Firefly, best known for the Stronghold series, has taken its next step into the world of publishing by unveiling a new label dedicated to strategy games, called Wuselfaktory. The label’s first offering, Fool King, was showcased at UKIE’s For One Night Only event earlier this year.
Fool King comes from Loot Donkey, a studio releasing its debut title, and is billed as a tactical autobattler with roguelike elements. In practice, players assemble and arrange their forces on a battlefield, then watch an automated combat sequence play out, blending strategic planning with the unpredictability of a roguelike. Nick Tannahill, the head of Firefly, told GamesIndustry.biz that moving into publishing feels "like every other indie developer" at the moment, but he believes the studio’s deep roots in strategy give it a distinct advantage. While the genre has long been dominated by veterans such as Paradox Interactive and newer entrants like Hooded Horse, Firefly’s ambitions are more modest: it plans to release a limited number of titles and keep each project’s scope realistic for its relatively small team.
For Fool King, Firefly is providing the financial backing and marketing muscle, while its parent company Devolver has assigned a producer to oversee localisation and quality assurance. Tannahill hinted that future releases may see Firefly handling localisation internally, leveraging its existing 50‑person team. "We already have a small publishing crew, which is why we can pull this off," he explained. The studio’s publishing experience dates back to 2010, when it began self‑publishing its own games.
Over the years it has refined workflows for localisation, marketing, and distribution, and has cultivated strong relationships with platform holders such as Steam and Epic. More importantly, Firefly’s decades‑long focus on strategy titles means it can also lend development support to partners. "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 development tasks," Tannahill said. Firefly is already assisting Loot Donkey with several aspects of Fool King.
The game features an asynchronous multiplayer mode, and the developers can schedule calls with Firefly’s team to discuss technical implementation. Firefly has also reviewed the user interface, offered multiple rounds of feedback on core gameplay, and provided guidance on balancing. While such assistance takes time away from Firefly’s own projects, Tannahill believes a short, focused conversation can dramatically accelerate a partner’s development timeline. The decision to start publishing was encouraged by Devolver, which recognised its own lack of expertise in the strategy niche.
"We were bought by Devolver in late 2021," Tannahill recalled, "and they basically said, ‘You know strategy, we don’t, so why don’t you lead that effort?’" Firefly’s constant monitoring of emerging strategy titles positioned it well to spot promising indie projects. In fact, Tannahill discovered Fool King after reading a Rock Paper Shotgun article about the game. He also spends time playing smaller strategy experiments on Steam, Itch.io, and other platforms to keep his creative instincts sharp.
"I play a lot of tiny titles for inspiration for Stronghold," he said. "When I see something I love, I think about how we could help that developer with funding, guidance, or partnerships." Devolver is comfortable letting Firefly handle both acquisition and marketing because the latter lacks deep knowledge of the strategy market.
"They trust us with press contacts, content creators, and community outreach across the many sub‑genres of strategy," Tannahill explained. He stressed that speaking the language of strategy fans is essential; the audience expects a publisher to understand the nuances of the genre.
Firefly maintains close contact with its players through a practice that might seem simple but is effective: every demo includes a short survey asking respondents how much they’d be willing to pay, which features they’d like, and what future games they’d enjoy. The studio has run this survey for three releases, gathering roughly 6,000 responses each time. The data has proven invaluable for shaping development priorities and marketing messages. One surprising insight from the surveys is the age distribution of strategy gamers.
"We thought the audience would be older, but it skews much younger—lots of 18‑ to 25‑year‑olds," Tannahill noted. To reach this demographic, Firefly focuses on the social platforms where younger gamers congregate, aiming to funnel them into its IPs and studio ecosystem.
Tannahill views the strategy genre as both vast and under‑served. The top‑hundred‑plus wish‑listed games on Steam are dominated by strategy titles, yet many classic franchises have faded. He cited Command & Conquer as a personal favorite that no longer receives mainstream attention, not because the IP lacks appeal, but because few new entries have been produced.
He sees this gap as an opportunity, especially as other high‑profile genres encounter headwinds. "Strategy isn’t flashy, but it’s quietly one of the most successful categories on Steam," he said, contrasting it with the explosive growth of Roblox and the challenges facing console markets. Deep, systems‑driven games attract players who enjoy long sessions of iterative problem‑solving, and publishers like Hooded Horse have recently discovered the size of this market. Within Firefly, the strategy focus manifests in several ways.
The studio continues to publish its own titles, ranging from 2.5D isometric games reminiscent of early Command & Conquer or Age of Empires, to fully 3D experiences like Stronghold 4. The resurgence of pixel‑perfect isometric visuals is currently popular, but Tannahill cautions against putting all eggs in one basket. "You want to diversify without over‑extending," he said.
Wuselfaktory is currently a single‑egg label, with Fool King as its inaugural project. Since joining Devolver, Firefly has shipped four games and six expansions, with more in development. Third‑party publishing remains part of the long‑term plan, but the studio will integrate external titles into its existing schedule rather than overcommitting.
"We won’t announce a label and then release three big games at once because we can only spin so many plates," Tannahill explained. "We’ll start with smaller titles, work in tight teams, and keep it sustainable." In summary, Firefly’s new publishing arm leverages its strategy pedigree, established workflows, and community‑driven feedback loops to support indie developers while expanding its own portfolio. By pairing financial backing with hands‑on development advice and a deep understanding of the strategy audience, the studio hopes to nurture fresh experiences in a genre that, though often overlooked, continues to thrive on Steam.