Officially launched today, Mudstack is a first-of-its-kind Digital Asset Management (DAM) system specifically for game studios and digital artists who increasingly need to work collaboratively across multiple projects, locations, and even timezones. The Mudstack platform combines cloud storage, artist-friendly version control, and an integrated review and feedback feature. Itallows art teams to rapidly increase their pace of iteration and progress, wasting less time hunting for files and feedback and wondering which version is the right one for any given file.

Founder Jordan Stevens explained why the team felt there was a need for a platform like Mudstack. “Digital art teams face a unique set of challenges when it comes to producing, managing, and reviewing assets. Their use of multiple tools often results in a disconnect between the various stages of a project, and as companies expand, this situation becomes more complex. Cheaper solutions that once worked fail at scale, leading to significant productivity loss and delayed launches that can cost over six figures.”

Canadian-based VR Vision develops VR-based training solutions for enterprises, and it found that Mudstack made an immediate difference. “We struggled to scale our pipeline once our development team quickly grew from a single developer to ten. Sharing assets on a local network drive or Google Drive can be tedious, especially for iterating and making changes. We needed a version control solution for assets so we could still access the old asset if a change happened accidentally. Mudstack has solved this through its ability to create workspaces per project, isolating the clutter happening in one place with the ability to add tags and libraries that sit on top of folder structures, with non-destructive file-based versioning,” said Karan Sharma, Art Manager at VR Vision.

Mudstack is free for anyone to start using and collaborating across teams, giving unlimited users the ability to collaboratively view files. Paid plans start at $19/mo per admin user and include unlimited artists, 4TB+ cloud storage, and access controls.

Mudstack has been developing its platform in close partnership with both indie and AA game studios, ensuring the tool meets their needs, improves efficiency and productivity, and puts artists’ needs at the forefront of its design. No other platform combines features that allow digital artists to onboard an existing project in a matter of hours, streamline workflows, and easily integrate collaboration. Its key features include:

Centralized cloud storage for source files, so there is no need to use external cloud storage software

• Preview 3D files (FBX, OBJ, GLTF) without downloading and opening

• Tag and filter files for easy searching

• Control access to content to protect IP if working with external vendors

• Group files in multiple collections without duplicating or worrying about folder structures

• Utilize AWS for all systems and storage

Review and provide feedback directly in art files rather than using external workflow tools

• Request reviews by tagging other users directly in the file

• Easily assign change requests and provide approvals on files

• Mark up files with the built-in annotation tool

Version control that doesn’t require locking and branching, so artists don’t have to use developer tools

• File-based versioning rather than product-based, so artists don’t have to deal with irrelevant conflicts

• Roll back to older versions at any time without deleting or overwriting anything

• View the history of each file with a single source of versions kept in the cloud

• Manage versions locally and share only the versions needed

You can find out more, including full feature and pricing information, and book a demo at www.mudstack.com.