In a rare interview, Bluey creator Joe Brumm, the mind behind the show, sat down with Halfbrick CEO Shainiel Deo (Fruit Ninja) to talk about their collaboration to make Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen. The highly anticipated game release is pretty much the only dose of new Bluey storytelling fans are getting this year and one of Brumm’s last contributions to the beloved series he began.
The duo go way back, and when it came to breaking the concept of the upcoming Bluey game, Brumm knew fellow Aussie game studio Halfbrick was the way to go. “They make cool sorts of indie games. Like, that was the spirit of Bluey.” Brumm said of reaching out to Deo and his team to tackle a unique concept for Bluey, “I believe it’s a punk rock sort of show in that sense. So I thought, ‘No, these guys, they’ll make a cool game.’ And that’s happened a few times in Bluey, where people are just powered by, like, an alternate energy source. It’s how things end up good around Bluey.”
And one of those things that ended up good was the fan-favorite episodes “Dragon” and “Escape”, where audiences follow the Heeler family into their own art world. “In the series, we’ve created a mechanic where the kids draw, their drawings come alive, and we see them animated,” Brumm said of how that idea seemed ripe for a gameplay mechanic. “Rainy day outside, the whole family around the table drawing, and we’re going to go into their drawings.”
Brumm continued, “And now the story there is Dad’s taking the golden pen, and Bluey needs it for something she’s doing. And so there’s a pursuit, there’s multiple levels, and Dad’s always eluding them. Mum’s the creator of all the worlds, you know; she draws the worlds.”
“I’m really glad that Joe introduced that mechanic of the drawn worlds,” said Deo. “You know, the shackles were taken off. They could create all these different prototypes, which they would never have been able to do in the real Bluey world.”
Brumm added, “The beauty of these drawn worlds [they are places] where you can be really dastardly and villainous, and the kids love it because it’s their story and it’s a fairy tale and it’s over the top. There’s no meanness or spite there; it’s just a big, goosey game they’re playing.”
Deo cited their shared inspiration: “I was really excited, actually, to have almost like this open world, you know, where Bluey could just ride off, because we always wanted to have some core mechanics but have a place that the players could explore. I think we found lots of really interesting mechanics from games that we would have played way back in the day.” and elaborated, “For me, you look at old-school Zelda games, top-down isometric, there’s heaps of that in there, like Mario Odyssey.”
Joe added, “What I like about the game is that it’s meant to be fun. The story I wrote feels like the simple setup you’d get from a Commodore 64 platformer—we’ve got a problem, and we’ve got a villain, so let’s go get it.”
Deo continued to share how Halfbrick really wanted to honor the family dynamic Brumm began that families all over the world connected to, “For me, it’s just a good old-fashioned game. The worlds are whimsical, the story and the characters, they’re wholesome. They can be irreverent sometimes. Really, there’s just this wholesome sort of vibe to the whole thing. So it’s just a fun experience.”
Brumm explained how the game ties into the adventures he’s spent over a decade sharing through the show: “Bandit’s got a gold pen that can turn everything gold. He’s a bit of a cross between King Midas and David Lee Roth. Yeah—he’s me,” the creator shared, in one of the only times he’s admitted what fans have long speculated, that Bandit is an extension of himself.
Deo affirmed, “I could see that Joe is writing himself into this story 100%.”
The chat also dug into Brumm’s hopes for this latest Bluey release being the same as his hopes for the show. “Success for me with this game means the same as with the series. I want to see happy kids playing this game,” the elusive creator behind Bluey shared, “and when they play it, they’re smiling, and they love it, and they want to show their friends, and they want to tell their parents about it and go, ‘Hey, I did this.’”
Watch the rest of the interview below:
Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen will be available on the Apple App Store on December 11 with a free version to try and an option for a one-time purchase of all the levels. Its release through the Google Play store is set for January 10, 2026. The game is due to expand to bigger systems, including PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, later in 2026.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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![Exclusive: Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business | TechCrunch
Redwood Materials has laid off around 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as it restructures to better accommodate its growing energy storage business, TechCrunch has learned.
The cuts come just five months after Redwood cut 5% of its workforce, and three months after it closed a 5 million funding round that boosted the battery recycling company’s valuation to north of billion, as TechCrunch previously reported.
It’s been a difficult time in the battery industry lately. Earlier this month, battery recycler Ascend Elements filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing “insurmountable” financial challenges. Some battery-makers have also restructured or gone out of business as the automotive industry in the U.S. has backed away from its most optimistic and ambitious plans to transition to electric vehicles.
But Redwood Materials founder and CEO JB Straubel told employees that this new round of cuts is not a sign that the company is heading down the same path.
