To the public, Chicago-based game developer Iron Galaxy may not be one of the most renowned studios, but many fellow developers undoubtedly respect it. Iron Galaxy has historically focused on porting work, including big franchises like BioShock, Batman: Arkham, Borderlands, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Diablo. Most recently, they developed the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (out now on PlayStation 5 and later this year on PC), which gave them the chance to appreciate Naughty Dog’s code.
Speaking to IGN, Iron Galaxy CEO Adam Boyes and co-CPO Dave Lang explained:
Lang: The last thing I want to do is speak for Naughty Dog at all. Right? But I think looking at that code, you can see decades of work that are in that code and it’s why their games are so different.
Boyes: It’s craftsmanship.
Lang: Yeah, exactly. It’s bespoke game development in a way that most aren’t, right? Doesn’t make it intrinsically better, it doesn’t make it intrinsically worse, but it’s Naughty Dog. And I think that’s my biggest appreciation for them is their dedication to this approach that they’re on is really humbling in a certain way.
The executives also commented on the recent acquisition spree, stating that Iron Galaxy values its independence for the time being.
Lang: I think people think about the acquisitions one way and it’s actually very much a two-way street. Every time someone gets bought, well Microsoft still needs game pass games. Capcom needs to publish games. Everyone needs games, and now there’s fewer and fewer people that can make them, it’s actually super valuable to stay independent in a strange way that isn’t really… It’s counterintuitive, right? And so I think we’re just enjoying being the prettiest person at the ball right now. We’re really beautiful, we’re doing what we do, and we’re not really feeling any pressure to do anything. It’s pretty cool.
Boyes: So many doors are open and I love that. And because we’re independent, we have the ability to continue that freedom journey and check it all out and see what leans into our values as a company.
For the record, Iron Galaxy is also working on an original IP, the free-to-play Brawler Royale game Rumbleverse to be published by Epic Games.
