chaotic works is an independent games studio based in the United Kingdom, founded in 2023 by Karl Francis and Lawrence Grabowski. The studio was created by no‑nonsense builders with one mission: forging a community of unbreakable bonds and bitter enemies through chaotic and humbling gameworlds.

From inception the team developed limited early prototypes, bringing in random players from around the world to validate (or not) core gameplay and showcase the studio’s ambition and vision. These prototypes were ultimately iterated, or re-engineered and re-imagined to deliver on both the full scope of the technical and creative vision. Our debut game is now at a pre-alpha playable status and we’re conducting closed playtesting, join the discord if you’re interested in being humbled and/or humiliated.

Whilst the studio consisted of just Karl and Lawrence it was funded by limited savings. Financial support from UK angel investors and entrepreneurs was secured in late 2023, allowing the team to grow to 8 individuals. A UK Government Grant and additional minority investments allowed the team to scale to over 15 people in 2024 and develop the scope of our debut game to capture the full creative vision.

The Team

The team is made up of gritty self-taught indie developers / modders and experienced veterans from series such as Fallout, Forza Horizon, Splinter Cell, Sniper Elite and Far Cry, at studios including Microsoft, Ubisoft, Rebellion, EA, Team17 and Unity.

The people behind chaotic works come from hiring for raw strength, irrespective of existing professional industry experience. From self-taught bedroom builders, to retired League of Legends esports players, and the odd AAA veteran, this eclectic group of highly talented individuals makes up the DNA of chaotic works, all with one shared passion; building great games that humble players through multiplayer, chaotic gameworlds.

Will, a 22 year-old self-taught bedroom builder who specialises in art tooling and graphics programming, began his journey as a young teenage solo asset store developer. He now leads the development of the dynamic weather system for Project S, with his breadth of knowledge, passion and grit resulting in huge contributions. Will loves to talk about the dynamic movement of weather in Project S - you can find out more on Will’s passion for wind, rain and storms here, in his blog about dynamic foliage.

*Will Concentrating on playtesting while repping Chaotic Works merch*

Krystian is one of the software engineers at chaotic works. At 16 years-old, he was a professional League of Legends player on the world stage, under the name Czaru. At 27, he self-taught himself C++ and graphic design and started selling assets on the Unreal Engine Marketplace. He was approached by chaotic works based on how impressive these assets were and his communication with fellow developers, and within 24 hours he was working with the internal team. Fast-forward to today, and Krystian is now a gameplay programmer, designing core meta-game and inventory systems for Project S. He’ll be posting a blog later on this year about spatial inventory algorithms (very complicated and interesting of course, so stay tuned).

*Karl and Krystian playing D&D, Christmas 2025*

chaotic works runs as a lean independent studio built on trust, collaboration and freedom to create. Many of the developers have worked together on previous titles and maintain strong professional and personal relationships. That familiarity enables the team to work quickly, make focused decisions and produce games that reflect their shared vision of building games that humble players in immersive, multiplayer chaos. Despite many of the team being based all over the world, from the USA to Poland, they come together throughout the year at offsite events (From LAN Parties to Laser Tag) and at a small office in Oxfordshire.

PROJECT-S

The studio is focused on premium multiplayer PC and Console games, with the first title looking to reimagine the open-world multiplayer experience by delivering an unprecedented level of dynamism and hostility that will challenge players both mechanically and socially. Exploring novel ways to achieve both thrilling adrenaline-fueled action and rich social dynamics in large humbling worlds, with the ambition that amid the chaos, players build bonds, sharing laughter and thrills in both the highs and lows, whether collaboration and effective teamwork, or competition and crippling sabotage.

Listen to the chaos we’re building, from players themselves….

Find more about Project S at https://www.chaoticworks.co.uk/games

BELIEFS

core set of principles:

Pushing boundaries to fuse heart-pounding action with rich, player-driven social dynamics across vast, living worlds
Crafting worlds of unmatched intensity and unpredictability, testing players both mechanically and socially at every turn
Amid the chaos, players will forge bonds and rivalries alike, sharing laughter, triumphs, and betrayals as teamwork clashes with sabotage in the ultimate test of connection and survival
Tired of poorly optimised games, there is a primary focus on ensuring games from the studio can be played on the most basic systems, including portable in the long term, to give all players the chance to play

DEVELOPMENT PHILOSOPHY

Fueled by an obsession with emergent, systemic and physics-based gameplay in immersive multiplayer environments, replayability and chaos can be guaranteed. However, as with games of this scope and magnitude, there are likely to be missteps along the way, so as the team iterates and develops they’ll be looking to, and listening to players and the wider communities for feedback to evolve and deliver the best games possible. Whether that’s adding further server modding support to each game, or rebalancing specific game mechanics. However, with a lean company structure, and the team considering themselves everyday gamers that prioritise what truly matters, gameplay, don’t expect glossy, AAA-style glossy cinematic trailers. The team has already begun sharing much of the existing development journey, which can be found in the links below.

Additional links on Development so far:

Will’s Dynamic Foliage Blog

Damo’s Nano Flora Architect - Alpha Removal Tool Blog

Brennen’s EMP Spike - Animation Process Blog

About Chaotic Works

chaotic works is an independent game studio based in the United Kingdom, founded in 2023 by Karl Francis and Lawrence Grabowski. Built by no‑nonsense builders with a simple mission: to forge a community of unbreakable bonds and bitter enemies through chaotic and humbling gameworlds. Its team unites gritty self‑taught devs, modders and veteran developers from franchises like Fallout, Forza Horizon, Splinter Cell, Sniper Elite and Far Cry. Operating as a lean, trust‑driven collective spread across the globe, from the USA to Poland, chaotic works thrives on collaboration, experimentation and an unwavering belief that great games come from passion, talent, and freedom to create.

Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ChaoticWorks/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chaoticworks

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChaoticWorksStudio

X: https://x.com/chaotic_works

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/project-s

Contact: press@chaoticworks.co.uk