“Redwood today is the strongest it’s ever been,” Straubel wrote in an email to the workers who weren’t laid off, according to a copy viewed by TechCrunch. “The materials business is well on its way to profitability and has an exciting roadmap ahead.”
Straubel noted that Redwood “continue[s] to dominate the US battery recycling market” but also touted the company’s “great momentum” in its new energy storage business. Redwood has recently announced deals with Crusoe AI and, most recently, electric automaker Rivian to provide recycled batteries that can be used to power those companies’ facilities. The company declined to comment beyond the contents of Straubel’s email.
In his message, Straubel wrote that “parts of the company have expanded faster than needed to support the direction” of Redwood. As a result, he said Redwood is making cuts across multiple divisions, including the engineering and operations organizations, according to an employee who was granted anonymity to discuss the layoffs.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026
“We are confident that we can deliver on our critical projects with a smaller team that is more focused,” he wrote. “We have successfully adapted to changes in the market that have bankrupted many of our competitors.”
Straubel went on to write that he is “more excited than ever with our path ahead as we build the most integrated and cost-effective critical materials and energy storage business in the world.”
“This is a self-sustaining business and will continue to make this company more valuable over time. We have the team and the technology to do what no other company can,” he wrote.
Workers who were laid off were told by Redwood’s chief HR officer that the layoffs were made “to sharpen our focus, our work and the size of our teams to support the direction Redwood is going in the future,” according to a copy of her email, which was viewed by TechCrunch.
Employees who were laid off are receiving severance and paid health benefits, according to Straubel’s email, as well as “career transition assistance.”
“I am grateful to the approximately 135 employees who we say goodbye to today — they’ve all contributed to building Redwood,” he wrote.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Exclusive #Redwood #Materials #lays #restructuring #chase #energy #storage #business #TechCrunchBatteries,battery recycling,electric vehicles,EVs,Exclusive,Redwood Materials](https://i1.wp.com/techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/53200897797_87d290a75e_o.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 "Exclusive: Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business | TechCrunch
Redwood Materials has laid off around 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as it restructures to better accommodate its growing energy storage business, TechCrunch has learned.
The cuts come just five months after Redwood cut 5% of its workforce, and three months after it closed a 5 million funding round that boosted the battery recycling company’s valuation to north of billion, as TechCrunch previously reported.
It’s been a difficult time in the battery industry lately. Earlier this month, battery recycler Ascend Elements filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing “insurmountable” financial challenges. Some battery-makers have also restructured or gone out of business as the automotive industry in the U.S. has backed away from its most optimistic and ambitious plans to transition to electric vehicles.
But Redwood Materials founder and CEO JB Straubel told employees that this new round of cuts is not a sign that the company is heading down the same path.
“Redwood today is the strongest it’s ever been,” Straubel wrote in an email to the workers who weren’t laid off, according to a copy viewed by TechCrunch. “The materials business is well on its way to profitability and has an exciting roadmap ahead.”
Straubel noted that Redwood “continue[s] to dominate the US battery recycling market” but also touted the company’s “great momentum” in its new energy storage business. Redwood has recently announced deals with Crusoe AI and, most recently, electric automaker Rivian to provide recycled batteries that can be used to power those companies’ facilities. The company declined to comment beyond the contents of Straubel’s email.
In his message, Straubel wrote that “parts of the company have expanded faster than needed to support the direction” of Redwood. As a result, he said Redwood is making cuts across multiple divisions, including the engineering and operations organizations, according to an employee who was granted anonymity to discuss the layoffs.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026
“We are confident that we can deliver on our critical projects with a smaller team that is more focused,” he wrote. “We have successfully adapted to changes in the market that have bankrupted many of our competitors.”
Straubel went on to write that he is “more excited than ever with our path ahead as we build the most integrated and cost-effective critical materials and energy storage business in the world.”
“This is a self-sustaining business and will continue to make this company more valuable over time. We have the team and the technology to do what no other company can,” he wrote.
Workers who were laid off were told by Redwood’s chief HR officer that the layoffs were made “to sharpen our focus, our work and the size of our teams to support the direction Redwood is going in the future,” according to a copy of her email, which was viewed by TechCrunch.
Employees who were laid off are receiving severance and paid health benefits, according to Straubel’s email, as well as “career transition assistance.”
“I am grateful to the approximately 135 employees who we say goodbye to today — they’ve all contributed to building Redwood,” he wrote.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Exclusive #Redwood #Materials #lays #restructuring #chase #energy #storage #business #TechCrunchBatteries,battery recycling,electric vehicles,EVs,Exclusive,Redwood Materials")
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