As viral hits like Escape from Duckov and Megabonk change the industry, Falconeer developer Tomas Sala has found another way to survive

Like many indie developers, Falconeer and Bulwark creator Thomas Sala faces a challenge: how can he get his games recognized in a crowded market that, paradoxically, prefers hits?

His old answer was to “make new games and hope.” To work on something for a few years and then release it, doing everything in his power, crossing all his fingers and toes, hoping that his game will find a way to catch on, capture an audience and succeed. And in this regard, he has achieved some success.

Bird dogfighting game The Falconeer arrived at the right time with the release of the Xbox Series S/X, making it an unlikely game to launch, giving it widespread exposure as well as “superhuman expectations,” Sala told me during a video call. Reviews were fierce, both positive and negative.

Launch of a cool sea city building game Bulwark Last year it went more smoothly, but Sala once again divided the audience. Some people told him, “I've never played something like this – it makes me re-aware of what a game like this could be,” while other people said, “It makes me relearn everything; I fucking hate this,” Sala muses. Suffice to say, he didn't really like the launch of both games.

Moreover, in the 10 years that he was creating his own games, the market had changed a lot. “I've spent a lot of time thinking about this,” says Sala, “and 2025 is a sneaky game. You are trying to join the viral flywheel.

“Everything from Balatro,” he explains, “you see the viral hits keep getting bigger—it’s forever.” [upwards] bend We end up with algorithmic systems where the masses get nothing, so thousands of games released per day get almost nothing, then there is a very small middle ground and an ever-expanding top that gets more and more. Here's how Steam works: if your game sells, it will be shown to more people who will buy it. they will show it to more people. This is a flywheel. Once it goes faster and faster and faster, you can go into the stratosphere.”

We have seen many examples of this in reality, with games like Escape from Dukov – PvE shooter for one player, in which hundreds of thousands of players participate simultaneously. Dukov made 2 million sales in less than two weeks. There's also a 3D version of Megabonk, similar to Vampire Survivors, which had a big moment in early October, and co-op climbing game Peakwhich was everywhere at the end of summer. These small team or solo games seem to appear out of nowhere, momentarily blazing like magnesium fire, leaving the rest of the more traditional gaming industry stunned and perplexed by their success.

“It’s a conscious shift,” says Sala. “In 2025, you will see games that will go viral. This is what you see on Roblox. It's a certain easy-to-digest viral sensation.” TikTok and its short videos are another huge influencer, Sala admits. Add artificial intelligence to the mix and you see the potential for a potentially endless number of fast-paced games that can instantly respond to whatever's trending. But Sala refuses to obey.

“I don't believe it,” he says. “On the contrary, I argue that this is untenable; you don't want to be a part of this. Everything in my gut says we need to run away from this and try to build sustainability.” So his main turning point was learning what games were like Dwarf Fortress and the Brigador Mech Gunner, who doubles down on his communities and cares for them.

“These are small teams that are trying hard to make their game, their franchise, their universe, a sustainable business,” says Sala. Importantly, “These are the people I know who are having the most fun. They're the least worried because they don't release hit singles and they sell out arenas because people just come for them. They come for the game to be there in five years and it will change.

“I want to be there,” Sala tells me. “And with Bulwark I did that.”

Both Falconer and Bulwark required revisions and more work – things that scared a tired Sal at the time, but which, in retrospect, played a key role in where he is now. This kind of work energizes him. “You need people to criticize your work, otherwise you can’t improve it,” he says. “It hurts so much. It's emotionally devastating. But if people don't come out and say this fucking sucks, I can't fix it.”

By taking the time to improve his games after launch, he can leave them in a much better state and build a community. Especially for games like Bulwark, which have a larger presence on Steam. That's why you see him interact so openly with the players of his games, candidly telling them what he's up to and asking for their ideas on what to do next. They appreciate it, and he appreciates the work. And because of this, Bulwark became much better.

All of this led Sal (and that's the warning I mentioned above) to start a massive reworking of The Falconeer, Revolution Remaster, released this week.. For free. (And there's currently a free play weekend going on.) He used Bulwark city technology to expand the world and settlements; he also redesigned the giant falcons you fly on; and it has structurally densified the world so that one has to travel long distances. “I think you were the one who said that we could make the experience more condensed,” Sala tells me, “and I thought, yeah, that’s pretty damn right.” And it finally added proper mouse and keyboard controls. In fact, this is a complete overhaul, and it's worth emphasizing again that it's free.

All this works without any monetary gain? That's part of the deal. The big reward is gaining the trust and support of the community – a stable base of players who can support his work now and in the future. That way, he won't have to play “casino,” as he calls it, when releasing a new game on Steam. He's happier, his community is happier, and Falconer and Stronghold have never been better. It's a virtuous cycle.

This in turn means that his Ursee trilogy, to which these two games belong, represents a modern work, rather than the games he left alone five years ago. And that's important considering there's another game on the way – a third ship-based one called Ancient Waves, which he's set to start working on in January. In fact, he's going to openly test a lot of ideas at Bulwark.

I think this is the most relaxed look I've ever seen from Sala, and we've spoken a few times over the years, which leads me to believe he's actually found a nicer way of working. “I lost my appetite for launching games, but I gained an appetite for working with players to make better games,” he says. “I’ve evolved into a person who doesn’t want to make games, but wants to make them sustainable.” And given the state of the industry, I wonder if we can adopt this template more widely?