How Codecks is building a games-focused project management tool teams actually want to use

PocketGamer.biz recently sat down with Riad Djemili, the co-founder and MD of Codecks, a project management tool designed specifically for game development teams.

We discussed why traditional project management tools often fall short for game developers and why Codecks emphasises a "unique, playful approach" with a deck and card system, making project management more engaging and, dare we say, fun! 

PocketGamer.biz: Riad, you've told us that traditional project management tools often fall short for game development teams. Based on your experience, what are the fundamental flaws or missing pieces in these tools when applied to the unique, often chaotic, process of making games, especially in 2025?

Riad Djemili: The main issue with off-the-shelf project management tools is that they're trying to serve everyone, which means they can't really serve anyone particularly well.

When you're building for a massive audience across different industries, you end up with these half-baked features that don't quite hit the mark for any specific use case.

You can really feel that these tools weren't created by people who actually work in game development. For game developers, this means missing out on integrations that would be useful - things like connecting with Unreal, Unity, or Discord.

These tools just can't focus on what we actually need because they're too busy trying to be everything to everyone.

Could you share the origin story of Codecks? What was the specific "aha!" moment or series of frustrations that made you decide to build a new solution "by game dev teams, for game dev teams", and how did early support, like EU funding, help get it off the ground?

The real catalyst was seeing the same problem over and over again - even in professional settings, team members just weren't engaging with project management tools.

People would avoid updating them, communication would break down, and you'd end up making decisions based on stale or incomplete data.

We realised that any tool is only as useful as it is being used by the team, so focusing on getting the onboarding and user experience right was our top priority. We thought, what if we apply the things that we learned in game development and make a tool that people actually want to use? Something that felt more like a game than a chore.

We started building it internally first, then shared it with friends who were also working on games. Having seen Codecks battle-tested on dozens of successful games with team sizes of up to 80 people has given us confidence that we're onto something.

The EU grant allows us to take the next steps of introducing Codecks to more studios while also not being distracted by chasing the VC market. The funding gave us the runway to really focus on getting this right.

Codecks takes a "unique, playful approach" to project management with its decks and cards system. Can you elaborate on how this playful philosophy translates into making the often-rigorous process of game development more efficient, manageable, and engaging for teams?

We built the whole interface around the metaphor of a trading card game. It's something that feels familiar and engaging to game developers, but it's also accessible to everyone on a multidisciplinary team, whether they're artists, programmers, or designers.

The playful approach isn't just surface-level. Take our "beast levels" feature - when tasks become overdue, they grow these beast levels that escalate over time. Instead of just having angry red text screaming at you about missed deadlines, it becomes this conversation starter.

This approach actually holds up well under pressure because the visual cues help teams spot problems faster - when you're stressed, you want immediate visibility into what's blocking you, not digging through spreadsheets. 

This is just one example of many where we took an innovative lens to established software practices. But it's important to mention that we're not chasing gamification. It's not about slapping a high score bar on a spreadsheet, it's about finding engaging ways to highlight relevant process information. It addresses real business needs like identifying pipeline bottlenecks, but in a way that keeps things fun and motivating rather than stressful.

Beyond the core playful system, what specific features or design choices in Codecks directly address the common PM pain points you identified earlier for game developers?

Everything in the tool comes from the perspective of people who have been making games and trying to fix the pain points that we've seen over and over again. Because we specialise in this use case, everything works right out of the box without weeks of configuration work. We're dedicated to having the tool handle your whole process, from documents to tasks and bugs.

This shows up in our features like our "journeys", which are asset pipeline workflows, where you can model all the assets in your game and track their completion in a sequential or parallel fashion.

We also have a "no gaps" conversation feature that automatically follows up when discussions are unresolved. We know that this is a common issue for studios using other tools, where important conversations just get lost or forgotten.

Another example is our unique community integration features. We know this is a very important aspect for game developers, who are at the forefront of the community-led growth trend.

We're very focused on streamlining and choosing our features carefully. We follow the design principle that perfection is achieved not when there's nothing more to add, but when there's nothing left to take away.

We want our different features to work in unison and feel organic with each other - we're taking a holistic view rather than just bolting on disparate tools.

You mentioned community management features, like Discord and Steam integrations, are unique to Codecks. How do these integrations help game development teams streamline their workflows and engage with their communities directly through their project management tool?

The Discord integration is one of our most unique features. It lets community feedback flow directly into your project management workflow, really putting the "loop" in "feedback loop".

When someone gives feedback on Discord, you can configure our bot to automatically turn it into an actionable item in Codecks. But here's the special thing - as you work on that item in Codecks, updating its status or adding progress notes, it automatically pushes those updates back to your Discord community in real-time.

