Cuphead was not a single all-or-nothing gamble. Studio MDHR’s creators built the project in stages: they developed it alongside day jobs, expanded it after players responded, and only later remortgaged their homes to help finish it. The game’s painstaking 1930s-inspired animation made that commitment unusually demanding.
How Cuphead grew from a small project into a major risk
Brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer set out to make a run-and-gun game inspired by action titles such as Contra and Gunstar Heroes. They initially imagined a smaller game centered on boss fights, a scope they thought two developers could manage. They worked on it part-time while keeping their day jobs; Maja Moldenhauer joined the effort during maternity leave.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
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Cuphead - PlayStation 4 | $25.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Playstation 4 Microids Cuphead Video Game | $45.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Five Nights At Freddy's: Core Collection (PS4) | $19.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Gang Beasts - PlayStation 4 | $16.70 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Cuphead (Switch) (Packaging May Vary) | $29.99 | Buy on Amazon |
The project changed as it found an audience. After players showed stronger interest, the team added more bosses and an overworld. Maja Moldenhauer described the financial escalation at the 2017 Montreal International Game Summit: “We did not go from zero to hero. We did things in chunks. We had a reception from fans before we remortgaged our homes.” GamesBeat’s account of the discussion makes clear that fan response preceded the home remortgages; it was not a decision made at the project’s outset.
Studio MDHR had applied for Canada Media Fund support and was turned down. In 2013, Microsoft’s ID@Xbox team engaged with the game and offered some funding and marketing support. GamesBeat characterized the financial help as limited, while noting that the visibility was useful.
#1 Best Overall
- Experience the classic run and gun action with a pal in 2-player local co-op
- Includes the “Delicious Last Course” expansion filled with new bosses and brand-new character Ms. Chalice
- Includes exclusive “Cuphead Funnies” comic collector cards & vintage-inspired “Cuphead Club Membership”, and a hand-drawn reversible coversheet
By the end, the project had grown beyond the original pair. GamesBeat reported that roughly 25 people worked on Cuphead overall, with about 14 doing most of the work; the Montreal studio Illogika also assisted during the final four months. The developers described missed targets in part because Chad would not sign off on artwork until it looked right.
Why Cuphead returned to 1930s rubber-hose animation
The Moldenhauers tried several visual directions before returning to the rubber-hose animation style associated with cartoons of the 1930s. In a 2018 interview, they recalled watching animated shorts from the era and singled out the Fleischer Brothers’ Swing You Sinners as an influence on the game’s mood. The choice was not merely a surface treatment: it shaped how the team drew, inked, colored, and animated the game.
Rank #2
- Microids PlayStation 4 Video Game
- Colour: multi-coloured
- Dimensions: 23.3 x 22.4 x 1.7 cm
- Manufacturer reference: S7183817
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Chad Moldenhauer said the goal was to use period techniques rather than imitate the look entirely with digital effects: “By using the same animating tools and techniques that they did in the 1930s – hand-drawing and inking each frame, animating on the ones, and creating hand-painted watercolor backgrounds – we believe we can closely replicate the 1930s style better than using modern and digital means to create the art.” Unity’s Studio MDHR case study describes the production approach.
Paper, ink, watercolor, and digital color
The characters began as drawings on paper and were hand-inked; the backgrounds were watercolor paintings. Coloring was done digitally. Chad summarized the distinction in a GameSpot interview: “Everything in the game is done classically, for the most part. Everything is hand drawn on paper, it’s hand inked on paper. All the backgrounds are watercolor paintings.”
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Rank #3
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Unity says the animation was produced at 24 frames per second while the game itself ran at 60 frames per second. That separation let the art retain a deliberately old-fashioned animation cadence while gameplay remained responsive.
How much drawing did it take?
The published figures indicate the scale, but they should be treated as reported counts rather than independently audited totals. Unity’s case study gives a figure of 50,000 hand-drawn animation frames. GamesRadar+ reported an average of about 25 minutes to produce one gameplay frame and described the frame count as closer to 50,000 individually hand-drawn frames, up from an earlier estimate of 15,000.
Rank #4
- Gasp with Shock and delight at the spectacle of stupid pugnacious thugs punching, kicking, and throwing their foes into unspecified hazardous machinery, flaming INCINERATOR pits, and ginormous industrial fans.
- Watch in horror and Amusement as gangs of saggy beasts grab, push, pull, and shove their enemies from permanently Suspended building scaffolds, unattended ferris wheels, and commercial haulage trucks.
- Customise your character and fight local and online enemies in the melee game mode or fight with friends against the gangs of Beef City in the gang game mode.
Chad and Jared Moldenhauer said the work took four to five years, depending on whether the early XNA prototype or the later full production is counted as the starting point. The differing start dates explain why accounts can give different development lengths without necessarily contradicting each other.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the team balanced ambition, time, and difficulty
The hand-drawn approach put artistic approval at the center of production. GamesBeat reported that the team missed targets when Chad would not approve artwork until it met his standards. The project’s expansion after audience interest also meant more content to build by hand, not just more levels to assemble.
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Best Value
- Enjoy the classic running and shooting action with a friend in local 2-player co-op
- Includes the "Delicious Last Course" expansion packed with new bosses and the new character Ms. chalice
- Includes exclusive, vintage-inspired "Cuphead Funnies" and "Cuphead Club Membership" comic book collectors cards, and a reversible hand-drawn cover
The developers wanted a challenging game that recalled older console experiences, but they also included a simpler difficulty setting alongside the regular mode. That gave players an alternate way through the game without changing the creators’ aim of making a demanding run-and-gun adventure.
Music followed a similar process of shaping a broad idea into a game-ready form. The team wanted hot jazz; composer Kris Maddigan’s initial freeform direction was adjusted toward a more structured big-band sound.
What “bet everything” meant for Studio MDHR
Marija Moldenhauer described the decision as a leap they were excited to take: “We were more excited than worried about making this leap of faith. We figured that this was our opportunity, our one shot to make a game that we loved – that we were proud of. We didn’t want to be in our retirement years wondering what could have been.” GamesRadar+ quoted her in its making-of feature.
The phrase “bet everything” captures the eventual stakes, but the sequence matters: the game began as part-time work, gained support and audience interest, expanded in ambition, and then required the founders to take on greater personal financial risk. Its distinctive look came from a matching production commitment—making the art by hand even when that choice made the schedule harder to meet.
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