GLITCH
Corporate brand
UnclaimedAn American software and video game development company that develops original projects, publishes independent games, and supports emerging game studios.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
GLITCH, legally identified as Glitch SBC, is an American software and video game development company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded in 2013 by Evva Karr and Nicolaas VanMeerten, who began the organization as a student group while attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Rather than immediately seeking outside investment, the founders initially bootstrapped the studio through white-label game production and related development work for organizations including PBS, Disney, and Warner Bros. This early service work helped the company build operating experience and finance its own creative ambitions. The company’s business combines several roles that are often separated in the games industry. GLITCH develops original titles, co-develops games with independent studios, publishes selected projects, and provides player-insight and production support. Karr’s earlier experience in publishing and strategic partnerships at Riot Games and Activision Blizzard Media Network informed the company’s focus on helping independent creators navigate development, marketing, and distribution. GLITCH began its publicly visible publishing and co-development activity with Optica in 2018, working with Graveck, and expanded that model through HyperDot, developed with Tribe Games and released in 2020. HyperDot became GLITCH’s most prominent early release. The abstract action game was launched on consoles and Steam, initially with a timed Xbox exclusivity arrangement. Its design emphasized broad accessibility, including support for eye tracking, touch controls, the Xbox Adaptive Controller, colorblind modes, high-contrast modes, button remapping, and options to disable potentially distracting visual and haptic effects. The game was nominated for Innovation in Accessibility at The Game Awards in 2020, alongside several major commercial releases. By January 2022, GLITCH reported that HyperDot had been played by more than 800,000 people worldwide. After HyperDot, GLITCH broadened its role from publisher and developer to ecosystem supporter. The company launched the Moonrise Fund, an early-stage equity initiative intended to finance game studios developing new forms of play. The fund provides investments generally described as ranging from US$120,000 to US$250,000 and is supported by advisers with experience in development, publishing, marketing, and studio management. GLITCH also created Galaxy Grants, which offers US$10,000 prototype grants to emerging game developers. These initiatives address the financing and practical-information gaps that often affect independent studios during early production. GLITCH’s support infrastructure also includes the Founder's Kit, introduced in 2020. This public resource collection provides templates, notes, and practical materials concerning founder agreements, mutual nondisclosure agreements, contractor arrangements, business structures, and pitch decks. Its examples include materials associated with games such as BioShock, Diablo, and Backbone. The company has additionally used showcase programming to connect independent developers with audiences. In 2021 it produced Future of Play Direct, a digital festival and games presentation distributed through Twitch Gaming and associated with Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards. The broadcasts presented projects from more than forty studios worldwide and used a stylized virtual host developed with 3D artist Sakura Rabbit. As of January 2022, GLITCH had 11 employees. Its public identity is therefore that of a small, founder-led games company with a portfolio spanning publishing, co-development, developer resources, investment, grants, and digital events. The supplied coffee-brand website and Japanese country classification do not correspond to the Minnesota software company identified by the authoritative Wikipedia disambiguation title and are not used here.
