Key information
Amid industry-wide layoffs and studio closures affecting traditional AAA developers, several veterans have transitioned into the indie space to forge their own paths. Justin Fischer and Brock Feldman formed Airlock Games following the 2025 closure of Player First Games by Warner Bros. Similarly, industry veterans Murray Pannell and Phil O'Connor started Big Dumb Games at the beginning of 2026 after facing a difficult job market and project cancellations across major companies.
Both newly formed indie studios have adopted modest scopes to navigate high user acquisition costs and a challenging investment climate. Airlock Games is developing a sci-fi horror management sim titled What the Stars Forgot, intending to bootstrap the project without outside investment by relying on personal severance and a previous Kickstarter campaign that raised over $25,000. Meanwhile, Big Dumb Games is working on the co-op space survival game Starship Bloopers, operating on a shoestring budget funded by founders' savings while offering profit-sharing shares to collaborators.
Despite substantial pay cuts and high market risks, the developers report greater creative freedom and personal fulfillment compared to their time in large corporate structures. Fischer notes that going indie allows him to work across multiple disciplines rather than being confined to a single role, while O'Connor highlights the agency of shaping an original project rather than inheriting pre-designed corporate games.
