Steel Wool Studios, Inc.

Steel Wool Studios, Inc.
Information
Aliases	Steel Wool SWS
Occupation	Video Game Developer
Residency	Oakland, California
Website	steelwoolstudios.com

Steel Wool Studios, Inc., also known as Steel Wool Games, Inc., is a game development company that collaborates with Scott Cawthon's Five Nights at Freddy's franchise. Steel Wool Studios developed Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted, Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, their respective DLCs, and Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2. They also created Freddy & Friends: On Tour!. The company itself was established in Oakland, California in 2012.

Official Profiles

• Crunchbase
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• Bloomberg
• YouTube
• Bilibili
• Game Jolt

Crew Members

The following section is rather large and has been truncated for ease of page viewing. To view it, click the [show] tag.

Only those who have worked on the franchise are listed. Andrew Dayton Help Wanted: Executive Producer Security Breach: Chief Executive Officer RUIN: Chief Executive Officer Help Wanted 2: Chief Executive Officer / Co-Founder Jason "Jtop" Topolski Help Wanted: Executive Producer/Creative Director Security Breach: Creative Director & Chief Creative Officer & Head Writer RUIN: Creative Director/Chief Creative Officer Help Wanted 2: Chief Creative Officer / Co-Founder Stewart Johnston Help Wanted: Lead Engineer Security Breach: Chief Technical Officer, Lead Engineer RUIN: Chief Technology Officer Help Wanted 2: Chief Technology Officer / Co-Founder Evan Lampi Help Wanted: Game Design/Animation Supervisor Security Breach: Associate Game Director RUIN: Creative Director Help Wanted 2: Consulting Creative Director Phillip M. "Phil" Shaw Help Wanted: Game Design/Technical Director Security Breach: Senior Engineer RUIN: Senior Engineer Help Wanted 2: Senior Gameplay Engineer Saul Israel Aguilar Help Wanted: Game Design/Technical Artist Security Breach: Associate Level Designer RUIN: Associate Game Designer Help Wanted 2: Associate Game Designer Nathan Spandorf Help Wanted: Technical Artist/Modeling/Lighting Security Breach: Environment Art & Tech Lead RUIN: Lead Environment Artist Help Wanted 2: Principal Tech Artist Rodney Brett Help Wanted: Rigging/Character Modeler Security Breach: Character Artist, Rigging RUIN: Senior Rigging Artist Help Wanted 2: Character Rigging Chloe Costa Help Wanted: Junior Rigging Security Breach: Associate Level Designer, 2D Artist RUIN: Associate Level Designer Help Wanted 2: Associate Game Designer Jennifer "Jenny" Bach Help Wanted: UI Artist/2D Artist Security Breach: Concept Artist, UI Artist RUIN: Senior 2D Artist Help Wanted 2: Senior 2D Artist Alexander O. "Alex" Nelson Help Wanted: Concept/UI Artist/Shading Security Breach: Concept Artist & Environment Artist RUIN: 2D Art Lead Help Wanted 2: Senior 2D Artist David Weinman Help Wanted: Modeling/Shading/Lighting. Tom Myers Help Wanted: Animation Security Breach: Lead Animator & Sound Design RUIN: Senior Animator Help Wanted 2: Lead Animator Lakshminarayanan "Lak" Vijayaraghavan (Formerly) Help Wanted: Engineering Brett Thompson Help Wanted: Junior Engineering. (Formerly) Security Breach: Associate Content Developer Mary Hammer Help Wanted: Quality Assurance Security Breach: Environment Artist & Production Coordinator RUIN: Lead Environment Artist Help Wanted 2: Lead Environment Artist Rina Lam Help Wanted: Quality Assurance Freddy & Friends: On Tour!: Added a mix of finishing visuals Security Breach: Quality Assurance Lead & Social Media Specialist RUIN: Quality Assurance Lead Help Wanted 2: Lead Quality Assurance Christian "Mocap Guy" Love Help Wanted: Quality Assurance Security Breach: Quality Assurance Tester & Mocap Performer & 2D Artist RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Tester Kai Morrison-White