Draft:Shiny Shoe

Shiny Shoe is an American independent video game developer based in San Francisco, CA. Founded in 2011 by Mark Cooke and Alex Kring, the team quickly expanded when Yujin Kiem came aboard as Art Manager. Best known for the roguelike deck-building game Monster Train, its successor Monster Train 2, along with its free content updates Lost Arsenal, Echoes form the Void, DLC Destiny of the Railforged, along with the turn-based roguelike game Inkbound.

Mark Cooke founded Shiny Shoe in 2011. Prior to starting Shiny Shoe, Mark worked in a variety of roles in production management, engineering, and game design in both the United States and Japan. He met Shiny Shoe’s cofounder, Alex Kring, while working as a Lead Systems Designer at nStigate Games (formerly Nihilistic Games). Soon after, Yujin Kiem became Shiny Shoe’s third member and the studio’s Art Manager and Operations Manager.

In the first few years, the Shiny Shoe team worked on a combination of original games and contract work for other studios. In 2012, they launched their first original game, turn-based giant mecha fighting game titled Offworld.^[1] In 2014, Shiny Shoe developed and launched Puzzle Raiders, a free-to-play mobile game with in-app purchases. ^[2]

At the same time, Shiny Shoe helped clients ship many other games on a wide variety of platforms. The team released Grim Fandango Remastered in 2015^[3], Day of the Tenacle Remastered in 2016^[4], and Full Throttle Remastered in 2017.^[5] They also ported The Banner Saga by Stoic Studio for console^[6] between 2014 and 2018 and The studio also ported Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero for Switch in 2021.^[7]

In May 2017, Andrew Krausnick joined Shiny Shoe as Creative Director. Shiny Shoe then designed and developed Death’s Door, a roguelike adventure game where the whole community plays together via a live stream, in 2017. They then developed Death’s Door: Aftermath,^[8] published on Microsoft’s Mixer service in 2018, which was “a game that is only available to play on streaming platforms like Mixer and Twitch through viewer interaction.”^[9]

Shiny Shoe’s next game, a roguelike deckbuilder titled Monster Train, was released on May 21, 2020. The game was published by Good Shepherd Entertainment. The received high critical acclaim amongst game journalists, players, and popular content creators alike. Monster Train won Best Card Game of 2020 by PC Gamer^[10]. It was also nominated for Best Strategy Game of 2020 by IGN^[11], Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year during the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards ^[12], and Outstanding Game, Strategy by The National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR®) Corp.^[13]

In June 2022, Shiny Shoe announced a new game, Inkbound, on Steam.^[14] The game's trailer was first shown during Steam NextFest 2022. Inkbound, a turn-based tactical roguelike, could be played solo or co-op, which served as a challenge for the Shiny Shoe team.^[15] Players fight to save a world in which stories come to life but are threatened by a rising evil force. First launched in Early Access, Inkbound was considered “wildly intriguing” by Mike BC of MMORPG^[16], “innovative game design and atmosphere” by Jerry Williams of RPG Fan^[17], and “the groundwork for a great co-op roguelike” by Grayson Morley of Polygon.^[18] After Inkbound’s 1.0 release, several DLCs were also launched. Rise of the Unbound, in particular, received praise from game journalists. ^[19]

In February 2025^[20] , Shiny Shoe announced on the sequel to Monster Train with their next game, Monster Train 2, was published by Big Fan Games, a publishing branch of Devolver and released on May 21, 2025 for PC (including Steam and Windows Store), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, including via Xbox Game Pass.^[21] The game, a sequel to Monster Train, returns with all new clans, new enemy factions, new challenges, and new modes. Monster Train 2 received high praise by critics such as GameCritics^[22], Game Informer^[23], and PC Gamer.^[24] The game was described as “roguelike deckbuilder par excellence” by Cass Barkman of Checkpoint Gaming,^[25], “a delightful deck-building game that’s just easy to pick up and have a blast with, without worrying about optimizing decks” by Fran J. Ruiz of Skybox Critics,^[26], “ unique spin on deckbuilding” by Jaina Hill of Cog Connected^[27], and a “masterpiece” by Ian McBride of Noisy Pixel.^[28]

In Fall 2025, Shiny Shoe released two new free content updates. The first update, titled Lost Arsenal, launched on September 10, 2025. The content update consisted of an in-depth balance patch of the first Monster Train clans available in Monster Train 2 along with fifteen new cards.^[29]

The second content update, Echoes from the Void, was released on November 5, 2025 for free. The update contained fifty-four new mutators, added new enemy bosses, and expanded the Dimensional Challenges offerings in Monster Train 2. ^[30]

On February 2, 2026, Shiny Shoe released the first DLC for Monster Train 2 titled Destiny of the Railforged. The DLC introduced a new roguelite game mode, Soul Savior mode, new run mutators called 'Souls', new bosses, and a new player clan.^[31] The DLC also launched alongside a free new update in which a clan from the original Monster Train, the Wurmkin, was re-introduced to the game.^[32] The DLC, Monster Train 2: Destiny of the Railforged, was described as “refreshingly difficult,” “like Monster Train 2 on steroids.”^[33]