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 during UKIE’s For One Night Only event earlier this year. Fool King comes from first‑time developer Loot Donkey and bills itself as a “tactical autobattler” with roguelike elements: players assemble and position their forces, then sit back as the combat resolves automatically. Nick Tannahill, studio head at Firefly, says the decision to become a publisher is “like every other indie developer out there at the moment,” but he believes the company’s long‑standing expertise in strategy gives it a distinct advantage.
While the genre is already dominated by veterans such as Paradox Interactive and newer players like Hooded Horse, Wuselfaktory aims to operate on a more modest scale, both in terms of the number of releases and the overall scope of each project. For Fool King, Firefly is providing funding and marketing support, while its parent company Devolver has assigned a producer to assist with localisation and quality assurance. Tannahill notes that, in the future, Firefly intends to handle those tasks internally, leveraging its existing 50‑person team.
“We already have a small publishing unit, which is why we can do this,” he explains. The studio’s publishing know‑how is built on a decade of self‑publishing experience dating back to 2010. Over those years Firefly has refined localisation pipelines, marketing processes, and relationships with platform holders.
More importantly, the company has spent decades crafting strategy titles, giving it the ability to provide development assistance as well as publishing services. “One of the real benefits a developer‑publisher can offer is that we’ve been on the other side of negotiations and relationships, and we can also help with actual development work,” Tannahill says. Firefly has already been hands‑on with Fool King’s development. The game features an asynchronous online component, and Firefly’s team holds regular calls with the Loot Donkey crew to discuss technical implementation, user‑interface design, and overall gameplay balance.
“We’ve given them consultation on UI, multiple rounds of feedback on the core game, and that kind of support can shave weeks off the schedule,” Tannahill adds. He acknowledges that providing this level of assistance pulls resources away from internal projects, but argues that a brief, focused conversation can dramatically accelerate a partner’s progress. The push into publishing was encouraged by Devolver, which recognised its own lack of experience in the strategy segment.
“We were bought by Devolver in late 2021, and they basically said, ‘You know strategy— we don’t— why don’t you fill that gap?’” Tannahill recalls. The studio’s constant monitoring of emerging strategy titles also positioned it well to spot promising indie projects. In fact, Tannahill discovered Fool King after reading a Rock Paper Shotgun article.
Playing smaller strategy games is a habit for Tannahill, who uses them as a source of inspiration for future Stronghold entries. “I browse tiny Steam or itch.io releases to freshen my brain and spark ideas,” he says. “When I see games I love, I think about how they could benefit from funding, guidance, or partnership.” Devolver is comfortable letting Firefly steer both acquisition and marketing, trusting the studio’s deeper connections within the strategy community. “Devolver doesn’t know the strategy space as well, so they rely on us for press contacts, content‑creator outreach, and community engagement across the many sub‑genres,” Tannahill explains.
He stresses that speaking the language of strategy fans is essential. To stay close to its audience, Firefly embeds short surveys into every demo, asking players how much they’d be willing to pay, which features they’d like, and what future games they’d enjoy. “We get about 6,000 responses each time, which gives us a solid sample,” Tannahill notes.
The data has revealed a surprisingly youthful demographic: a sizable chunk of players are 18‑25 years old. “We meet them where they hang out— on the right social platforms— to keep feeding the IP and our studio’s ecosystem,” he says. Tannahill believes the strategy genre is both massive and under‑served.
“If you look at the top‑hundred‑plus wish‑listed games on Steam, many are strategy titles,” he observes. Yet classic franchises such as Command and Conquer have faded, not because the IPs lack appeal, but because few new entries have been produced. He sees this as an opening, 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 asserts. In a market where Roblox is exploding and consoles face challenges, Steam’s deep, systems‑driven games remain a strong fit for players who enjoy long, replayable sessions.
Firefly’s own development slate mirrors this diversity. The studio creates 2.5‑D isometric titles reminiscent of early Command and Conquer or Age of Empires, as well as fully 3D experiences like Stronghold 4. While the retro‑style 2.5‑D aesthetic is currently popular, Tannahill cautions against putting all eggs in one basket: “You want to diversify so you’re not overly exposed to a single trend.” Wuselfaktory currently represents a single title—Fool King—but the label could expand to a few more releases over time.
Since joining Devolver, Firefly has shipped four games and six expansions, with additional projects in the pipeline. Third‑party publishing is part of the long‑term vision, but it must fit within the studio’s capacity. “We won’t announce a publishing label and then launch three big titles at once; we can only spin so many plates,” Tannahill concludes.
“We’ll start with smaller projects, work in compact teams, and keep it sustainable—that’s the most important thing."