Having worked on some of the biggest games in the gaming industry, Sprung wants to make it easier to find player feedback.
Have you ever pressed start in Call of Duty, Halo or Apex Legends? If so, then you've had at least some interaction with Sprung Studios, a British video game co-development studio based in Vancouver and Brighton.
“Becoming part of the lexicon of websites that game developers love to visit regularly would be a real win.”
For 20 years, Sprung's name has been in the credits, not on the packaging, for the work it has done supporting high-profile games with both user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). That's changing with the release of a new AI-powered tool. Sonarlaunched last fall. Sonar is a free platform that collects player opinions from all over the internet so developers (and gamers) can learn what people like and don't like about video games.
Sonar “is a celebration and distillation of all the player voices” talking about the game, Sprung Studio CEO James Chaytor told BetaKit in a December interview.
Chaytor added that while Sonar is not the studio's “bread and butter”, it is cementing its place as an industry expert.
Sonar isn't as straightforward as Metacritic for video games, as the tool doesn't just collect scores from reviewers. Instead, it sorts through specific reviews collected from YouTube videos and articles from around the world to capture sentiment around a game's features. For example, Canadian made Balatro has 88 percent sonar scoreThis means that 88 percent of the 370 data received by Sonar from 56 sources were considered “positive.”
This is further broken down into different categories such as Player Agency where Sonar users can see for example this YouTube video said Balatro features fun and strategic gameplay, while one more article notes that the game manual does not properly explain the game mechanics.
Chaytor explained how the tool was born out of a four-person team he assembled in February 2025, when AI “raised its head” to explore the technology's potential uses and threats.
“Any business would be crazy not to pay attention to this,” he said.
Over the course of a few months, a small research and development team created a tool that allowed users to explore different components of the games they were interested in, be it an RPG or a shooter. After a positive reception at the External Development Summit in Vancouver in September, Sprung Studios finalized Sonar and launched it in November.
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Of course, when turning to the Internet for opinions on a video game, studios must be discerning. Gamer groups often release a volley of negative online reviews for a variety of reasons, including predatory business practicesor because political motives.
This is where the human factor comes into play. After Sonar collects data and ideas, Chaytor said his team reviews the reviews, which are eventually published on the website. He added that he himself watched hundreds of YouTube videos to decide whether to include them.
“Are they just yelling into the microphone about the game or are they making really important points and really deep insight into the game?” Chaytor said.
Since it grew out of a side project, Chaytor said he didn't want to put too much emphasis on Sonar. It “needs some push,” so Sprung will invest some money in marketing, otherwise he'll let it grow organically.
“If we get a huge number of visits and can monetize in a way that recoups some of the money we spent making it, that would be incredible,” Chaytor said. “Becoming part of the lexicon of websites that game developers love to visit regularly would be a real win.”
Image provided Jump Studios.
