A hit game can harbour hope for an up-and-coming games company, but living up to the game’s name and weathering the changing tides of player needs, industry upheavals, and privacy concerns can test the limits of any studio.
In this episode, María Sayans, CEO of ustwo games joins hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow to peel back the layers of ustwo’s monumentally successful Monument Valley, a game which is now celebrating its 10th anniversary and over 160m+ downloads.
In our conversation she offers indie developers concrete advice on cultivating a sustainable studio that can succeed in spite of any storm and sheds light on how ustwo games adapts and evolves its keystone game to keep pace with changing player habits.
Plus, discover how cross-platform is powering the studio’s success for years to come.
What’s inside:
00:00 – Intro
01:30 – Who are ustwo games?
05:42 – How Monument Valley shaped games
07:58 – Biggest changes to games audiences
12:30 – Are boomers the biggest gamers?
16:57 – How ustwo games evolved to match player need
21:08 – Would Monument Valley succeed if launched today?
25:09 – Maria’s leadership model
29:00 – How ustwo’s company calendar builds company culture
32:19 – Is premium still a viable model?
35:55 – Why cross-platform?
40:07 – Ustwo’s upcoming releases
43:20 – Favourite games Q&A
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