbers and the room agree.
Playtest-first
Weekly ranked sessions with real players in-studio.
Fair by design
No pay-to-win. Balance data is public to our partners.
Ship & support
We stay on for live ops long after launch day.
Marlo Petrakis
Founder & Lead Systems Designer
"I have shipped balance patches at 3am with a room full of ranked players screaming corrections at me. That feedback loop is the whole company."
14 years in competitive game design · ex-tournament caster
Everything a competitive title needs, under one roof.
Pick a single sprint or hand us the whole roadmap. Pricing is in AUD, ex-GST, and every engagement starts with a free scoping call.
Rapid Game Prototyping
A playable vertical slice in a two-week sprint so you can feel the core loop before committing.
2-week sprint · from A$4,900
Competitive Balance Tuning
Data-driven weapon, character, and economy passes backed by weekly ranked playtest sessions.
Monthly retainer · from A$3,200/mo
Multiplayer Netcode
Rollback and server-authoritative netcode built for sub-80ms matches across AU and SEA regions.
Fixed scope · from A$18,000
Live Ops & Season Passes
Season calendars, reward tracks, and telemetry dashboards that keep your player base returning.
Retainer · from A$4,500/mo
Playtest Lab Sessions
Book our Surry Hills lab and 20 vetted ranked players for a moderated, recorded playtest.
Per session · A$1,450
Esports Tournament Production
Brackets, broadcast overlays, casters, and prize logistics for online and in-venue events.
Per event · from A$9,800
Snapshots from the forge.
Prototype nights, tournament finals, and the whiteboards in between.
Studios and players who went the distance with us.
Watch storyAppBattleForge rebuilt our netcode in six weeks and our average match ping in Sydney dropped from 140ms to 62ms. Rematch rate jumped 28%.
Dylan R.
Studio lead, Melbourne VIC
Shipped March 2025
Watch storyTheir playtest lab caught a broken economy loop we had missed for months. The season pass they designed doubled our week-four retention.
Aisha M.
Indie developer, Newtown NSW
Live ops since 2024
Watch storyThey produced our national final end to end — brackets, casters, broadcast. 4,300 concurrent viewers with zero technical stoppages.
Cooper T.
Esports organiser, Brisbane QLD
Event held Nov 2024
Questions we get on the first call.
Both. Some partners hand us a full concept and we take it from prototype to live ops, while others bring a finished game and only need netcode or balance work. We scope each engagement so you only pay for the parts you actually need.
A two-week prototype sprint starts at A$4,900, while a full competitive build with multiplayer usually lands between A$60,000 and A$180,000 over three to six months. We give a fixed written quote after the free scoping call so there are no surprises.
Absolutely. We run open ranked playtest nights every Thursday until 9pm at our Surry Hills studio. Reach out and we will add you to the guest list for the next session.
Yes. Our production team runs online and in-venue events, including brackets, broadcast overlays, casters, and prize logistics. Many partners have us build the game and then produce its competitive season.
We ship primarily on iOS and Android, with cross-play to PC where it makes sense. Our engineers work day to day in Unity and Unreal, and our netcode layer is engine-agnostic.
Tell us what you want to forge.
Send a note about your game or event and we will reply within one business day to book a free scoping call.
Call the studio
+61 2 8212 6759Email us
[email protected]Visit the forge
58 Mary Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Hours
Mon–Fri 9:00–18:00 AEST