labs@atheron:~/industries/gaming$ deploy --discord --telegram --chain

Software for games

Built for your game and the community around it.

Your players meet in Discord and Telegram, ask for help after every patch and expect chat to be safe. We build the bots, agents and moderation models that keep your community running, the apps for your events, and on-chain items where your players truly benefit from owning them.

Start a project See the example projects

// what you are up against

The problems we hear most.

A community run by volunteers

Moderators link accounts, hand out roles and run events by hand in Discord and Telegram, and burn out as the server grows.

Support swamped after every patch

The same questions about bugs, refunds and account recovery arrive by the thousand after an update, and the real problems are buried in them.

Chat that filters cannot read

Word lists miss the slang, misspellings and in-jokes players use to harass each other, and block harmless chat in the process.

Items players cannot keep

Players spend time and money on items that live in one account on one server, and ask for ways to trade them that the studio can trust.

// example projects

Systems we could build for you.

Each one is hypothetical, labelled as such, and priced live from our rate card. Open any of them in the estimator and make it yours.

Example projectWeb appBot with a web dashboard

Discord and Telegram bot

Hypothetical. Not a client, not a result.

// The problem

A studio's Discord server and Telegram group have grown past what volunteer moderators can manage, and linking game accounts, handing out roles and running events is all done by hand.

// What we would build

One bot for Discord and Telegram that links each member to their game account, sets roles from in-game rank and region, runs event sign-ups and giveaways, and gives the community team a dashboard and a moderation log.

// What is in it

Account linking through your game's sign-in, once per player
Roles and channels from in-game rank, region and platform, kept in sync
Event sign-ups, reminders and check-ins inside Discord and Telegram
Patch notes and server status posted as they happen
Moderation commands with a log the team can review and undo
A web dashboard for the community team

// Stack

Node.js
discord.js
Telegram Bot API
PostgreSQL
Redis
Next.js

// estimate

Build: ≈ US$57,300 to US$87,600, delivered within 16 weeksCAD 81,600 to 124,700
Hosting: ≈ US$176 a monthCAD 250 a month
Support: ≈ US$2,500 a monthCAD 3,565 a month

Prices in your currency are estimates from today's Bank of Canada rate. All invoicing is in CAD or USD.

Timeline by milestone

Discovery: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Commands agreed: 0.4 weeks
Design approved: 2.4 to 3.4 weeks
Core features: 1.9 to 2.9 weeks
Full build: 1.4 to 1.9 weeks
Working in a test server: 1.4 to 1.9 weeks
Testing and fixes: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Launch: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks

Outside our hands, and added to the calendar

API access from your game team: 1 to 4 weeks

How it is paid

Deposit 20%: CAD 16,320 to 24,940
Discovery 5.3%: CAD 4,324.80 to 6,609.10
Commands agreed 5.5%: CAD 4,488.00 to 6,858.50
Design approved 5.3%: CAD 4,324.80 to 6,609.10
Core features 15.9%: CAD 12,974.40 to 19,827.30
Full build 10.6%: CAD 8,649.60 to 13,218.20
Working in a test server 11.1%: CAD 9,057.60 to 13,841.70
Testing and fixes 5.3%: CAD 4,324.80 to 6,609.10
Launch 11%: CAD 8,976 to 13,717
Holdback, 30 days after launch (10%): CAD 8,160 to 12,470

Start from this example

Example projectWeb appBot with a web dashboardAIFrontier model

Player support agent in Discord

Hypothetical. Not a client, not a result.

// The problem

After every patch, the support channel fills with the same questions about known bugs, refunds and account recovery, and players with real problems wait behind them.

// What we would build

A support agent in Discord and on the help site that answers from the studio's own knowledge base and patch notes, checks known issues and opens a ticket with the details filled in when a person is needed. It uses a frontier model through its API, which is the fastest start for public help content in many languages.

// What is in it

Answers from your help centre, known issues list and patch notes, with links
Questions answered in the player's own language
A ticket opened with platform, build and logs attached when a person is needed
Account actions only through your tools, after the player signs in
An evaluation set from real support threads, run before every change

// Stack

Frontier model API
discord.js
Node.js
PostgreSQL with pgvector
Helpdesk interface

// estimate

Build: ≈ US$97,200 to US$149,000, delivered within 23 weeksCAD 138,400 to 211,700
Hosting: ≈ US$558 a monthCAD 795 a month
Support: ≈ US$2,500 a monthCAD 3,565 a month

Prices in your currency are estimates from today's Bank of Canada rate. All invoicing is in CAD or USD.

