On June 16, the portfolio of the Swedish studio Landfall Games expanded with another cooperative hit — the climbing simulator Peak, where a significant emphasis is placed on the comedic nature of gameplay situations. Seven developers from two studios, four months from game jam to release, and a unique approach to marketing — we explore the game’s success.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, promises of a revolution in the UGC space, visionary speeches from the veteran behind the GTA series, and near-zero sales for a AAA project. This is MindsEye — currently the biggest flop of 2025. It is the perfect time to analyze the game’s metrics and take a look at the journey of Build A Rocket Boy studio.

The development of Shift Up mirrors the journeys undertaken by many Asian gaming companies. The studio transitioned from mobile game development to expanding onto other platforms, moving from local hits to producing AAA products for a global audience.

Kepler Interactive is a publisher that values risks and considers the interests of indie studios. What sets the company apart from its competitors is its unique operational approach, which involves joint ownership of the business alongside developer partners. We explore how this model is structured and the successes Kepler has achieved over three years.

The success of 9 Kings has only solidified Hooded Horse’s status as one of the leading indie publishers on the market. It’s the perfect time to discuss in detail the reasons behind the company’s success, explore how it selects projects, how much it spends on game marketing, and why it considers the model of full reimbursement of publishing expenses to be harmful and outdated.

There are various models for segmenting the gaming industry. One of the simplest yet most unique belongs to a former Nexon executive. Let’s examine it in detail and discuss how publishers and investors often misjudge their resources and expertise.

Observing the massive surge of interest in Star Wars: Battlefront II is fascinating, even outside its context. For us, it presents an opportunity to discuss Electronic Arts’ long-term strategy, understand the company’s business priorities, and examine what games it aims to include in its portfolio.

The gaming company MY.GAMES, in honor of its sixth anniversary, released an infographic showcasing the latest key metrics of its major gaming blockbusters.

Based on the experience of numerous games, not all studios are adept at working with Early Access. To better understand the essence of this model, we’ve gathered detailed statistics on Early Access releases, including their revenue, “survival” rate, and average development time. The article also features practical advice from industry experts and Valve itself.

Last week, Jade Raymond left Haven Studios, which she herself founded several years ago. This is a great opportunity to discuss top executives in gaming companies who often leave behind, if not a scorched earth, then at least a heap of problems.

The tax reform of 2025 introduced a significant number of changes to Russian legislation, completely transforming the usual business practices. In their article for App2Top, lawyers from Prospectacy, Irma Novikova and Kristina Kurtaeva, vividly explored how the reform affected tax calculations in the IT sector.

The release of the new update for “No Rest for the Wicked,” an ambitious action RPG from Moon Studios, did not go as planned. At first glance, what seemed like a mundane situation turned out to be much deeper, highlighting global mistakes with the early access model that could serve as an example for other studios.

The economic upheavals of recent years have not only forced top managers of gaming companies to continuously seek new ways to cut costs but have also negatively impacted regular employees. Unions are intended to protect developers’ interests, but in their current form, they are unable to make a global impact on the situation.

According to a study by the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF), nearly 87% of classic games released in the U.S. before 2010 are unavailable for purchase or review today. The older the platform, the worse the situation. For example, only 4.5% of titles from the Commodore 64 library are available on the market.

We haven’t seen such a powerful debut from a budding studio that also exposes the accumulated problems of the industry in a long time. Today we will delve into the launch of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, discuss the team and funding behind Sandfall Interactive, and talk about the factors contributing to the game’s success.

We continue our story about studios founded by former employees of Blizzard Entertainment. Since 2020, at least two dozen such companies have emerged, collectively raising over $200 million. They are all led by industry veterans, but most teams have not yet succeeded in releasing anything noteworthy.

After the release of Jason Schreier’s book on the history of Blizzard, we once again ponder how many studios were founded by former employees of this renowned company. It turns out the number exceeds 50, with about half of them ceasing operations for various reasons. We will tell you about most of them.

Games by PlayWay are played by millions of people worldwide, often unaware that this very company is behind the latest mechanic simulator, border guard, or any other profession simulator. Today we’ll delve into the unique structure of PlayWay to understand why ideas trump budgets and how the company manages dozens of studios.

The development studio Glera Games is experiencing a series of layoffs. Sources familiar with the situation told App2Top that just in the last two months, the company has parted ways with several dozen employees. In some cases, unethically.