Can Smaller Studios Still Break Through? Bullshark Games
With so many games competing for the same lobby space, how important is it for Bullshark to develop a recognisable identity across its portfolio rather than treating every release as a standalone product? Very important. One of the questions I think studios should ask themselves is: if you removed the provider logo, would a player have any idea who made the game? Tat does not mean every Bullshark game should look the same. We actually want the op-
For a studio our size, the right distribution
partnership is extremely
important. Working through Hacksaw’s OpenRGS has allowed us to focus much more of our time and
resources on the product while benefiting from infrastructure and
distribution that would be
difficult for a small studio to build alone.
posite visually and thematically. Each release should have its own world and its own reason to exist.
Te consistency should be in the experience
underneath it. We tend to like visible progression, momentum, high volatility and moments where the potential feels like it is building. If players eventually recognise that feeling before they see our logo, that is much more meaningful to us than repeating the same visual style across twenty games.
What actually creates that identity? Is it visual 140
style, mechanics, mathematics, player experi- ence or a more consistent design philosophy running through the games? For us it is mostly the design philosophy and the player experience. Visuals matter enormously, but we do not want every game to share a house template just so it is recognisable. Te mathematics and mechanics are where a lot of the identity comes through. We like games where the player can see momentum developing: a multiplier growing, a collection progressing, a feature becoming stronger, or something on the grid evolving. Tat creates a particular rhythm. Tere is vola-
tility, but there is also a sense that you are chasing something rather than simply waiting for a random large outcome. Tat feeling is probably closer to Bullshark's identity than any individual art style or mechanic.
How significant are distribution and platform partnerships in determining whether an in- dependent studio gets discovered? Can a strong game still struggle simply because it doesn't have the same distribution reach or visibility as content from an established supplier? Absolutely. You can make a great game, but if players cannot find it, the quality does not matter very much. For a studio our size, the right distribution part-
nership is extremely important. Working through Hacksaw’s OpenRGS has allowed us to focus much more of our time and resources on the product while benefiting from infrastructure and distribution that would be difficult for a small studio to build alone. But distribution is only the first step. Being
technically available at an operator and actually being visible to players are completely different things. A strong game can definitely struggle if it is buried in a lobby behind hundreds or thousands of other titles.
Once you've secured distribution, how do you overcome the next challenge of persuading operators to give an unfamiliar studio mean- ingful exposure rather than simply making its games available? I think this is where consistency starts to matter more than the pitch. Every studio can walk into a meeting and say it has strong mechanics, high retention and player-first design. Operators hear those claims constantly. Trust comes from what happens after the meet-
A player who consistently enjoys a certain type of volatility, progression or
mechanic could be shown a Bullshark game because it
matches their behaviour, not because we bought the most
prominent lobby position. Tat could make discovery much more merit-based. Te
important word is 'could', though. It depends entirely on how those recommendation systems are designed.
ing. Do the games perform? Do they continue to perform after the launch period? Does the studio consistently deliver what it said it would? For a new studio, one strong release can get
attention, but repeated performance gives operators a reason to take the next release more seriously. Over time, you want the conversation to move from asking for a chance to operators already knowing that your next game is worth looking at.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256 |
Page 257 |
Page 258 |
Page 259 |
Page 260 |
Page 261 |
Page 262 |
Page 263 |
Page 264 |
Page 265 |
Page 266 |
Page 267 |
Page 268 |
Page 269 |
Page 270 |
Page 271 |
Page 272 |
Page 273 |
Page 274 |
Page 275 |
Page 276 |
Page 277 |
Page 278 |
Page 279 |
Page 280 |
Page 281 |
Page 282 |
Page 283 |
Page 284 |
Page 285 |
Page 286