Help Wanted: Quality Assurance Freddy & Friends: On Tour!: Added and recorded lyrics Security Breach: Studio Director Help Wanted 2: Studio Director Scott Thompson (Formerly) Help Wanted: Quality Assurance Nathaniel Wisdom Help Wanted: Quality Assurance Security Breach: Associate 3D Artist, Materials RUIN: Associate 3D Artist Help Wanted 2: Texture / Shading Artist Daniel Bach Security Breach: Quality Assurance Producer RUIN: Quality Assurance Producer Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Producer Kevin Baxtrom Security Breach: Director of Engineering RUIN: Director of Engineering Help Wanted 2: Director of Engineering Chase Behl Security Breach: Associate Producer RUIN: Associate Producer Help Wanted 2: Associate Producer Sabine Belofsky Freddy & Friends: On Tour!: Concept Artist, Backgrounds, and Initial Sketches Security Breach: Concept Artist RUIN: Concept Artist Help Wanted 2: 2D Artist David Bond Security Breach: VFX Artist Michelle Dixon Security Breach: Associate Animator RUIN: Associate Animator Help Wanted 2: Associate Animator Patrick Dunphy Security Breach: Associate Environment Artist Brian Freyermuth Security Breach: Game Design Director RUIN: Design Director/Voice-over Director Help Wanted 2: Studio Design Director / VO Director Esther Gan Security Breach: Associate Environment Artist RUIN: Associate Environment Artist Help Wanted 2: Associate Environment Artist Jonathan Gonzales Security Breach: Associate Artist, Characters and Environments RUIN: Associate Character Artist Help Wanted 2: Character Artist Kymbria "Kym" Gray Security Breach: Quality Assurance Tester RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Tester / 2D Artist Gerald Hardin Security Breach: Associate Character Artist RUIN: Technical Art Lead Help Wanted 2: Character Artist / Lighting Artist Gordon Henson Security Breach: Environment Artist Abigail King Security Breach: Associate Engineer, Level Streaming and Optimization RUIN: Associate Engineer Help Wanted 2: Gameplay Engineer Rachael Kleban Freddy & Friends: On Tour!: Animator Security Breach: 2D Animator & Storyboard Artist & Social Media Specialist RUIN: 2D Concept Artist/Animator Help Wanted 2: 2D Animator / 2D Artist Christopher W. "Chris" Kromrey Security Breach: Technical Animator RUIN: Senior Technical Animator Help Wanted 2: Technical Animator Ray McCaffrey Security Breach: Executive Producer RUIN: Executive Producer Help Wanted 2: Executive Producer Nick Morello Security Breach: Associate Environment Artist RUIN: Associate Environment Artist Help Wanted 2: 3D Environment Artist / Lighting Artist Kunal Patil Security Breach: Associate Engineer RUIN: Engineer Help Wanted 2: Gameplay Engineer Ignacio Quezada Herrera Security Breach: Lighting Lead & Environment Artist RUIN: Lead Lighting Artist Help Wanted 2: Lead Lighting Artist Aaron Ravelo Security Breach: Quality Assurance Tester RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Tester Andreana "Andy" Reeves (Formerly) Freddy & Friends: On Tour!: securitybreachtv.com Security Breach: Quality Assurance Tester & Social Media Specialist Laura "Lau" Rogers Security Breach: 2D Art Director RUIN: Lead 2D Artist Help Wanted 2: Lead 2D Artist Manuel Salmeron Security Breach: Associate Animator RUIN: Senior Animator Help Wanted 2: Senior 3D Animator Ryan Segal Security Breach: Quality Assurance Tester RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Tester Timmy Stanford Security Breach: Quality Assurance Tester RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Tester Grant Steiner Security Breach: Submissions Manager & Localization Coordinator RUIN: Associate Producer Help Wanted 2: Associate Producer / Release & Partner Relations Manager John Strader-Garcia Security Breach: Environment Artist & Character Artist RUIN: Environment Lead/Character Lead Help Wanted 2: Lead Character Artist Steven