milky tea At 19
Milky Tea Team celebrate at the Liverpool Studio
Time flies, eh?
Within the blink of an eye, our ‘Seriously Playful’ Studio has turned 19!
As we celebrate, we’re looking back at the studio’s origins, and its biggest milestones, and touching upon some of our plans for the future.
The History of Milky Tea
Milky Tea started life as a Design & 3D company back in 2005.
Jonathan Holmes & Ian Leyland were two designer-artist friends working for a company that went into liquidation.
Milky Tea was co-founded by them 24 hours later - the two of them maxing out credit cards in a rush to get something off the ground. They managed to quickly pick up work from clients they’d already built strong relationships with.
Jonathan remains the Studio’s Director, while Ian is now an Art Director on Star Citizen at Cloud Imperium.
Milky Tea's very first office space in Wavertree, Liverpool.
In those early days, the business was as a design and 3D company providing CG imagery, brand characters, world building, digital illustration, animated POS, and even game design.
During this period, Milky Tea steadily picked up contracts with a host of national and international brands like Toyota, Lloyds TSB, Renault, Sky, Unilever, Bose, and Clarks.
Game development, however, was always the dream. Around 2010 – Jonathan decided to go all in on it, and in 2012 the studio released their first game - Roller Rally.
Roller Rally - On iOS and Android.
Then came Coffin Dodgers! A kart racer infused with a British sense of humour; the game went on to earn a nomination for a Welsh BAFTA in 2017.
Coffin Dodgers - nominated for a Welsh BAFTA in 2017.
Next came HyperBrawl Tournament, which debuted on Apple Arcade in September 2019 before coming to PC and Consoles the following year.
HyperBrawl Tournament - Key Art.
2023 marked another significant milestone when AONIC, a successful video game group, purchased a majority stake in the company.
In joining AONIC, we became part of a family of like-minded studios. We support each other to unfold our potential all while maintaining our own unique, ‘seriously playful’ identity.
It’s been an exciting and rewarding 18 months, and their involvement allows us to fully focus on the development side with Megabit - their publishing wing – doing incredible work on that front.
Currently, we have two games in the works. We’re proud of them and can’t wait to get them in the hands of players.
Grit and Valor - 1949: Key Art.
The first of which is Grit and Valor – 1949, a fast-paced real time tactics game with a dystopian alt-history setting. This is slated for release in 2025.
The second is an equally exciting yet totally different project based on original IP that we can’t wait to reveal! Watch this space!
So, what’s next at milky tea?
That’s been a condensed timeline of Milky Tea’s highlights up to now, but what comes next? Here's a quick look at the the
Levelling-Up Employee Wellbeing
In 2022, we conducted a company-wide well-being survey, gaining valuable insights into what we were doing right and where we needed to improve.
Using this data, we developed a strategic roadmap for long-term policy changes that would benefit everyone. Alongside these larger initiatives, we’ve also implemented small, impactful adjustments to streamline communication, reduce day-to-day admin, and enhance work-life balance through our hybrid working model.
One of the significant recent changes has been the overhaul of our Maternity Policy – which we worked on together to develop something much more robust.
“It was new to me, but I found an aptitude for writing policy. Seeing the positive impact this one could make to prospective mothers’ lives was amazing. I really enjoyed it.” - Charlotte Geer,
This new policy, which went live just a month after our discussions began, has since provided superior security and support to several team members during crucial life transitions.
Continuous Improvement Through Feedback
Two years later, the process of reviewing our team’s feelings about life at Milky Tea has become streamlined and is now repeated bi-annually, with additional opportunities for feedback throughout the year. This ongoing dialogue hopes to ensure that we never become complacent and remain committed to learning about and addressing employee concerns.
We’ve also prioritised the introduction of comprehensive private health insurance. This initiative, identified as a top priority in our well-being survey, offers coverage that includes mental health support and advanced treatments, ensuring that our team’s health is a fundamental business priority.
Looking Ahead: Milky Tea “Mini fest”
As we look to the future, we’re putting focus on further enhancing our company culture. We are committed to formalising our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Later this September, we’re organising a larger, more ambitious “Mini Fest” - a whole team getaway designed to improve mental and physical health, encourage skill-sharing, and foster stronger bonds with remote staff. We can’t wait to tell you more about it in the coming weeks!