Stray Fawn's Journey: Thriving as an Indie Studio Without Investors or Publishers

At Devcom, Stray Fawn co-founder Philomena Schwab revealed the secret to the Zurich-based studio's eight-year survival, from rejecting publisher partnerships to leveraging community support in game development. Schwab highlighted the studio's pride in being independent, with no external investors or publishers. Despite attracting publisher interest after the crowdfunding success of its first game, Niche, Stray Fawn declined offers due to previous negative experiences with a publisher. Schwab explained, "If my game fails, I want to be fully responsible for that failure. I don't want someone else to be responsible for my game's failure." The studio continued to decline publisher offers, even after the success of The Wandering Village, with Schwab recalling that they received around 50 offers from publishers. However, the team decided against partnering with them, citing the desire to maintain control over the game's quality and revenue. This approach aligns with Stray Fawn's ethos of being a developer-owned studio. Schwab stated, "We never intended to build a studio to sell it in five to ten years. We wanted to create a place where we can enjoy making games together and earn a living." The studio achieves this by paying all employees the same salary, with bonuses awarded after three years of service. Schwab noted, "Everyone earns the same amount, and everyone knows what each other earns. This motivates everyone because they directly benefit from their work." Beyond the studio's internal dynamics, Schwab emphasized the importance of community support. The launch of their first game gained significant traction due to the community sharing the game on social media and attracting streamers. Schwab described this as a "lucky first case scenario," but acknowledged that community building played a crucial role in the game's success. This community support has enabled the studio to maintain a loyal player base across different game genres. Stray Fawn's publishing arm focuses on signing games similar to their own, allowing for cross-promotion with their latest titles. Schwab explained that they became publishers to provide the kind of support they would have liked to receive themselves. The studio's approach to publishing is centered around giving developers creative freedom, without imposing time pressure or boundaries. As Schwab put it, "We try to contribute, but we don't want to push developers in a certain direction if they have a different vision than us."