Your community stays in the loop about what you're working on without any manual work from your team. This eliminates the busy work for your community managers, who can focus on more important community-building activities instead of manually copying status updates between systems. It’s a bit magical, and something we’re proud of.

The Steam integration mirrors Steam reviews onto Discord, which encourages more community interaction and helps generate more reviews.

It's about breaking down the walls between development and community management, allowing you to incorporate community feedback directly into your development workflows while fostering stronger fan engagement.

You say that over 50,000 teams and 600 studios are already using Codecks, what does this adoption tell you about the needs you're fulfilling in the market, particularly for indie and mobile game developers?

What we are seeing is real demand for specialised solutions. I think the game development process is one of the most complex development processes in the world, and it makes sense that we would want to use specialised tools instead of general-purpose ones.

As the games market continues to grow and development becomes more complex, studios need tools that help them be more sustainable and successful. The response has been really good, and we have a great community that shares feedback and requests with us - we're always in close contact.

We've seen games across different scales - from small indie releases to titles with millions of downloads - succeed using Codecks. It's an industry we love, and the fact that we're seeing adoption across indie and mobile developers tells me there's a real appetite for tools built specifically for our industry.

Looking ahead, what new features or developments are you currently working on for Codecks and what's your longer-term vision for how the platform will evolve to continue supporting game developers?

We're working on something we call a "vision board" component that I'm really excited about because it's a completely new type of whiteboard. Just like we've found a way to bridge community building with project management, we have a unique idea for seamlessly connecting whiteboards with actual development progress.

Think of it as a smart whiteboard that allows you to build different lenses for your overall backlog - dashboards, timelines, brainstorming sessions, or game overviews that update in real-time as you make progress.

For example, you can build a "skill tree" of your game where you see at one glance which areas are progressing well and which ones are lagging behind. It gives you a powerful, playful overview that's not just static planning - it's alive and connected to your actual work.

We're also making it easier to share best practices and project layouts between teams. The goal is to keep building features that are specifically valuable to game developers, not just generic project management.

Given your focus on improving development processes, what are some of the biggest general challenges you see game development teams facing in 2025, particularly those working on mobile titles?

The biggest challenge is the sheer volume of competition. Game development tools have become incredibly democratised and access to markets is easier than ever.

That's great for creativity and innovation, but it means every team needs to be operating at a higher level to stand out. Ideation and making the right product are more important than ever.

For studios, it's important to have a good grasp on their process and on their timeline so they can try different ideas efficiently and release frequently. For mobile, especially, you're dealing with very fast iteration cycles and the need to respond quickly to player feedback.

For new or growing studios, especially in the mobile space, what foundational advice would you offer them on how to approach project management right from the start to set themselves up for success?

There's no one-size-fits-all approach to project management, so it's important to reserve time for continuous improvements.

What matters is continuous adaptation and optimisation. After each sprint or iteration, take time to review your process and identify what can be improved. Don't get locked into thinking there's one "correct" way to do things.

Also, start building your community early and maintain that relationship from game to game. In today's market, that community connection can be just as important as the development process itself.

Beyond specific tools, what broader principles or mindset shifts do you believe are essential for game development teams to adopt to thrive in today's competitive market?

Stay curious and adaptable. The game development landscape is evolving constantly, and teams that can adapt their processes and stay open to new approaches, new markets, new genres, and new business models are the ones that succeed.

We're constantly having to relearn things, and staying curious is very important - it's one of the reasons why I love this industry.

Also, don't underestimate the importance of community building. It's not just about making a great game anymore - it's about building relationships with players that extend beyond individual projects.

How do you see the landscape of game development tools evolving in the near future and what role do you hope Codecks will play in shaping that evolution?

We're seeing massive changes across the board. Tools that used to require massive budgets are now accessible to small teams, and distribution platforms have opened up global markets.

I hope Codecks can play a role in supporting young studios by sharing some best practices as a starting ground and to support established companies with a better tool than they've been using in the past.

The more we can level the playing field through specialised tools, the more we'll see innovative games coming from unexpected places.

Are there any Codecks features or methodologies you'd specifically highlight as being particularly beneficial for mobile game development cycles and live ops management?

For mobile development, our project cloning feature helps you set up new projects quickly using your own established workflows, which is particularly useful when you're spinning up games or updates frequently.

We already have a lot of mobile developers using our platform and they especially appreciate how the Discord integration works with their active communities - turning player feedback into development tasks automatically saves manual work when you need to respond quickly.

The vision board also works well for live ops, where you can create overviews of seasonal content or live events to see what's progressing and what might need attention across multiple campaigns.

Combined with our "no gaps" conversation feature, this helps with coordination between dev, marketing, and community teams when you're working on tight mobile release schedules.

Overall, these features just try to keep up with the fast pace of mobile development rather than adding more overhead to your process.