"Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen": The Story Behind Joe Brumm & Halfbrick’s Big Aussie Adventure

Two Aussie creatives, a decade-long friendship, and one very shiny magic pen. The story behind Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen isn’t just about making a video game, it’s about how a viral pilot, a surprise phone call, and a shared love of “weird and wacky stuff” turned into Bluey’s next big adventure. Today, fans get a rare behind-the-scenes look at how Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen came to life, a brand-new story-driven video game created by Bluey’s own Joe Brumm in collaboration with Shainiel Deo, CEO of Halfbrick Studios. In an exclusive conversation now live on Bluey.TV, the two longtime friends open up about the creative spark, the Brisbane roots, and the playful chaos that shaped their first-ever major project together.

What’s Happening:

The partnership between Brumm and Deo stretches back to 2013, long before Bluey became a global phenomenon. At the time, Brumm’s animated pilot Dan the Man had just gone viral, but development on its game adaptation had stalled. So Joe did what any determined creator might do, he picked up the phone.

Brumm expected Halfbrick to be a world away in Silicon Valley. Instead, they were just a few suburbs from his home. That call, answered by Shainiel, kicked off a friendship built on creative curiosity, collaboration, and plenty of footy. More than a decade later, that same spark set the stage for Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen.
In a new interview, fans can now hear Joe and Shainiel reflect on the journey from that first phone call to building a video game together.
For the first time publicly, Brumm reveals a fun secret: Bandit, Bluey’s dad, is based on himself.
- “Bandit’s got a gold pen that can turn everything gold,” Joe explains. “He’s a bit of a cross between King Midas and David Lee Roth. Yeah — he’s me.”
- Shainiel laughs, adding, “I could see that Joe is writing himself into this story 100%. It’s like every dad’s fantasy — just rocking out.”
That playful energy carries directly into the game, which Shainiel describes as “wholesome, a bit irreverent, and full of fun.” It’s Bluey at her imaginative best, anchored by a simple, classic setup inspired by old-school platformers: a problem, a villain, and a big adventure ahead.
Both creators proudly call Brisbane home, and that identity shapes their work more than fans might realize.
- “Bluey is my visual and moral love letter to Brisbane,” Joe says. “It’s in what they get up to, the activities, that laid-backness — but then we’re also hardworking. It’s a dichotomy.”
Joe and Shainiel agree that Brisbane’s creative limitations and close-knit community often push artists into bold, unconventional ideas, something that fueled both the Bluey series and this new game.
That includes one of Bluey’s most iconic storytelling devices: drawings that come to life.
Episodes like Dragon and Escape established that imaginative mechanic in the show, making it a perfect fit for a game world.
- “I'm really glad Joe introduced that mechanic,” says Shainiel. “The shackles were taken off. It let us build prototypes and ideas we could never do in the real Bluey world.”
At their core, both Joe and Shainiel are lifelong gamers. So it’s no surprise that Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen nods to classics.
- “For me, you look at old-school Zelda games, top-down isometric… there’s heaps of that in there,” Shainiel says. “Even a bit of Mario Odyssey.”
- Joe adds, “The story feels like something out of a Commodore 64 game. Simple setup, big quest, lots of fun.”
The blend of Bluey-style imagination and retro game DNA gives this project a flavor all its own: cozy, adventurous, and filled with childhood wonder.
When asked about their biggest hopes for the game, both creators return to the same theme: joy.
“This is the thing I love most,” Shainiel says. “When someone tells me a game helped them through tough times or became part of their childhood.”
Joe echoes that sentiment: “I want to see happy kids playing this game… showing their friends, telling their parents.”
With puzzles, quests, challenges, and warm Bluey humor woven throughout, Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen aims to deliver a heartfelt adventure experience perfect for players ages 7+ or anyone ready to leap into Bluey’s world.
Fans can watch the full conversation with Joe Brumm and Shainiel Deo only on Bluey.TV.

Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen Release Details:

App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Mac global launch: December 11, 2025
Google Play release: January 10, 2026
Platforms coming later in 2026:
- PC
- Nintendo Switch & Nintendo Switch 2
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox Series X|S
Pricing: Free “try before you buy,” with one optional purchase to unlock the full game.

More Bluey News:

What We're Covering

Fun & Games

"Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen": The Story Behind Joe Brumm & Halfbrick’s Big Aussie Adventure

Thank You!