Solo indie dev behind hit city builder says devs should have more room for failure because "your first game always fails" and "their 10th game might be the next AAA studio"

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Bulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles creator Tomas Sala says supporting indies is "investing in the next generation of the industry, so that there's something new in 20 years"

Bulwark
(Image credit: Tomas Sala)

Tomas Sala, the solo developer behind hit city builder Bulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles, wants indie devs to have a little more room for failure.

Speaking to GamesRadar+, Sala was asked to comment on the difficulty indie developers face building financially viable games and studios, specifically with regards to Steam's infamous 30% tax it charges developers, which Sala previously decried as a "relic" that "needs to go down". 

This time around, Sala spoke more broadly about how the video game industry can support indie developers, saying "it's a given" that their first games fail commercially.

"We should add more pathways to make people learn where they can have a failure, because the developer that's failed at one game will make the second game [that's] better, and the third way will be even better, and their 10th game might be the next AAA studio."

Taking place in the same universe as Sala's previous release, 2020's The Falconeer, but switching genres from aerial combat game to city builder, Bulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles launched back in March and currently has more than 700 Steam reviews, 81% of which are positive.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.