AI route: Frontier model
Model running cost: ≈ US$383 a monthCAD 545 a month

Timeline by milestone

Discovery: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Commands agreed: 0.4 weeks
Specification and evaluation plan: 0.4 weeks
Design approved: 2.4 to 3.4 weeks
Core features: 1.4 to 1.9 weeks
Full build: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Working in a test server: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Working pilot: 3.4 to 6.4 weeks
Testing and fixes: 0.9 to 1.9 weeks
Launch: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Production: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks

Outside our hands, and added to the calendar

API access from your game team: 1 to 4 weeks

How it is paid

Deposit 20%: CAD 27,680 to 42,340
Discovery 1.9%: CAD 2,629.60 to 4,022.30
Commands agreed 1.3%: CAD 1,799.20 to 2,752.10
Specification and evaluation plan 9.4%: CAD 13,009.60 to 19,899.80
Design approved 1.9%: CAD 2,629.60 to 4,022.30
Core features 5.7%: CAD 7,888.80 to 12,066.90
Full build 3.8%: CAD 5,259.20 to 8,044.60
Working in a test server 2.6%: CAD 3,598.40 to 5,504.20
Working pilot 28.3%: CAD 39,167.20 to 59,911.10
Testing and fixes 1.9%: CAD 2,629.60 to 4,022.30
Launch 3.2%: CAD 4,428.80 to 6,774.40
Production 10%: CAD 13,840 to 21,170
Holdback, 30 days after launch (10%): CAD 13,840 to 21,170

Start from this example

Example projectWeb appAICustom LLM

Game chat moderation model

Hypothetical. Not a client, not a result.

// The problem

In-game and community chat is full of slang, misspellings and coded harassment that word lists miss, while harmless banter gets blocked.

// What we would build

A custom moderation model fine-tuned on the studio's own reviewed chat logs, so it learns the game's slang, scoring messages in real time and sending borderline ones to human moderators, served in the studio's own cloud account.

// What is in it

Messages scored in real time for harassment, hate, spam and scams
Fine-tuned on your own reviewed chat, in the languages your players use
Borderline messages queued for a moderator, not silently removed
Moderator decisions recorded and used for the next round of training
Scored against a held-out set of your chat before every release

// Stack

Fine-tuned open-weight model
PyTorch
Python
Kafka
AWS

// estimate

Build: ≈ US$137,000 to US$209,000, delivered within 31 weeksCAD 194,900 to 297,300
Hosting: ≈ US$7,020 a monthCAD 10,000 a month
Support: ≈ US$2,500 a monthCAD 3,565 a month

Prices in your currency are estimates from today's Bank of Canada rate. All invoicing is in CAD or USD.

AI route: Custom LLM
Model running cost: ≈ US$6,530 a monthCAD 9,300 a month

Timeline by milestone

Discovery: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Data and evaluation plan: 0.4 weeks
Design approved: 2.4 to 3.4 weeks
Core features: 1.9 to 2.9 weeks
Full build: 1.4 to 1.9 weeks
Training: 6.4 to 11.4 weeks
Testing and fixes: 0.4 weeks
Evaluation and red-teaming: 3.9 to 4.4 weeks
Launch: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Production: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks

Outside our hands, and added to the calendar

API access from your game team: 1 to 4 weeks

How it is paid

Deposit 20%: CAD 38,740 to 59,220
Discovery 1.5%: CAD 2,905.50 to 4,441.50
Data and evaluation plan 7.9%: CAD 15,302.30 to 23,391.90
Design approved 1.5%: CAD 2,905.50 to 4,441.50
Core features 4.6%: CAD 8,910.20 to 13,620.60
Full build 3.1%: CAD 6,004.70 to 9,179.10
Training 23.9%: CAD 46,294.30 to 70,767.90
Testing and fixes 1.5%: CAD 2,905.50 to 4,441.50
Evaluation and red-teaming 15.9%: CAD 30,798.30 to 47,079.90
Launch 1.5%: CAD 2,905.50 to 4,441.50
Production 8.6%: CAD 16,658.20 to 25,464.60
Holdback, 30 days after launch (10%): CAD 19,370 to 29,610
GPU time for training and testing, at cost: CAD 1,200. Billed up front, at cost, outside the milestones

Start from this example

Example projectWeb appMobile app

Tournament and companion app

Hypothetical. Not a client, not a result.

