Agis today announced The Platform, a next-generation cross-device application for creating, sharing, and playing user-generated content where creators actually own their creations. Concurrently, Agis confirmed its intent to acquire Maze Theory Games Studio Ltd., the extended reality studio behind PEAKY BLINDERS: THE KING’S RANSOM, DOCTOR WHO: THE EDGE OF TIME, and THIEF VR, and currently building PROJECT HAIL MARY: JOURNEY AMONG THE STARS. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Platform and PROJECT HAIL MARY: JOURNEY AMONG THE STARS will be available to demo at Gamescom in Hall 02.2, Stand C040.
The acquisition brings together two complementary forces in immersive entertainment: Maze Theory’s award-winning craft in narrative-led XR, and Agis’s mission to put world-class creation tools into every player’s hands, from professional studios to first-time creators. Maze Theory will continue to operate under its own brand, with its team and slate intact, while gaining the full power of The Platform behind its development pipeline.
The Platform: “The Game Is the Studio”
Designed to break down the walled gardens of modern gaming, The Platform bridges gameplay and development across PC, mobile, and XR. Built with guided onboarding for developers, artists, and newcomers alike, The Platform lets creators lay out a level on a phone during a subway commute, refine systems on a desktop, and step inside to build in VR, all within the same session.
By eliminating separate editors, creators can toggle between edit and play modes in real time. Teams collaborate live as networked players, with multi-user editing, an ever-growing library of thousands of ready-to-use assets, an integrated sound engine, and native VR creation. The open ecosystem supports custom Unity pipeline uploads, self-hosting, cross-platform multiplayer, and live Twitch plugins that let streaming audiences trigger real-time game events.
The Platform is led by Ben McCallister, founder and CEO of Agis. Nicholas Butera, known in the builder community as Utinni and former Rec Room Lead Game Designer, serves as Chief Product Officer.
“I have spent thousands of hours building games with my son. Garry’s Mod, Minecraft, Roblox, you name it,” said McCallister. “While they are all great in their own right, I wanted to build something that takes the best of what they got right and what we could do better. If people want to create in it, how can we make it as easy as possible? And if you want to monetize it, how can we be the best creator-friendly platform there is?”
Maze Theory: Redrawing the Boundaries of Player Imagination
Maze Theory has built an international reputation for creating unique XR games that spark the imagination through narrative discovery, artistic excellence, and physical gameplay. Trusted by global intellectual property holders, the studio created the DOCTOR WHO VR series (“The Edge of Time,” “The Edge of Reality” and “The Lonely Assassins”), PEAKY BLINDERS: THE KING’S RANSOM, “THIEF VR” and its original, award-winning spatial puzzler “Infinite Inside.” Led by industry veterans from Activision, Sony PlayStation, Oculus, EA, Disney, the BBC and Channel 4, Maze Theory has become one of the most respected immersive studios.
That track record now points to its most ambitious title yet: PROJECT HAIL MARY: JOURNEY AMONG THE STARS, the official VR and mixed reality experience based on Andy Weir’s novel, developed in partnership with Amazon MGM Studios for late 2026. It is the kind of landmark, narrative-driven title that defines a studio, and exactly the caliber of work Agis intends to accelerate and enhance.
“I have worked with this team for over a year, first as a consultant, then as board advisor, and now as their partner in what comes next,” said McCallister. “Maze Theory has spent a decade proving what’s possible when world-class creative talent is given the freedom to push boundaries, and their work speaks for itself. Bringing them into Agis isn’t about changing what makes Maze Theory special; it’s about amplifying it and learning from the best as we put these tools into the hands of millions. Together, we are going to show exactly what The Platform can do across every screen people play on.”
“Joining forces with Agis hands our creative vision a rocket engine,” said Phil White, CEO of Maze Theory. “The Platform collapses the gap between an idea and a playable universe, whether you’re building on a laptop or inside a headset. For our developers, it means spending time on storytelling, craft, and player experience, and less on backend infrastructure. With PROJECT HAIL MARY MR on the horizon and Agis behind us, this is the most exciting moment in our studio’s history.”
At Gamescom, Maze Theory will preview PROJECT HAIL MARY: JOURNEY AMONG THE STARS, with pre-orders opening on August 27, 2026. For more information on “The Platform,” visit Agisplatform.com or join the Discord community. To learn more about Maze Theory and their project pipeline, visit maze-theory.com and www.projecthailmarymr.com.
