Undead Labs head Philip Holt spoke about the new working conditions for the studio after the recent Xbox reorganization. According to him, the transition to independence significantly raised the stakes for the team, as even a small development delay can now have serious financial consequences.
Recall that after last year's Xbox reorganization, Undead Labs became an independent studio. The team is currently continuing work on State of Decay 3, which is scheduled for release next year. Third-party teams Virtuos, Wushu, and Blind Squirrel are involved in the development.
In an interview with The Game Business, Holt noted that he is grateful for the opportunity to develop the company without external investors. At the same time, he emphasized that he does not consider attracting investments to be a bad thing. However, at the current stage, Undead Labs is not yet generating revenue from its new project, so seeking funding is associated with certain risks. According to the head, most financial organizations in similar circumstances would likely want a controlling stake in the company.
Holt also explained that working within a large corporation required simultaneously considering many goals and fulfilling various corporate requirements. Now Undead Labs faces a clearer task — to create the highest quality game possible.
Within a multi-trillion dollar company, a small delay or a missed deadline can be manageable. In an independent company, it can be a matter of life and death.
The head also spoke about the structure of the new company Full Measure, through which he acquired Undead Labs. According to him, the company was created in an atypical way: Holt was not its first employee, did not attract initial capital, and did not take on commercial risk at an early stage. The current value of the company, he believes, was created directly by the studio's employees.
That is why Holt intends to give all Undead Labs employees a share in the company's success. All current shareholders are studio employees, and the team is also issued stock options.
According to Holt, this is especially important now, when even more pressure is being put on State of Decay 3. Independence gives developers greater freedom, but at the same time means that the consequences of production problems now much more directly affect the studio itself.