Keywords Studios launches FreeAnimal creative agency

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes · Last updated: 10 September 2026

Keywords Studios has launched FreeAnimal, a single global creative agency that brings together seven of its existing creative and media businesses. FreeAnimal groups the creative agencies Ichi, KWM, Fire Without Smoke and Gnet with media production studios TrailerFarm, Maverick and Big Farmer, creating a network that spans Los Angeles, London, Brighton, Montreal and Quebec. Contracts with existing clients remain in place, and new work will be drawn from the combined teams. FreeAnimal’s leadership says the structure is intended to let clients access specialised strike teams while retaining the global scale of Keywords Studios.

Collectively, we work with the world's most ambitious gaming brands,

John Rosenberg, FreeAnimal global head

Which firms form FreeAnimal and how they are grouped

FreeAnimal unites seven businesses Keywords Studios already owned into a single creative offering: four creative agencies — Ichi, KWM, Fire Without Smoke and Gnet — and three media production studios — TrailerFarm, Maverick and Big Farmer. Keywords Studios said FreeAnimal will serve as the principal liaison among developers, publishers and brands and is intended to simplify commissioning across creative and media disciplines.

Keywords positioned the move as a grouping of specialist teams under one brand while keeping existing client contracts active. The consolidation preserves each firm's identity as part of the network while routing new projects through FreeAnimal's shared resourcing and leadership.

The rationale Keywords gives for the consolidation

Keywords says the change will let it combine boutique specialists with global scale to serve larger and more complex briefs. The launch copy uses the phrase The Right Team for Every Game to describe the approach: assembling the precise mix of skills needed on a project rather than offering a one-size-fits-all team.

That reasoning builds on Keywords’ acquisition strategy: the company began buying adjacent firms in 2014 to expand into audio, art, localisation, QA, trailer production, marketing and other services. Leadership presents FreeAnimal as the next step in packaging those capabilities for clients who want a single contracting point.

How clients and the market are likely to experience the change

For clients, the immediate change is organisational rather than contractual: existing contracts remain in place and will continue under the same terms. New project teams will be assembled from the network’s collective abilities, drawn from the seven named units when a brief requires them.

From a market perspective, the move signals a shift toward consolidated creative offers inside service groups that already span production disciplines. If buyers value single relationships for complex campaigns, FreeAnimal could simplify procurement; if buyers prefer to hire standalone boutiques, the new structure may require additional reassurance about autonomy and specialism.

Where FreeAnimal could gain or struggle

The bottom line

FreeAnimal represents a strategic consolidation of seven pre-existing Keywords Studios businesses into a single brand intended to streamline how games and entertainment clients commission creative and media work. The immediate effect is organisational: existing contracts stay active while new briefs are resourced from the combined teams. The move ties into Keywords’ long-running acquisition strategy, but the new structure will need to prove it can preserve the specialist strengths and client relationships of the constituent firms while delivering the promised efficiencies.

What to watch

• Watch for FreeAnimal’s first published campaign credits and case studies; no date has been set.
• Watch for announcements about whether FreeAnimal will subsume Keywords’ other marketing units such as Fortyseven Communications and Indigo Pearl; no date has been set.