Sickhead Games

Original Release: 2016 Developer: ConcernedApe Publisher: ConcernedApe (originally Chucklefish) Platforms: macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation Vita, Android, and iOS. Engine: Microsoft XNA Stardew Valley is one of the most beloved games ever made: a farm life RPG built entirely by one person, Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, over four and a half years. It’s the kind of game that redefines what a solo developer can accomplish, and that backstory matters when you consider the scope of what Sickhead took on. We handled the initial conversion from XNA to MonoGame for the macOS release and then all console ports: PS4 and Xbox One in December 2016, Nintendo Switch in October 2017, and PS Vita in May 2018, in addition to all subsequent updates. We also did the initial technical ports of the game to Android and iOS. Each was its own project with its own platform considerations and technical hurdles on an ever-evolving codebase while keeping faithful to the original PC game. Most recently we completed the Switch 2 port in close collaboration with Nintendo and Barone for a September 2025 Nintendo Direct surprise reveal. This edition of the game adds Switch 2 specific features like Mouse Mode, GameShare, and 8 player multiplayer not seen in prior console releases.

Original Release: 2019 Developer: Mega Crit Publisher: Humble Games Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, iOS, Android Engine: libGDX Slay the Spire is the roguelike deck-builder from Mega Crit that helped define an entire genre… a procedurally generated climb up a spire, fought entirely through card-based combat, with hundreds of synergies to discover across four playable characters. It left Steam Early Access in January 2019 to near-universal acclaim, and Sickhead handled ports to five separate platforms over the following two years. The foundational challenge was the codebase itself: Slay the Spire was created with libGDX, a Java-based framework, and most consoles and mobile devices don’t support Java natively. Our solution was to translate the entire codebase first to C#, then use our BRUTE cross-compiler developed for XNA/MonoGame titles to complete the migration that had to preserve every card interaction, relic effect, and procedural system exactly as designed. The console ports landed across PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One within a few months of each other in 2019. Then came iOS in mid-2020 and Android in early 2021, each requiring its own adaptation of the UI and input model for touchscreen play while keeping the underlying systems identical to every other version. Five platforms, one codebase migration, zero meaningful divergence in how the game plays.

Original Release: 2023 Developer: Keen Software House Publisher: Keen Software House Platforms: PlayStation 4 Engine: VRAGE 2.0 (proprietary) Space Engineers is a voxel-based open-world sandbox from Czech developer Keen Software House in which players engineer, build, and pilot spacecraft, vehicles, and planetary outposts across fully destructible environments. With over five million copies sold on PC and a successful Xbox One release already behind it, the game finally came to PlayStation in 2023, and Sickhead handled the PlayStation 4 port. The challenge was that VRAGE was built with C# and DirectX 11. We built a wrapper that provided a fake DirectX 11 interface to the existing C# layer which could mimic DirectX on PlayStation 4. It also required custom shader building tools to generate shaders compatible with PS4 without making modifications to the existing DX11 shaders. These new systems formed the core of VRAGE PlayStation support and was extended to created the PlayStation 5 release as well. The PlayStation launch shipped with full crossplay on day one, meaning PlayStation 4 and 5 players could join the same servers as Xbox and PC players through Epic Online Services.