Last week, indie publisher Critical Reflex hosted its annual showcase, featuring a host of hard-to-define titles including Altered Alma, a cyberpunk-infused Metroidvania from Barcelona-based 2Awesome Studio.
2Awesome is finalizing its largest title to date, which raised over €260,000 from more than 5,100 Kickstarter backers. Launched in 2024, the campaign initially aimed for €40,000.
As Altered Alma nears completion, 2Awesome co-founder Alexander Santiago tells GamesIndustry.biz that the team is optimistic about the game’s launch.
“Wishlist numbers are looking really good; we featured in Steam Next Fest and had a really good reception. We’re always going to different events. We were in the Indie Arena at Gamescom, which is a seal of quality because the games are curated. When you get in that, your game has something. We’re going in the right direction.”
Development on Altered Alma started in 2023, at a time when the industry had “big projects and big budgets,” says Santiago. “Altered Alma was a challenging and ambitious project for us. It’s the biggest game we’ve done, biggest team, biggest scope, biggest everything. It’s an open-world Metroidvania, so it requires effort.”
Drawing on this experience, Santiago is confident 2Awesome will streamline development for its next project. The team plans to continue the Altered Alma franchise with a more focused scope.
“Looking at the overall industry for newer IPs and projects, it’s focused on smaller budgets and focused games – doing one or two things really well. I think that’s where we are right now. There are always bigger budgets, and hopefully we’ll have a sequel in the oven at some point.”
Since its founding in 2014, 2Awesome Studio has relied on multiple funding sources. “It’s all been Kickstarter, government funding, loans, [and support from] publishers,” he notes.
Before Altered Alma, the team ran two successful Kickstarter campaigns. Their first title, Dimension Dive, raised €36,996 from over 1,000 backers and launched in 2017. AK-xolotl, funded in 2022 with €132,807 from a €15,000 goal and over 2,500 backers, launched in 2023.
The developer also offers outsourcing as an additional income stream. “It’s not our core business, but we need to keep the lights on, so we provide services for others. There is no one solution that fits all.”
Santiago notes that outsourcing and co-development are also challenging markets to enter. “It was a natural evolution for us with our first game, deciding to do the ports in-house. It was a technical decision to gain experience; not because of a long-term plan, just because we wanted the know-how.”
” We’re trying to gauge the market now and, with our knowledge, fit into it”
“After that, we worked with Focus Home Interactive to port Othercide to Switch,” he continues. “Then we got a reputation, and it spread by word of mouth. That’s what works best for us, like, ‘Ah, yeah, these guys deliver what they promise, say, 99% of the time, all the time.’ That’s quite unique in the industry.”
2Awesome Studio appears to have developed a successful approach to indie development, balancing multiple income streams and a clear franchise roadmap.
However, Santiago says there is no universal formula for running an indie studio. “I wish I had the formula,” Santiago laughs. “We don’t have it. We are planning for the next two or three years, which hopefully includes the sequel for Altered Alma.”
“As I said, we are a smaller studio. We have some changes in the plan, things we couldn’t do in the first game that we want to include in the sequel. We’re trying to gauge the market now and, with our knowledge, fit into it; especially as more smaller teams deliver bigger successes. There are two sides – smaller and bigger projects. We’re trying to fit in both.”