Jon-Claude Simms, Founder

Jon-Claude Simms didn’t come to game development from the outside, he came from the inside of some of the most celebrated titles in the last two decades.

His credits include quality assurance on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Dishonored, Rage, and Doom 3 BFG Edition at Bethesda Softworks, games that collectively define a generation of players. That foundation shaped everything about how Aura Studios approaches development: with the technical discipline of AAA production and the creative ambition of an independent studio that has nothing to prove and everything to build.

Beyond games, Jon-Claude serves as Lead Engineer of both UI and API teams at Caveonix, where he architects enterprise-scale SaaS applications and mentors the next generation of engineers. His background spans AOL Platforms, cloud infrastructure across AWS, Azure, and GCP, and full-stack development in Node.js, Angular, and Unreal Engine.

He brings all of it to Aurora Sol.

We Know this World

We’ve been showing up to this industry for years. We have been at the conferences, in the conversations, building relationships with the people who shape where games go next. Some of those moments:

Jon-Claude Simms with Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming — the executive overseeing one of the largest gaming ecosystems in the world.
Jon-Claude Simms with Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming
Jon-Claude Simms with John Graham — co-founder of Humble Bundle, member of Indie Fund, and founder of Elbow Grease Games
Jon-Claude Simms with Khleo Thomas — actor, entertainer, and creative at the intersection of entertainment and gaming culture.
Jon-Claude Simms with Khleo Thomas — actor, entertainer, and creative.
Jon-Claude Simms with Tomo Moriwaki — co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Hyperkinetic Studios.
Jon-Claude Simms with Tim Schafer, founder of Double Fine Productions and creator of Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, and Brütal Legend — one of the defining voices in independent game development.
Jon-Claude Simms with Tim Schafer — founder of Double Fine Productions.
Jon-Claude Simms with Hip Hop Gamer — one of gaming's most recognizable personalities and a longtime voice for diversity and culture in the industry.
Jon-Claude Simms with Hip Hop Gamer — one of gaming’s most recognizable personalities.

The Vision

Our immediate focus is Aurora Sol, but our long-term ambition is broader. We’re building Aura Studios into a major independent studio with a diverse portfolio across gaming and software, on our own terms. We believe the best companies aren’t acquired. They acquire others and shape entire industries.

We’re not in a hurry. We’re in it for the long game.

What We Do

  • Game Development — Unreal Engine, VR, PC, and Console
  • Web Applications — Node.js, Angular, and modern frameworks
  • Cloud Solutions — AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform
  • AI Integration — enhancing user experiences and business capabilities
  • Technical Consulting — strategy and implementation for startups and small businesses