Wolfeye Studios Devs Discuss Difference Between Making Indie and AAA Games

Wolfeye Studios Devs Discuss Difference Between Making Indie and AAA Games

As a dedicated fan and follower of the gaming industry, I can confidently say that Wolfeye Studios has quickly become one of my favorite indie developers. With their unique approach to game development and their focus on creating immersive sims, they’ve managed to carve out a niche for themselves among the titans of the industry.


Despite having just one game released, Weird West from Wolfeye Studios, the team is not resting on its laurels. New details, including images, about their upcoming untitled project have surfaced. Moreover, co-founders Raphael Colantonio and Julien Roby have hinted that this forthcoming immersive sim shares a similar grandeur as Prey.

In a chat with Game Rant, Colantonio and Roby shared thoughts on game development and the contrasts between creating AAA games with substantial budgets, versus smaller indie projects. Having tackled projects of various scales in their careers, these industry veterans offered that while each has its advantages and disadvantages, they appear to favor a middle ground between the two approaches.

Wolfeye Studios Devs Explain the Variables of Game Development

Although high-end production qualities of AAA games often attract numerous gamers, these grandiose aspects may unintentionally overshadow other vital elements. The increasing demands, escalating costs, and large teams involved in these projects can sometimes lead to a challenging development process. In both indie and AAA game development, Colantonio emphasized the significance of finding the optimal team size: a balance that ensures smooth development cycles.

In an optimal scenario, it’s more effective to have a compact team developing a large-scale game, as opposed to a massive group of over a thousand people. To be frank, I can’t fathom the idea of collaborating on a game with such a vast number of individuals. Frankly, I find that overwhelming and undesirable. Today, we’re capable of achieving far more with a similar or even smaller team than we could in previous years.

My goal is to build a highly successful gaming company, but I want to ensure we maintain a sizable team. We aim for success without sacrificing personal connections or forgetting individual identities. It’s essential to avoid becoming so big that we lose touch with our people – that’s not enjoyable.

The Wolfeye Studios Developers Have Carved Their Own Path

As a gamer, I appreciate the creative freedom that developers like Colantonto and Roby have when it comes to their projects. Unlike many others in the gaming industry, they’ve always had the luxury to work on games they genuinely desire to create. They acknowledge their good fortune, as since founding Arkane Studios back in 1999, they’ve been able to shape their own destiny and bring their creative visions to life.

“We consider ourselves quite fortunate because, compared to many peers in our field, someone usually works on projects they aren’t particularly passionate about. Remarkably, throughout our careers, we’ve had the privilege of working on tasks that we genuinely wanted to work on. Essentially, we’ve chosen our own path, expressing a desire to go somewhere, and then making it a reality.”

Over time, Colantonio and Roby have thrived at Arkane Studios, enabling them to dedicate their efforts to crafting captivating simulation games that stirred their deep-seated enthusiasm. It appears that Wolfeye Studios is following a similar path in the future. With the well-received debut of “Weird West“, anticipation is mounting for their next project, which they seem optimistic will resonate with fans of their prior works.

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2024-08-15 17:25