Behaviour UK – North (formerly SockMonkey Studios) is a British video game developer, founded by Teesside University graduates Bob Makin and Darren Cuthbert, in Middlesbrough, North East England.
History Founded in February 2013 with the help of DigitalCity, prior to SockMonkey Studios Makin and Cuthbert worked at other studios including Team17, Jagex and Iguana.
Makin and Cuthbert were later joined by industry veteran Darren Falcus. Building their foundation on primarily work for hire jobs, the studio collaborated with numerous video game companies such as SEGA, Double Eleven and Team 17 to assist in the porting of their games to other consoles.
After setting up their offices on Victoria Road in Middlesbrough, in 2015 they moved their headquarters to the Phoenix Building at Teesside University, moving again to Boho 5 as the studio grew and as of 2021 reside at 16/26 Albert Road North in Middlesbrough.
From its inception, the studio experienced growth due to increasing demand within the gaming industry and by 2020 had added dozens of positions. In 2019 alone they reported doubling the headcount in their Teesside office.
In 2020, during an expansion phase, Ron Ashtiani – former CEO of Sumo Group's Atomhawk Business – was added to the board of directors. During 2020, the studio also received funding from Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
In February 2023 it was announced that SockMonkey Studios had been acquired by Behaviour Interactive, becoming Behaviour UK – North.
Contract work Although the studio also worked on full-scale development, SockMonkey was predominantly a work-for-hire studio, having worked globally on contracts for both PC and console, including US-based developers such as tinyBuild and Outfit7.
Awards YearInstitutionAwardResult2015GameBridgeBusiness Award2020Tees Tech Awards 2020Tech AmbassadorCompany of the YearNorth East Business AwardsSmall Business Award: TeessideSmall Business Award: Grand Final2021Tees Tech Awards 2021Unsung Hero: Darren FalcusBusiness Leader: Bob Makin2022Tees Tech Awards 2022Company of the YearGame Dev Heroes Awards 2022Design Hero 2022: Dewi RobertsGi.biz Best Places to Work 2022Best Boss UK : Bob MakinBest Places to Work: Small Company 2023Velocitees AwardsJob Creation: Small BusinessTurnover: Small Business
Games YearGame titleRoleNotes2013WurdyDevelopment2014Joe DangerPortingPorted to AndroidSockaMonkeysFull DevelopmentThe Soccer MonkeyFull Development2015Joe Danger InfinityPortingPorted to AndroidUnannounced TitlePortingUnreleased title2016Farm FightersDevelopmentAdded online multiplayer and design workKingdom Conquest (Unreleased)Art and AnimationUnreleased mobile title2017The Rocky Horror Show: Touch MeDevelopmentCode developmentPlayPhotoDevelopmentAddition of Imessage add-onThe EscapistsPorting2018Beat the IntroDevelopmentSongbringerPortingPorted to Nintendo SwitchPrison ArchitectPortingPorted to Nintendo Switch2019Prison ArchitectDevelopmentCreated content and updates for console and PC2020Talking Tom Candy RunPortingPorted to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and added Multiplayer ModeDeliver Us the MoonPortingPorted to Xbox One and PlayStation 4Tens!Porting and DevelopmentPorted to PC, Mac and Nintendo Switch added content, Story Mode and Multiplayer ModeKill it with FirePortingPorted to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, iOS and Android2021Totally Accurate BattlegroundsDevelopmentCo-development of future updates and content and changing the game from premium to free to play2022Happy's Humble Burger FarmPortingPorted to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo SwitchLittle OrpheusPorting and DevelopmentRemastered and Ported to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 / 5, Switch and PC TinykinPortingPorted to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, MS Store, PlayStation 4 / 5 and SwitchCoComelon: Play with JJFull DevelopmentNintendo Switch
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