Certain Affinity Tech Stack

Independent game developer for AAA action titles and co-development

Computer Games Austin, TX 201–500 employees Founded 2006 Privately Held

Certain Affinity is a 200+ person independent game studio split between Austin and Toronto, credited across 40+ titles. The tech stack is heavily weighted toward 3D art pipelines (Maya, Substance Designer/Painter, Houdini, Blender) with deep Unreal Engine integration, and current project work centers on automating handoffs between Maya and Unreal while building character rigging systems — a pattern that suggests internal pain around art-pipeline efficiency and asset delivery timelines. Hiring is accelerating in senior design roles, not engineering, indicating the studio is scaling production capacity rather than core tech.

Tech Stack 20 technologies

Core StackPython C++ C# Adobe Illustrator After Effects Figma Miro Unreal Engine 5 Autodesk Maya Substance Designer Substance Painter Houdini MEL Maya Max Blender Unreal Engine Photoshop Unity Lua

AdoptingUnreal Engine 5

What Certain Affinity Is Building

◆Challenges

Performance constraints
Inefficient art pipelines
Streamlining pipeline between maya and unreal
Delivering art assets on time
Meeting budget constraints

▲Active Projects

Pipeline automation tools between maya and unreal
Runtime animation systems in unreal engine 5
Rigging and skinning pipeline for characters, creatures, and props
Python tools and scripts to automate workflows between maya and unreal
Pipeline management and look development
End-to-end art outsourcing process for a aaa project
Core gameplay systems for aaa action titles

Hiring Activity

Accelerating8 roles · 5 in 30d

Department

Design

Engineering

Seniority

Senior

Lead

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About Certain Affinity

Certain Affinity develops and co-develops AAA action games for major franchises, with a footprint across 40+ titles. Founded in 2006, the studio operates from Austin headquarters and a second location in Toronto. The core business spans lead development, co-development support, and full-production work for established game publishers. Internal operations are built around 3D art production (Maya pipelines, Substance tools, Houdini) feeding into Unreal Engine 5, with active infrastructure work on automation, character rigging systems, and look development to reduce friction between art and runtime.

HeadquartersAustin, TX

Company Size201–500 employees

Founded2006

Hiring MarketsCanada

Frequently Asked Questions

What game engine does Certain Affinity use?

Unreal Engine 5, paired with a deep pipeline of art tools including Autodesk Maya, Substance Designer/Painter, Houdini, and Blender for 3D asset creation and optimization.

What is Certain Affinity working on?

Core gameplay systems for AAA action titles, character rigging and skinning pipelines, runtime animation systems in Unreal Engine 5, and automation tools bridging Maya and Unreal workflows.