History
GLITCH was established in 2013 by Evva Karr and Nicolaas VanMeerten while both were students at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. The organization began as a student group and developed its early capabilities through bootstrapped, white-label game work. It produced projects for clients and partners such as PBS, Disney, and Warner Bros., using service revenue to avoid taking on outside investors during its initial stage. Karr brought prior experience in publishing and strategic partnerships from Riot Games and Activision Blizzard Media Network, while the company as a whole developed a model that combined game creation with publishing and support for other developers. The company’s first documented publishing project was Optica, a puzzle game made with Graveck and released in 2018. In 2019, GLITCH began working with Charles McGregor and Tribe Games on HyperDot. The game was released in January 2020 for consoles and Steam, with a timed Xbox arrangement. HyperDot’s central design challenge involved avoiding hazards and surviving increasingly complex patterns, but its industry profile was especially shaped by its accessibility systems. It supported multiple input methods, including eye tracking, touch controls, and the Xbox Adaptive Controller, and offered colorblind and high-contrast modes, remapping, and controls for reducing motion, vibration, and other effects. HyperDot was nominated for Innovation in Accessibility at The Game Awards in 2020. The nomination placed the relatively small independent project alongside prominent releases from large publishers. GLITCH later stated that the game had reached more than 800,000 players worldwide by January 2022. The title gave the company a stronger basis for expanding beyond individual releases into longer-term support for independent development. In 2020, GLITCH launched the Founder's Kit, a public resource intended to help startup studios and game developers handle practical business and production questions. Its materials cover founder and contractor agreements, mutual nondisclosure arrangements, business-structure considerations, and pitch decks. The collection was designed as a knowledge-sharing project rather than a conventional commercial product, with examples drawn from a range of game projects. The company moved further into ecosystem financing in 2021. The Moonrise Fund was created as an early-stage equity fund pooling capital from studio investors to back teams exploring new forms of play. Its stated investment range was US$120,000 to US$250,000 per studio, with an advisory group offering development, publishing, marketing, and management experience. Announced recipients included Future Club, Virtuoso Neomedia, and Perfect Garbage. GLITCH also introduced Galaxy Grants, which provided US$10,000 prototype grants to emerging developers. These programs reflected the company’s view that independent teams frequently face difficulty obtaining early production capital and actionable industry guidance. GLITCH also developed a public-facing showcase platform. The first Future of Play Direct was announced in June 2021 and streamed through Twitch Gaming as part of Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest programming. The presentation drew on the visual language of late-night animation blocks and used Melios, an android virtual host created with 3D artist Sakura Rabbit. It featured projects from about twenty studios, including Innersloth, Team Reptile, Future Club, and ORIGAME DIGITAL. A second, roughly half-hour presentation ran during The Game Awards pre-show in December 2021. It included new announcements, trailers, updates, and soundtrack performances, followed by a Steam event that ran from December 9 through December 16. By January 2022, GLITCH employed 11 people. The available record presents it as an active Minneapolis-based company operating across independent game publishing, development, investment, grants, educational resources, and showcase production. No reliable source in the supplied materials establishes a later ownership change, public listing, parent company, or continuation of its earlier staffing level.
- 2021
Moonrise Fund and Galaxy Grants are introduced
[1]The company creates financing and grant programs for early-stage studios and emerging developers.
- 2021
Future of Play Direct debuts
[1]GLITCH presents its first digital independent-games showcase through Twitch Gaming during Summer Game Fest.
- 2021
Second Future of Play Direct is broadcast
[1]The second showcase airs during The Game Awards pre-show and is accompanied by a Steam event.
- 2020
HyperDot releases
[1]The accessibility-focused game launches on consoles and Steam.
- 2020
Founder's Kit launches
[1]GLITCH publishes a collection of business, legal, and pitch resources for game creators.
- 2019
HyperDot partnership begins
[1]GLITCH partners with Tribe Games and Charles McGregor on HyperDot.
- 2018
Optica becomes the first documented published title
[1]GLITCH publishes the puzzle game Optica in collaboration with Graveck.
- 2013
GLITCH is founded
[1]Evva Karr and Nicolaas VanMeerten establish GLITCH as a student-founded, Minneapolis-based game organization.
Products and positioning
A founder-led independent games company positioned between developer, publisher, investor, and community resource. GLITCH emphasizes original modes of play, accessibility, practical support for early-stage studios, and visibility for independent game creators.
Puzzle video game · 2018
Optica
Optica is a puzzle game developed with Graveck and published by GLITCH in 2018. It represents the company’s first documented move into co-development and publishing of an independently developed commercial title.
Accessible action video game · 2020
HyperDot
HyperDot is an action game developed with Tribe Games and published by GLITCH. Released in 2020 for consoles and Steam, it supports eye tracking, touch controls, the Xbox Adaptive Controller, colorblind and high-contrast modes, remappable controls, and options to reduce animation, vibration, and screen shake. It received a 2020 Game Awards nomination for Innovation in Accessibility.