// The problem

A tournament organiser runs brackets in spreadsheets and check-ins in Discord, and players miss matches because the schedule changed and nobody told them.

// What we would build

A tournament site and an iOS and Android companion app for registration, brackets, check-ins and match schedules, with results reported in the app and alerts the moment a match is called.

// What is in it

Team and player registration with game account checks
Brackets for single and double elimination, Swiss and round robin
Check-in and match calls with push alerts
Results reported by both teams, disputes sent to an admin
Stream links and schedules for viewers
English and French throughout

// Stack

Next.js
React Native
PostgreSQL
WebSockets
Game publisher interfaces
AWS

// estimate

Build: ≈ US$134,000 to US$206,000, delivered within 29 weeksCAD 191,500 to 293,000
Hosting: ≈ US$492 a monthCAD 700 a month
Support: ≈ US$2,500 a monthCAD 3,565 a month

Prices in your currency are estimates from today's Bank of Canada rate. All invoicing is in CAD or USD.

Timeline by milestone

Discovery: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Design approved: 8.4 to 14.4 weeks
Core features: 1.9 to 2.9 weeks
Full build: 1.4 to 1.9 weeks
First build on devices: 3.4 to 5.9 weeks
Testing and fixes: 0.4 to 0.9 weeks
Store submission: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Launch: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks

Outside our hands, and added to the calendar

App store review: 1 week
API access from your game team: 1 to 4 weeks

How it is paid

Deposit 20%: CAD 38,300 to 58,600
Discovery 9.2%: CAD 17,618 to 26,956
Design approved 9.2%: CAD 17,618 to 26,956
Core features 7.6%: CAD 14,554 to 22,268
Full build 5%: CAD 9,575 to 14,650
First build on devices 20.1%: CAD 38,491.50 to 58,893.00
Testing and fixes 2.5%: CAD 4,787.50 to 7,325.00
Store submission 6.7%: CAD 12,830.50 to 19,631.00
Launch 9.7%: CAD 18,575.50 to 28,421.00
Holdback, 30 days after launch (10%): CAD 19,150 to 29,300

Start from this example

Example projectWeb appWeb3

Player-owned items on-chain

Hypothetical. Not a client, not a result.

// The problem

Players want to keep and trade rare items they earn, but trades happen on outside sites full of scams, and the studio cannot see or stop them.

// What we would build

Rare items issued as tokens on a public chain with audited smart contracts, a marketplace where players trade with wallet sign-in, and the game reading ownership from the chain. If items never need to leave your game, your own database does this better, and we will say so.

// What is in it

Smart contracts for items, with your rules on transfers built in
A marketplace site with wallet sign-in and a regular account option
The game server reads ownership from the chain
An independent audit of the contracts before launch
Items designed as part of the game, never sold as investments

// Stack

Solidity
An EVM layer two network
wagmi and viem
Next.js
PostgreSQL indexer

// estimate

Build: ≈ US$106,000 to US$162,000, delivered within 25 weeksCAD 151,100 to 231,100
Hosting: ≈ US$176 a monthCAD 250 a month
Support: ≈ US$2,500 a monthCAD 3,565 a month

Prices in your currency are estimates from today's Bank of Canada rate. All invoicing is in CAD or USD.

Timeline by milestone

Discovery: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Specification: 0.4 weeks
Design approved: 3.9 to 6.9 weeks
Core features: 1.9 to 2.9 weeks
Full build: 0.9 to 1.9 weeks
Contracts and tests: 2.4 to 3.9 weeks
Testing and fixes: 0.4 weeks
Testnet deployment: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Launch: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Mainnet: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks

Outside our hands, and added to the calendar

An outside audit of the contracts, if you want one: 2 to 4 weeks
API access from your game team: 1 to 4 weeks

How it is paid

Deposit 20%: CAD 30,220 to 46,220
Discovery 3.5%: CAD 5,288.50 to 8,088.50
Specification 6.3%: CAD 9,519.30 to 14,559.30
Design approved 3.5%: CAD 5,288.50 to 8,088.50
Core features 10.5%: CAD 15,865.50 to 24,265.50
Full build 7%: CAD 10,577 to 16,177
Contracts and tests 19.1%: CAD 28,860.10 to 44,140.10
Testing and fixes 3.5%: CAD 5,288.50 to 8,088.50
Testnet deployment 6.3%: CAD 9,519.30 to 14,559.30
Launch 3.5%: CAD 5,288.50 to 8,088.50
Mainnet 6.8%: CAD 10,274.80 to 15,714.80
Holdback, 30 days after launch (10%): CAD 15,110 to 23,110

Start from this example

Example projectWeb appAIFrontier model

Player help centre in many languages

Hypothetical. Not a client, not a result.

