"It's less risky to be the masters of our own fate" – The AAA developers going indie
Justin Fischer and Brock Feldman suddenly found themselves out of a job in 2025, when Warner Bros decided to shutter their studio, Player First Games, the developer of Multiversus. Read more
In 2025, two former AAA developers, Justin Fischer and Brock Feldman, found themselves out of work when Warner Bros shut down their studio, Player First Games. Multiversus, the studio's free-to-play fighting game, had launched in beta in 2022 but went offline a year later, leading to the studio's closure seven months after the initial 1.0 release.
Fischer attributes the shutdown to the high costs of user acquisition, which are challenging for everyone in the game industry. He notes that free-to-play has been struggling, and the entire industry's economy is changing, making it difficult for everyone.
The AAA sector has been particularly hit hard, with over 58,000 layoffs since 2022, mostly in North America and Western Europe. Many developers have shifted to the indie scene, as the job market in AAA is shrinking. Fischer and Feldman, however, decided to embark on an indie journey with Airlock Games last year. They are developing a sci-fi horror management simulation called What the Stars Forgot, which they hope to ship without any investment.
The pair emphasizes that their primary goal is not to become millionaires, but rather to continue making games they love and grow together as creators.
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