Ta Security Breach: Associate Environment Artist Vanessa Victorio Security Breach: Production Coordinator & Social Media Specialist James Daichi Vreeland Security Breach: Associate Animator RUIN: Animator Help Wanted 2: Animator Renee Yedidsion Security Breach: Quality Assurance Tester RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Tester / 2D Artist John Cibulski Security Breach: Executive Producer Maizie Desmarais Security Breach: Associate Environment Artist RUIN: Associate Environment Artist Help Wanted 2: 3D Environment Artist Chase Hernandez Security Breach: Executive Producer RUIN: Executive Producer Help Wanted 2: Executive Producer Riq Hurd Security Breach: Associate Producer RUIN: Associate Producer Help Wanted 2: Associate Producer Christina "Smalls" Jose Security Breach: Production Assistant & Office Manager & Social Media Specialist RUIN: Associate Producer Help Wanted 2: Associate Producer Angel Manila Security Breach: Concept Artist RUIN: Concept Artist Help Wanted 2: 2D Artist Travis O'Connor Security Breach: Associate Technical Artist RUIN: Associate Environment Artist Help Wanted 2: Associate 3D Environment Artist Daniel "Dan" Perry Security Breach: Animation Director RUIN: Animation Director Help Wanted 2: Director of Animation James "Jimmy" Shoemaker Security Breach: Associate Engineer RUIN: Associate Game Designer Help Wanted 2: Associate Game Designer Santrupti "Sunny" Satpathy Security Breach: Quality Assurance Tester Atreyu Alcantar RUIN: Creature Fabricator and Designer Help Wanted 2: Creature Fabricator and Designer Marlena Abraham RUIN: Senior Game Designer Help Wanted 2: Lead Game Designer Alessandro Briglia RUIN: Art Director Help Wanted 2: Consulting Art Director Zachary "Zach" Cohn RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Tester Robin Crew RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Tester Kevin Douglas RUIN: Environment Artist Help Wanted 2: 3D Environment Artist Hallie Erfourth RUIN: Associate Technical Animator Help Wanted 2: Associate Technical Animator Glenn Lattiere RUIN: Lead UI Artist Help Wanted 2: Lead UI Artist Cory Patton RUIN: Game Designer Help Wanted 2: Game Designer Fran Pepe RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Tester Julia Redden RUIN: Associate Game Designer Help Wanted 2: Associate Game Designer Leanna Russell RUIN: Environment Artist Help Wanted 2: 3D Environment Artist Brian Salcedo RUIN: VFX Artist Help Wanted 2: Lead VFX Artist David "Dave" Senita RUIN: Principal Animator Help Wanted 2: Principal Animator AJ Smith RUIN: Associate Producer Chris Stuart RUIN: Lead UX Designer Help Wanted 2: Lead UX Designer Quest Washington RUIN: Associate Game Designer Help Wanted 2: Associate Game Designer Maes "MJ" Young RUIN: Lead Producer Help Wanted 2: Producer Britney Anderson RUIN: Human Resources Manager Help Wanted 2: Human Resources Manager Destinee Bailey RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester William Bennett RUIN: Associate Engineer Help Wanted 2: Gameplay Engineer Aspen Clark RUIN: Senior Game Designer Jim Davis RUIN: Quality Assurance Lead Jacob Hensley RUIN: Engineer Help Wanted 2: Senior Gameplay Engineer Kevin Hunter RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Tester Trevor Lawrence RUIN: Associate Engineer Help Wanted 2: Gameplay Engineer Ayesha Martin RUIN: Office Manager/Executive Assistant Help Wanted 2: Studio Manager Marcy Mezei RUIN: Lead Audio Designer Help Wanted 2: Lead Audio Designer / Composer Izayah-Patrick Phillips RUIN: Quality Assurance Tester Help Wanted 2: Quality Assurance Tester Lucas "Luke" Przygocki RUIN: Lead Engineer Help Wanted 2: Lead Engineer Ashley Siegal RUIN: Social Media Manager Help Wanted 2: Social Media Manager Asa Spades Turner RUIN: Engineer Help Wanted 2: Gameplay Engineer Paul Sullivan RUIN: Producer Help Wanted 2: Producer Emma Wallace RUIN: IT Manager

