adminAAA developers going indie are trading established salaries and large-team resources for greater creative control—and a less predictable financial future. After studio closures and layoffs, former industry veterans are building small teams around games they can realistically complete. Their experiences show both the appeal of independence and the practical challenges new studios need to plan for.
Why AAA developers are going indie
Justin Fischer and Brock Feldman lost their jobs in 2025 when Warner Bros. closed Player First Games, the studio behind MultiVersus. The free-to-play fighting game began in beta in 2022, went offline about a year later, and returned for its full launch in May 2024. Warner Bros. acquired the studio shortly after that launch, then announced its closure seven months later after ending support for the game.
Fischer attributed the game’s difficulties in part to the high cost of acquiring players, a challenge facing free-to-play titles across the industry. More broadly, game development has been affected by widespread layoffs: estimates cited in the original reporting put the number of games-industry job losses since 2022 at more than 58,000, with most in North America.
For experienced developers, independent work can be a response to limited job opportunities as well as a creative choice. The trade-offs are significant: income may fall, funding can be difficult to secure, and a small game must compete for attention in a crowded market.
AAA developers going indie: starting with a manageable game
Fischer and Feldman formed Airlock Games and began developing What the Stars Forgot, a science-fiction horror management sim about running a spaceship. Rather than pursue a large multiplayer project that could require $30 million, they chose a smaller concept they could build more quickly and were personally interested in making.
What the Stars Forgot is a spaceship management sim. Image credit: Airlock Games.
The founders are keeping the game’s scope deliberately limited. Fischer described the value of separating ideas for a later project from features needed for a first release. This approach can help a small team avoid expanding its workload faster than its time and budget allow.
- Set boundaries early: Decide what the first release must include and keep optional ideas on a future-project list.
- Match scope to resources: Choose a concept the team can develop with its available skills, time, and funding.
- Focus on direct audience communication: A small studio may have more control over how it presents its game and responds to players.
Airlock Games plans to release the game without investment, although the founders are open to working with suitable partners. A Kickstarter campaign raised more than $25,000, and the founders have also been using severance pay. Fischer said that making a game without a large corporate structure has allowed the team to focus more directly on development.
Their definition of success is intentionally modest: first, to continue making games; next, to grow the studio. Becoming wealthy is a much less immediate priority.
Building a studio when jobs are scarce
Marketing and publishing veteran Murray Pannell and game designer Phil O’Connor met while working at Everreach Labs. Their previous careers included roles at companies such as Electronic Arts, Xbox, PlayStation, Ubisoft, Codemasters, and 2K. After the studio was put on hold, they and several co-founders established Big Dumb Games at the beginning of 2026.
The team’s first project, Starship Bloopers, is a cooperative space-survival game. Image credit: Big Dumb Games.
O’Connor said finding a new job had become exceptionally difficult, even with decades of experience. Repeated restructurings, cancelled projects, and the need to relocate for work had also made traditional employment less appealing for him and his family. Starting a studio offered a way to make decisions about a project rather than joining one that was already designed.
Big Dumb Games is operating on a tight budget. It is currently unfunded, relies on the co-founders’ savings, and hopes to obtain grants or a small seed investment. People contributing to the project are offered a share of potential future profits rather than a salary. Pannell has also taken a publishing role at Steel City Interactive, which provides another source of income.
O’Connor noted that the team would need to accept lower pay because payroll directly affects how long a studio’s available funds can last. He also observed that, in his experience, programmers were harder to recruit for credit-based contributions, while many artists were seeking work.
Creative freedom comes with financial risk
For Pannell, working independently has been highly rewarding even though it is less financially secure. O’Connor values having a say in what a game becomes, something he says was not part of many of his previous roles. He believes players are interested in fresh, distinctive games, though an independent studio still has to earn visibility among numerous releases.
That competition is substantial: the original reporting noted that more than 700 games were released on Steam in a single week. A strong creative idea therefore does not guarantee commercial success. Small teams need to weigh development costs, available runway, marketing capacity, and realistic sales expectations before committing to a project.
For these developers, AAA developers going indie is not a risk-free escape from the games industry. It is a way to take more responsibility for the work while accepting lower pay and greater uncertainty. Keeping the first project focused, protecting the studio’s runway, and defining success in practical stages can make that transition more manageable.
