Brothers literally bet the house on the hit video game Cuphead
Chad and Jared Moldenhauer each mortgaged their houses so they could build a video game.
It has paid off.
The Regina-born brothers’ independent video game Cuphead has received widespread praise for its visual style that pays homage to 1930s-era cartoons. Its characters were even brought to life the old-fashioned way, through handdrawn animation.
Cuphead was released on Microsoft’s Xbox console and personal computers on Sept. 29. In under two weeks, the game sold a million units. At this year’s Game Awards in Los Angeles, Cuphead won three categories, including best art direction.
The brothers are still in shock at the popularity of their debut game.
“We still don’t have a massive response to the success. It’s just … it’s overwhelming,” said Chad Moldenhauer, who now resides in Toronto.
Chad’s younger brother, Jared, still lives in Regina.
Despite appearing on awards show stages and at gaming conventions, Chad describes them as two “pretty grounded guys” from Regina. Jared, who values his privacy, declined to be interviewed.
The Moldenhauers grew up in the city’s north end. They attended elementary school at St. Timothy, and later enrolled at Archbishop M.C. O’Neill High School.
Their love for 1930s animation was passed down from their parents, and nurtured by Silly Symphony compilations they would buy from Acme Video on Osler Street.
Of course, there were lots of video games. Chad referred to Game Busters, a former video game retail store on Victoria Avenue, as their second home. Cuphead’s gameplay takes inspiration from games the Moldenhauers enjoyed as kids, such as Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man.
While video games were previously only made by large corporations, that’s no longer the case. Games can now be made by independent studios and distributed on the internet.
The Moldenhauers’ company, Studio MDHR, doesn’t even have an office.
All of its employees are spread out over Canada and the U.S., and worked on the game from their homes.
“Don’t ask me how we pulled it off,” said Chad.
Chad acted as art director for the game, while Jared looked after game design and managing the development team while working remotely from Regina.
Cuphead started out as a small passion project that the Moldenhauers worked on outside their day jobs. Jared was working for the family’s construction company in Regina, while Chad ran his marketing company in Ontario.
But Cuphead just kept getting bigger.
On Christmas Eve 2013, the brothers got a phone call from Microsoft. Two years later, the company featured them on stage at its press conference during the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. That’s when everything blew up.
Awareness of Cuphead reached a critical mass. The gamer’s trailer received millions of views. Jared and Chad decided to go all-in, mortgaging both of their homes so they could hire more staff to make the ambitious version of the game they had originally conceived.
The Moldenhauers weren’t scared of putting their houses on the line. With anticipation building for the release of Cuphead, they decided to take advantage of their good fortune.
“When we did that, it was such an easy decision,” said Chad.
The financial success of Cuphead has meant that the Moldenhauers can now quit their day jobs and focus on making games. Chad said the team has already started brainstorming ideas for their next game.
“We can now just continue doing what we love and we don’t have to worry about who’s paying the bills next month,” said Chad.
Neither brother has any formal training in game development. Chad and Jared are entirely selftaught when it comes to game design and animation. It’s Chad’s hope that Cuphead’s success will show aspiring game developers they can make video games no matter where they live.
Despite the success Cuphead has enjoyed, it was never the plan to design a surefire blockbuster. It may be a hit now, but like Jared and Chad, Cuphead comes from humble beginnings.
“We just made a game that we loved, and then that’s it,” said Chad.