Description

Steel Wool Studios, AKA Steel Wool Games is an independent studio of 20-ish superstars based in Oakland, CA. We create games. Sounds simple but it is a little more complex. We create games for entertainment as well as create games for enterprise projects. What does that mean? We use our game-making skills to both make games for fun but also to help in different areas such as Virtual Training and Virtual Therapy. Games are a universal language that has so many applications across the world and across different mediums. It is a common thread that binds us together and allows us to use our passion to help make others happy.

Fortified by veterans of Pixar, Midway, HTC, Intel, and Telltale Games who bring decades of experience in collaboration with an insanely talented crew of artists and engineers looking to help define the next decade of gaming. We’re so lucky to be able to work together and share a vision of what we want Steel Wool Studios to be.

History

The founder of Steel Wool, Josh Qualtieri, who is a fan of NASA, wanted desperately to be involved in ongoing missions to explore the surface of Mars. He studied a degree in astrophysics for it, but the Martian exploration projects at NASA was then defunded. Without any other choice, he started working at Pixar, who needed smart mathematicians who could deal with complex computer algorithms. After helping to create several animated films, Josh and Pixar's technical director Andrew Dayton decided to try making a game. They created the team with three Pixar artists: Sequoia Blankenship, Jonathan Hoffman and Jason Topolski. They named themselves Steel Wool Games, and developed a cute mobile title called Flyhunter Origins. As a studio founded by Pixar creatives, they instantly drew attention from the gaming industry. The co-creator of Guitar Hero, Charles Huang discovered their newly formed studio early on and decided to help them.

Charles got a special invite to Valve for them, where they were given a behind-the-scene look at the company's work on the HTC Vive. They were blown away by the high level of immersion, and immediately pivoted out of the mobile games market, to instead focus on virtual reality. They changed their name to Steel Wool Studios, and successfully convinced HTC to provide them with funding and resources to create an original project for their new device by giving them an early demo for a VR game which later became Quar.

Josh, who is a Martian lover, created a realistic computer model for the Curiosity rover and put it into the VR world. Fascinated by how amazing it looks in VR, Steel Wool started making a VR game about exploring Mars, Mars Odyssey, to fulfill Josh's childhood dream.

Scott Cawthon later discovered Steel Wool's works, and he was very impressed. Eventually, Scott hired to studio to create a full VR remake of the original Five Nights at Freddy's game. Not long into development, though, they began to realize the problems with creating a direct translation of this relatively simple game, as VR was too immersive for Scott's original artwork and character models, and the flaws in designs and costumes could be easily spotted with greater visual fidelity. However, with the amazing animation skill of the team, they began to redesign a lot of art assets Scott had provided, adding additional hydraulics and machine parts.

• Ludography
• Filmography

Note: This section only lists the official Five Nights at Freddy's games that Steel Wool Studios has developed and/or contributed to in some capacity.

Title	Platform(s)	Release Date	Note
Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted	Windows, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Window Mixed Reality, PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest, Meta Quest 2, iOS, Android, Xbox One, PICO Neo 3, PICO 4, PICO 4 Pro, PICO 4 Ultra	May 28, 2019	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC
Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted - Curse of Dreadbear	Windows, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Window Mixed Reality, PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest, Meta Quest 2, iOS, Android, Xbox One, PICO Neo 3, PICO 4, PICO 4 Pro, PICO 4 Ultra	October 23, 2019	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC
Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted - Bundle	Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, Nintendo Switch	December 17, 2019	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC
Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach	Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Google Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox YouTube X/S, Nintendo Switch	December 16, 2021	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC
Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach - RUIN	Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5	July 25, 2023	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC
Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted - Full Time Edition	PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR2	November 21, 2023	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC
Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2	Windows, PlayStation VR2, PlayStation 5, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro, SteamVR, PICO Neo 3, PICO 4, PICO 4 Pro, PICO 4 Ultra	December 14, 2023	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC
Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic	Windows	2025	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC

Note: This section only lists the official Five Nights at Freddy's films/TV that Steel Wool Studios has produced and/or contributed to in some capacity.

Title	Platform(s)	Release Date	Note
Freddy & Friends: On Tour!: Episode 1	YouTube	September 7, 2021	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC
Freddy & Friends: On Tour!: Episode 2	YouTube	September 21, 2021	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC
Freddy & Friends: On Tour!: Episode 3	YouTube	September 21, 2021	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC
Freddy & Friends: On Tour!: Episode 4	YouTube	October 19, 2021	In collaboration with Scottgames, LLC

Trivia

• Steel Wool Studios got its name when Sequoia Blankenship, one of the founders, drew a sheep inside a tank and exclaimed "Steel Wool." The team instantly fell in love with it.

Gallery

Old logo.

An Interview with Steel Wool Studios - The Creators of Security Breach

Dawko interviews Jason "jtop" Topolski and Ray McCaffrey prior to Security Breach's release.

Steel Wool Studios Gamejolt Interview (Nov. 4th, 2022)

Jason "jtop" Topolski and Brian Freyermuth interviewed on Game Jolt.

I Interviewed The Creators Of FNAF Security Breach - Steel Wool Studios

FuhNaff Interview with Jason "jtop" Topolski.

A group photo of Steel Wool employees at the PAX West 2023 FNaF booth.

A group photo of Steel Wool employees at the PAX West 2024 FNaF booth.

Faz Trivia.

Ditto, the answer.