Firefly, the team behind the Stronghold series, has taken its next step into publishing by unveiling a new label dedicated to strategy games, called Wuselfaktory. The debut title for the imprint, Fool King, was showcased at UKIE’s For One Night Only event earlier this year. Fool King comes from first‑time studio Loot Donkey and bills itself as a "tactical autobattler" with a roguelike twist – players assemble and position units, then watch the AI resolve the combat.
Nick Tannahill, the head of Firefly, tells GamesIndustry.biz that moving into publishing feels "like every other indie studio doing it right now," but he believes the company’s long‑standing experience with strategy titles gives it a solid footing. The genre is one of the most lucrative on PC, with heavyweights such as Paradox Interactive and newer players like Hooded Horse proving the market’s depth. Wuselfaktory, however, is aiming for a modest slate, focusing on smaller projects rather than massive, multi‑year releases. For Fool King, Firefly is providing the development funds and handling the marketing push, while its parent company Devolver has assigned 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 about 50 people expands. "We already run a small publishing operation," he says, "so we have the processes in place." Firefly has been self‑publishing since 2010, which means it already has a localisation pipeline, a marketing workflow and established relationships with platform holders.
More importantly, the studio has spent decades crafting strategy games, so it can also lend development advice. "Being a publisher isn’t just about distribution; we can sit down with developers and help them with actual game‑making tasks," Tannahill explains. He gives the example of Fool King’s online component – an asynchronous auto‑battler – where Firefly’s team held calls with the developers to discuss networking, UI design and overall balance.
"A single hour‑long conversation can shave weeks off a schedule and make the whole project run smoother," he adds. The decision to start publishing was encouraged by Devolver, which recognised its own limited experience in the strategy niche. "We were bought by Devolver in late 2021," Tannahill says, "and they basically said, ‘You know strategy, we don’t, so why don’t you lead that effort?’" The studio’s constant monitoring of upcoming strategy releases also helped it spot Fool King, which Tannahill discovered through a Rock Paper Shotgun article.
Tannahill admits he plays a lot of indie strategy games on Steam and itch.io to keep his creative juices flowing. "I look at small titles for inspiration for Stronghold," he says. "When I see a game I like, I think about how we could help it with funding, guidance or partnership opportunities." Devolver is comfortable letting Firefly own both the scouting and the marketing side, trusting the studio’s deeper connections with press, content creators and the various sub‑communities that populate the strategy space.
Tannahill stresses that speaking the same language as the audience is crucial. To stay close to players, Firefly embeds short surveys into every demo, asking about price expectations, desired features and future game ideas. "We get around 6,000 responses per survey, which gives us a solid data set to steer development," he notes. That data has revealed an unexpectedly young demographic.
"Our audience skews younger than we assumed – a strong 18‑25 segment," Tannahill says. The studio now targets those players on the social platforms they frequent, hoping to funnel them into the Stronghold IP and other upcoming titles. Despite the genre’s size, classic strategy franchises are often overlooked.
Tannahill cites Command & Conquer as a personal favorite that has faded from mainstream awareness, not because the brand lacks appeal, but because few new entries have been released. He sees this gap as an opening for publishers willing to invest in high‑quality, systems‑driven games. He also observes that while flashy, mainstream genres like Roblox dominate headlines, strategy remains a quietly dominant force on Steam.
"It’s not the sexiest category, but it’s consistently one of the best‑performing on the platform," he says. Deep, replayable systems appeal to players who enjoy long PC sessions and emergent gameplay, a fact that has attracted newcomers such as Hooded Horse to the space.
Firefly’s own portfolio reflects a broad approach within strategy. The studio produces retro‑style 2.5D isometric games reminiscent of early Command & Conquer and Age of Empires, as well as fully 3D experiences like Stronghold 4. The resurgence of pixel‑perfect isometric aesthetics is evident, yet Tannahill cautions against putting all eggs in one basket.
"We want variety, but we also need to keep our scope realistic for a small team." Wuselfaktory currently represents a single title, but the label could expand to a few more as resources allow. Since joining Devolver, Firefly has shipped four games and six expansions, with additional projects in development. Third‑party publishing is part of the long‑term plan, but Tannahill emphasizes a measured rollout. "We won’t announce a label and then flood the market with three big releases – we can only spin so many plates at once," he says.
"We’ll start with smaller games that fit our sustainable workflow." In short, Firefly is leveraging its deep strategy pedigree, existing publishing infrastructure, and close ties to a youthful, engaged community to carve out a niche as a strategy‑focused publisher. By supporting indie developers with funding, expertise and audience insight, the studio hopes to nurture a thriving ecosystem that benefits both creators and players alike.