Community First: Building Macabre from the Ground Up

Community First: Building Macabre from the Ground Up

This is yet another episode in our series highlighting Australian success stories, aimed at inspiring the next generation of game makers.  In this episode, Jens speaks with Jay Topping, Co-Founder and Creative Director of WeForge Studios, about the journey behind the co-op horror game Macabre. Starting as a lockdown project between friends with no prior games industry experience, WeForge gradually built a community around the game through continuous iteration, transparent communication and a deep understanding of audience engagement. Jay shares lessons on validating ideas early, using marketing to inform development, running a successful Kickstarter campaign, and navigating the challenges of self-publishing and launching an indie game. It’s an honest conversation about the realities of building a studio from scratch, and the persistence, adaptability and authenticity required along the way.

Game Wise Special: What the Federal Budget Means for Game Studios (with RSM Australia)

In this special episode of Game Wise, Jens sits down with Peter Xi, Partner at RSM specialising in R&D Tax and Government Incentives, and Roisin Arkwright, National Tax Technical Director at RSM, to unpack what the latest Federal Budget means for Australian game studios. Together, they explore the proposed changes to the R&D Tax Incentive, including the shift toward “high-intensity” R&D, the removal of supporting activities, and what studios should start doing now to prepare for the changes expected from 2028 onwards. The discussion also dives into the broader investment landscape, including the proposed capital gains tax reforms and what they could mean for founders, investors, and early-stage studios seeking funding. Along the way, the episode offers practical guidance on documentation, structuring, compliance, runway management, and how studios can make the most of existing incentives and tax concessions.

Niches Win: How Foxie Games Turned Horse Games into 100M+ Downloads

We’ve released another episode in our series highlighting Australian success stories, aimed at inspiring the next generation of game makers. There’s no such thing as overnight success, so how did they do it, and what are their superpowers? In this episode, Jens sits down with Dineth Abeynayake, Founder and Product Lead at Foxie Games, to unpack the journey behind building one of Australia’s most successful niche game studios. From an unconventional start as an aerospace engineer, Dineth shares how a self-taught, highly iterative approach – shipping games rapidly and testing them in-market – led to a breakthrough hit and ultimately to more than 100 million downloads across Foxie’s titles.    The conversation dives into the studio’s core “superpowers”: identifying underserved niche audiences, taking those communities seriously, and building games through continuous feedback loops to achieve product–market fit. Dineth also highlights the importance of de-risking projects for investors, balancing creativity with structure as teams scale, and building a strong internal culture that empowers teams while maintaining focus.

Unpacking Success: How Quiet Craft Built a Global Hit

This is another episode in our series highlighting Australian success stories, aimed at inspiring the next generation of game makers. There’s no such thing as overnight success, so how did they do it, and what are their superpowers?  In this episode, Jens talks to the team behind Unpacking, one of Australia’s most celebrated indie successes. Wren Brier and Tim Dawson share how a simple real-life moment – moving in together and unpacking boxes – sparked the idea for a game that tells a deeply emotional story without dialogue. They reflect on their journeys through the Australian games industry, the challenges of going indie, and how years of experience, persistence, and creative instinct came together to shape Unpacking. The conversation explores how the team used everyday objects to convey narrative, balanced player freedom with design intent, and leaned heavily on playtesting and empathy to refine the experience.

Cult of the Lamb: The Long Road to an Overnight Success

This episode is the first in a series on Australian success stories. There’s no such thing as overnight success, so how did they do it, and what are their superpowers? We start this series with the makers of one of Australia’s best-known games: Massive Monster’s Cult of the Lamb. In the episode, Jens sits down with Creative Director Julian Wilton to explore the long road behind the game, from early indie experiments to building one of Australia’s most recognisable global game hits.  Julian reflects on the studio’s early years in Flash, the hard lessons learned from projects that didn’t land, and how those experiences helped shape Massive Monster’s distinctive creative identity. They also discuss the value of authenticity, accessible design, bold marketing, and why success in games is usually the result of years of persistence rather than an overnight breakthrough.