How Blu Studios built a hit mobile game with 600k+ downloads

Magic Sort isn’t the first success from the young four-person Brazil-based Blu Studios, but it’s their biggest yet. Since launching in late summer of 2024, the mobile water-sorting game has surpassed half a million downloads on Google Play, earned glowing reviews, and was selected for the Google Play Indie Games Accelerator — a mentorship program for standout developers.

Bottling up early success

Visually rich and packed with interactive animations built in Rive, Magic Sort caught the attention of global mentors while still in soft launch. Industry pros from companies like Wildlife Studios helped the Blu team refine everything from product vision to scaling strategy.

“Being in that program was such an exciting, transformative experience for our team,” recalls Alika Aquila, Blu’s artist and COO. “There are lots of water sorting games out there, but we wanted to push the genre further. We added a metagame that lets you build and explore an island, unlocking new places along the way. We use Rive to animate all the islands and items in the metagames, plus splash art for events and mini games. There’s an exciting new one coming soon!”

From roommates to studio founders

Alika and JP Vivas were longtime friends when JP introduced her to software engineering students Giovani Lobato and Guilherme Passos. The three were active in a competitive programming group and already working on a game prototype when they looped in Alika for art support. 

The chemistry clicked. They moved into an affordable small apartment during the pandemic, released a party game, and kept building. 

“Over time, we understood how complementary our skills really are,” Alika explains. 

Eventually, they formalized the partnership as Blu Studios: JP as CEO and product lead, Guilherme as CFO and developer, Giovani as CTO and tech lead, and Alika heading up art and animation as COO.

Scaling without an animation background

Giovani first discovered Rive (then called Flare) back in 2019 while looking for ways to speed up production. “It impressed me immediately,” he says. “It let the team quickly build animations, helping us stand out from all of the other water sorting games.”

“We had no background in animation, and Rive made it approachable, ” adds Alika. “And the community is so good. You can always reach out for help.”

Today, Blu Studios uses Rive for all in-game animation. Alika creates the artwork, sets up files with artboard and State Machine names, defines variables and values, and passes them off to Giovanni for integration. 

“The Rive State Machine makes switching animations simple and accurate,” Giovani continues. “We use a lot of nested artboards, which let us make quick edits to one level and have those changes cascade. Each parent board can include multiple nested artboards with their own logic and interactivity.” 

All their assets are PNGs, so the team relies heavily on Rive’s mesh and bone systems. Alika starts with sketches and base images from Midjourney, refines them in Photoshop, and then imports everything into Rive. “That’s when the fun starts,” she says. “Building meshes, assigning bones, and setting up the State Machine to make everything flow and interact the way we want!” 

Combining art and code

In Magic Sort, all interactivity is driven by a combination of Rive inputs and code, so Rive files are always handed off to Giovani or Guilherme for development. The bottles move as players interact, and reward chests open when tapped. These all use inputs, like triggers and Booleans, defined in Rive and linked using code. 

“We’re not using Rive for UI responsiveness just yet, but it’s something we want to explore,” Alika says. 

When gameplay challenges come up, the team often turns to Rive tutorials on YouTube. “What surprises us most is how close Rive gets us to the final product,” she adds. “As an artist, I feel much more responsible for the end result than I would with other tools.” 

Immersion is a priority, so the team put time into creating engaging environments with animated elements. The mage room features a bubbling cauldron, various potions, a fireplace, and a cat sleeping in a chair. Because the animations are modular, iteration stays fast and focused. “Everything’s separate, so we can make changes without clutter,” Alika says.

The results speak for themselves: Magic Sort currently boasts a 43% Day 1 retention rate, a metric the team is proud of. 

What’s next

The team is already working on their next release: Capy,  a gamified productivity app launching later this summer. Users interact with and customize a self-care pet companion… a capybara! All of Capy’s animations, from the pet’s reactions to mood-based idle loops, are being built entirely in Rive.

Editor’s note: I played Magic Sort nonstop on my honeymoon. It became my go-to airport ritual. Sorting colorful bottles is weirdly soothing when you’re overstimulated and 3 terminals deep. If you’re an anxious traveler or someone who needs a calm brain-break, it’s a gem.