// The problem

A studio's game is played in many countries, but its help centre, store pages and support replies are in English, and players in other languages wait longest for answers.

// What we would build

Localised help centre and store pages in the languages your players use, with native review, an assistant that answers from your help articles in the player's language and passes harder cases to your team, and a workflow that sends each new patch note for translation.

// What is in it

Help articles and store pages in your players' languages
Native review before anything is published
An assistant that answers in the player's language
Patch notes and changes sent for translation automatically

// Stack

Next.js
PostgreSQL
Crowdin
Claude API
DigitalOcean

// estimate

Build: ≈ US$93,100 to US$142,000, delivered within 21 weeksCAD 132,600 to 202,700
Hosting: ≈ US$218 a monthCAD 310 a month
Support: ≈ US$2,500 a monthCAD 3,565 a month

Prices in your currency are estimates from today's Bank of Canada rate. All invoicing is in CAD or USD.

AI route: Frontier model
Model running cost: ≈ US$42 a monthCAD 60 a month

Timeline by milestone

Discovery: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Specification and evaluation plan: 0.4 weeks
Design approved: 2.4 to 3.4 weeks
Core features: 1.4 to 1.9 weeks
Full build: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Working pilot: 3.9 to 6.4 weeks
Testing and fixes: 0.9 to 1.9 weeks
Launch: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Production: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks

Outside our hands, and added to the calendar

API access from your game team: 1 to 4 weeks

How it is paid

Deposit 20%: CAD 26,520 to 40,540
Discovery 2%: CAD 2,652 to 4,054
Specification and evaluation plan 10.2%: CAD 13,525.20 to 20,675.40
Design approved 2%: CAD 2,652 to 4,054
Core features 6.2%: CAD 8,221.20 to 12,567.40
Full build 4.1%: CAD 5,436.60 to 8,310.70
Working pilot 30.7%: CAD 40,708.20 to 62,228.90
Testing and fixes 2%: CAD 2,652 to 4,054
Launch 2%: CAD 2,652 to 4,054
Production 10.8%: CAD 14,320.80 to 21,891.60
Holdback, 30 days after launch (10%): CAD 13,260 to 20,270

Start from this example

// by service

Go deeper on one kind of work.

Pages for the services we have the most to say about in this industry.

~/apps

Esports tournaments

Tournament sites and iOS and Android companion apps for organisers: registration, brackets, check-ins, match calls with push alerts, and results reported by both teams.

~/ai

AI for game studios

Player support agents on frontier models and custom chat moderation models fine-tuned on your own game's chat, with human moderators in the loop and a score before every release.

~/web3

Web3 for games

Player-owned game items on a public chain with audited smart contracts and a marketplace with wallet sign-in, for studios whose players genuinely need to trade outside the game.

~/bots

Bots for game studios

Community bots for game studios: account linking, roles from in-game rank, event sign-ups, patch notes and moderation logs in Discord and Telegram, plus a support agent where it helps.

// questions

What buyers in this industry ask us.

Do you work with indie studios?

Yes. A community bot or a support agent suits a small studio, and the estimator shows the range for your scope.

Can you work inside our engine or our backend?

We work on the services around the game: bots, sites, apps, backends and models. We connect to your game servers through interfaces we agree with your team.

How do payments work?

A deposit to start, then payments at agreed milestones, with 10% held until 30 days after launch. The deposit is a smaller share on larger projects.

Who owns the code, contracts and models?

You do, once the work is paid for.

// other industries

Nearby industries.

~/media

Media and entertainment

Subscriber apps, assistants that search your archive, rights and royalty ledgers, and community bots for Discord and Telegram.

See the examples

~/digital-assets

Crypto and digital assets

Compliance back offices for your exchange, investigation assistants, multisig treasuries, token vesting portals and community bots.

See the examples

~/sports-fitness

Sports and fitness

Member apps for gyms and studios, movement analysis models, fan bots for Discord and Telegram, and season tickets with fair resale.

See the examples

All industries

// where we work

Find your market.

We work from Kelowna with clients across Canada, the United States and further afield. Each market page covers working hours, hosting, the privacy law that applies, and prices in your currency.

Every market

// next

Not quite your project?

Tell us what you have in mind. We will come back to you with a range and the questions that would narrow it. Or book a call and talk it through.

Start a project Book a call