Firefly, the studio best known for the Stronghold series, has taken its next step into the publishing arena by unveiling a new label dedicated to strategy games, called Wuselfaktory. The label’s first offering, Fool King, was presented at the UKIE For One Night Only showcase earlier this year. Fool King comes from Loot Donkey, a newcomer to development, and bills itself as a tactical autobattler with a roguelike twist: players assemble and arrange their forces, then watch the combat resolve automatically.
Nick Tannahill, the head of Firefly, told GamesIndustry.biz that moving into publishing feels "like every other indie developer at the moment," yet he believes the studio’s deep roots in the strategy genre give it a unique advantage. While established publishers such as Paradox Interactive and the newer Hooded Horse have already proven the viability of strategy titles on PC, Wuselfaktory aims to operate on a smaller scale, both in terms of the number of releases and the scope of each project. For Fool King, Firefly is providing the financial backing and handling the marketing push, while its parent company Devolver has supplied a producer to oversee localisation and quality assurance. Tannahill noted that, as the label matures, the studio intends to bring those localisation and QA responsibilities in‑house, leveraging its existing 50‑person team.
"We already run a small publishing operation, which is why we can do this," he explained. Firefly has been self‑publishing since 2010, so it has established pipelines for localisation, marketing, and release coordination, as well as strong relationships with platform holders like Steam.
More importantly, the studio has spent decades crafting strategy experiences, meaning it can also provide hands‑on development assistance to its partners. "One of the real benefits a publisher can bring is that we’ve sat on the other side of negotiations and relationships, and we can also help with actual development work," Tannahill said. "We have three online titles we maintain; Fool King includes an asynchronous auto‑battler component, so we can hold calls with their team, walk them through the online architecture, and share best practices. We’ve consulted on UI, given multiple rounds of feedback on the core game, and generally acted as a sounding board." He admitted that offering this level of support does pull resources away from Firefly’s own projects, but he believes a brief, focused conversation can dramatically accelerate a partner’s timeline and improve the final product.
The decision to launch a publishing arm came at the suggestion of Devolver, which recognised its own limited experience in the lucrative strategy sector. "We were acquired by Devolver in late 2021," Tannahill recalled.
"Since then they’ve basically said, ‘You know strategy better than we do – why don’t you lead that space?’" The studio’s constant monitoring of upcoming strategy releases also positioned it well to spot promising indie titles. In fact, Tannahill discovered Fool King through an article on Rock Paper Shotgun rather than a formal scouting process. He explained that he regularly plays smaller strategy games on Steam, Itch, and other platforms to keep his creative juices flowing for future Stronghold entries.
"When I’m playing these indie gems, I think, ‘These could benefit from funding, guidance, or a partnership.’" That mindset sparked the idea of offering support to developers who have great concepts but lack the resources to bring them to a wider audience. Devolver is comfortable letting Firefly handle both acquisition and marketing because the parent company admits it does not have deep connections within the strategy community. "They know the press, the content creators, the niche audiences across the many sub‑genres far better than we do," Tannahill said.
He stressed that speaking the language of strategy fans is essential for success. To stay close to its player base, Firefly employs a surprisingly straightforward method: it embeds short surveys into every demo it releases. The surveys ask players how much they would be willing to pay, which features they’d like to see, and what future games they’d love to have.
Over three titles, the studio has collected roughly 6,000 responses per survey, providing a robust data set that informs both design decisions and marketing strategies. The data has revealed a younger-than‑expected audience for strategy games. "We see a strong contingent of 18‑ to 25‑year‑olds," Tannahill noted.
"We meet them where they hang out – on the social platforms they use – to bring them into our IPs and our studio’s ecosystem." Tannahill believes the strategy genre is both vast and under‑served. He points out that many of the top‑wishlisted games on Steam are strategy titles, yet classic franchises such as Command & Conquer receive little new development.
"My favourite childhood game was Command & Conquer, and it’s not relevant today not because the IP has lost its appeal, but because there haven’t been fresh entries," he said. He sees this gap as an opportunity, especially as other high‑profile genres encounter headwinds. "Strategy isn’t the flashiest genre any more, but it quietly remains one of the most successful on Steam.
While Roblox expands and consoles face challenges, Steam is uniquely positioned for the future," Tannahill argued. He added that deep, systems‑driven games appeal to players who enjoy long PC sessions, experimenting with emergent gameplay and replaying scenarios with slight variations.
Firefly’s own development slate reflects a mix of old‑school 2.5D isometric titles reminiscent of early Command & Conquer and Age of Empires, alongside fully 3D projects like Stronghold 4. The studio acknowledges that the current retro‑isometric aesthetic is popular, but it does not want to put all its eggs in one basket.
"We diversify within the strategy space – publishing, classic 2.5D, and modern 3D – so we’re not overly exposed to a single trend," he explained. Wuselfaktory’s launch currently represents a single "egg" in that basket, with the potential for a few more titles to follow. Since joining Devolver, Firefly has shipped four games and six expansions, and more projects are in the pipeline.
However, third‑party publishing will be paced to fit the studio’s capacity. "We won’t announce a label and immediately have three fully baked titles," Tannahill warned.
"We’ll start with smaller projects that match our team size and sustainable workflow." In summary, Firefly is leveraging its long‑standing expertise in strategy development to create a publishing platform that supports indie developers, supplies funding and guidance, and taps into a vibrant, youthful audience on Steam. By combining its internal workflows, community‑driven feedback loops, and Devolver’s backing, the studio aims to nurture a niche yet profitable corner of the gaming market while continuing to produce its own beloved strategy franchises.