The creators of Sifu on rejecting aggressive growth and developing AAA games: "We want to maintain the ability to take creative risks"
In recent years, the staff of Sloclap Studio has grown significantly, reaching over 130 people after the release of Sifu. However, developers have now decided to slow down their growth rate, despite the success of their recently released soccer action game Rematch.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, Rematch's game director Pierre Tarno stated that the studio no longer feels the need to hire a large number of people. According to him, if the team becomes too large, it will start making entirely different games—more expensive and less risky. This would deprive them of creative freedom.
Tarno explained that when game budgets reach $50-100 million, developers can no longer afford to experiment. A potential failure would have extremely destructive consequences for them.
"In our industry, under current conditions, survival is itself a goal and an achievement [...] All you can hope for is the chance to both work and create games you love," Tarno concluded.