Firefly, best known for the Stronghold series, has taken its next step into publishing by unveiling a new label dedicated to strategy games, called Wuselfaktory. The label’s debut title, Fool King, was showcased at the UKIE "For One Night Only" event earlier this year. Fool King, developed by the newcomer Loot Donkey, bills itself as a tactical autobattler with roguelike elements, where players assemble and position their forces before the AI runs the combat automatically.
Studio head Nick Tannahill tells GamesIndustry.biz that moving into publishing is "like every other indie developer at the moment," but he argues that Firefly’s deep experience in strategy gives it a distinct advantage in a genre that consistently ranks among the most lucrative on PC. While veteran publishers such as Paradox Interactive and the newer Hooded Horse have proven the market’s viability, Wuselfaktory aims for a more modest output, focusing on a limited number of titles rather than a high‑volume catalogue. For Fool King, Firefly is providing the development funding and handling the marketing push, while its parent company Devolver has supplied a producer to oversee localisation and quality‑assurance.
Tannahill notes that the studio plans to bring those localisation and QA responsibilities in‑house as its team of roughly fifty staff expands. "We already run a small publishing operation, which is why we can do this," he explains.
Firefly has been self‑publishing since 2010, meaning it already has established pipelines for localisation, marketing, and distribution, as well as solid relationships with platform holders. More importantly, the studio has spent decades crafting strategy experiences, so it can also offer hands‑on development assistance.
"One of the real benefits a publisher can bring is that we’ve been on the other side of negotiations and relationships, and we can also help with actual dev work," Tannahill says. The support for Loot Donkey has been concrete. Firefly runs three online titles of its own, and because Fool King includes an asynchronous multiplayer component, the two teams hold regular calls to discuss technical implementation, user‑interface design, and overall gameplay balance.
"We’ve given them multiple rounds of feedback on the core game and consulted on UI," Tannahill adds. While such involvement diverts time from Firefly’s own projects, he believes a brief, focused conversation can accelerate the partner’s development and lead to a smoother final product. The decision to launch a publishing arm came at the suggestion of Devolver, which recognised its own gaps in the strategy arena. "We were bought by Devolver in late 2021," Tannahill recalls, "and they basically said, ‘You know strategy, we don’t, so why don’t you fill that space?’" Firefly’s constant monitoring of emerging strategy titles positioned it well to spot promising indie projects—though Tannahill admits he first learned about Fool King from a Rock Paper Shotgun article.
Playing smaller strategy games on Steam and itch.io helps Tannahill keep his creative juices flowing for future Stronghold entries. "I dive into tiny titles for inspiration, just to freshen my brain for new ideas," he says. When he encounters a game he enjoys, he considers whether it could benefit from funding, guidance, or partnership, and that mindset led directly to the partnership with Loot Donkey.
Devolver is comfortable letting Firefly run both the sourcing and the marketing because the studio has cultivated deep connections within the strategy community. "They don’t really know the strategy space, so they trust us to talk to the right press, content creators, and sub‑genre audiences," Tannahill explains.
In a genre where the audience expects developers to speak its language, those relationships are essential. Firefly also gathers direct player feedback through surveys embedded in its demos. "We ask players how much they’d pay, what features they want, and what games they’d like us to make next," he says.
The studio typically receives around 6,000 responses per survey, providing a robust data set that informs both design decisions and broader strategic direction. The data revealed a surprisingly young player base for strategy games. "Our audience skews younger than we expected, with a solid chunk aged 18‑25," Tannahill notes.
To reach that demographic, Firefly meets them where they hang out—on the social platforms they frequent—ensuring a steady flow of new fans into its IPs and series. Tannahill sees the strategy market as enormous yet under‑served. "If you look at the top‑hundred‑plus wish‑listed games on Steam, many are strategy titles," he observes. Classic franchises like Command and Conquer have faded not because the brand lacks appeal, but because few new entries have been released.
This gap represents an opportunity, especially as higher‑profile genres encounter headwinds. "It’s not sexy any more, but it’s quietly one of the most successful genres on Steam," he says. While platforms like Roblox expand rapidly and consoles face challenges, Steam remains well‑positioned for deep, systems‑driven experiences that reward players who can spend hours exploring emergent gameplay.
Publishers such as Hooded Horse have recently discovered the size of that audience, confirming the market’s health. Within Firefly, the strategy focus is spread across several initiatives.
The studio continues to publish its own titles—ranging from nostalgic 2.5D isometric games reminiscent of early Command and Conquer or Age of Empires, to fully 3D projects like Stronghold 4. The current trend toward pixel‑perfect isometric visuals is strong, but Tannahill cautions against putting all eggs in one basket, acknowledging that tastes may shift over time. Wuselfaktory’s first release, Fool King, is that single "egg" for now, but the label hopes to add a few more over time. Since the Devolver acquisition, Firefly has shipped four games and six expansions, with additional projects in the pipeline.
Third‑party publishing will be part of the long‑term plan, but the studio will integrate those titles carefully to avoid overextending its small team. "We’re not going to announce a label and then have three full‑blown releases immediately—we can only spin so many plates," Tannahill concludes. "We’ll start with smaller titles, work in compact teams, and keep the operation sustainable—that’s the priority."