Early-stage game studio investment fund · 2021
Moonrise Fund
Moonrise Fund is GLITCH’s early-stage equity initiative for game studios developing new forms of play. The fund was described as making investments of approximately US$120,000 to US$250,000 and drawing on advisers with experience in development, publishing, marketing, and studio operations.
Prototype grant program · 2021
Galaxy Grants
Galaxy Grants provides prototype funding to emerging game developers. GLITCH described the grants as US$10,000 awards intended to help creators address the financing gap that often exists before a project reaches full production.
Developer resource platform · 2020
Founder's Kit
Founder's Kit is a public collection of notes, templates, and toolkits for startup studios and game developers. Its materials cover agreements and other business documents, organizational structures, and selected pitch decks with information about their outcomes.
Digital game showcase · 2021
Future of Play Direct
Future of Play Direct is a GLITCH-produced digital showcase for independent games. The 2021 editions presented announcements, trailers, updates, music, and projects from dozens of studios through Twitch Gaming and a related Steam event.
Marketing campaigns
- 2021Future of Play Direct: Summer Game Fest edition
International digital audience
GLITCH produced a roughly twenty-minute showcase distributed through Twitch Gaming during Summer Game Fest. The program used an animated late-night-show aesthetic and Melios, a virtual android host developed with Sakura Rabbit, to highlight independent studios and new approaches to game design.
Outcome. The presentation showcased projects from approximately twenty studios and established Future of Play Direct as a public discovery platform for independent games.
- 2021Future of Play Direct: The Game Awards edition
International digital audience
GLITCH broadcast a second Future of Play Direct during The Game Awards pre-show, combining game announcements, trailers, updates, and soundtrack performances.
Outcome. A companion Steam event ran from December 9 to December 16, giving viewers a way to discover available and upcoming titles from both showcases.
Brand decisions
2021
GLITCH expands into early-stage studio financingStrategyBackground
The company identified limited early-production capital and insufficient access to practical industry insight as recurring problems for independent game developers.
Action taken
GLITCH launched the Moonrise Fund for larger equity investments and Galaxy Grants for US$10,000 prototype awards.
Aftermath
Three Moonrise Fund recipients were publicly identified in 2021: Future Club, Virtuoso Neomedia, and Perfect Garbage. Broader financial or portfolio outcomes are not established in the supplied sources.
Typical Moonrise Fund equity check and Galaxy Grant award. US$120,000–US$250,000 equity checks; US$10,000 prototype grants (2021)
2020
GLITCH releases HyperDot with accessibility as a central design featureProduct launchBackground
The studio sought to publish and co-develop an independent title that could support a broad range of players and input methods.
Action taken
GLITCH released HyperDot with Tribe Games on consoles and Steam, including extensive input, display, and control customization.
Aftermath
The game received a 2020 Game Awards nomination for Innovation in Accessibility and was reported to have surpassed 800,000 players worldwide by January 2022.
Recent events
Reported
Glitch lays off a substantial number of employees[2]
Glitch confirmed that it laid off a substantial number of employees on Thursday to reduce costs and ensure its long-term survival. Two unnamed employees estimated that at least 18 of approximately 50 employees were dismissed. The company provided severance pay and health insurance and said it would help former employees find new jobs.
Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.
Reported
Glitch launches paid subscriptions[3]
Glitch launched paid subscriptions for power users, offering features including continuously running selected apps, removing rate limits, and increased disk space and memory.
Reported
Glitch announces app-launching and hosting subscription service[4]
Glitch announced a subscription service that lets users launch and host apps, with a $10 monthly price and the ability to boost up to five apps.
Reported
Capitol Royale festival partnerships[5]
Capitol Music Group partnered with Bandsintown, Bose, SDL, gener8tor, ConsenSys, Spin, Glitch, Cloudinary, Ones To Watch, Select Management, See Tickets, Universal Production Music, and Hypno for Capitol Royale, a music and technology festival scheduled for November 15–17.
Sources5 sources
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