LogInCult of the Lamb developer Massive Monster shared that they couldn't find the publisher's contacts and just guessed the email address of one of Devolver's employees.
Massive Monster's most recent release Cult of the Lamb indeed hit the right note – the game was warmly received by both players and critics and, in addition, it managed to sell 1 million copies within just the first week of its release. It was a huge success for the small indie developer which previously released titles like Adventure Pals and Never Give Up that were only successful enough for the studio to keep going.
In a recent interview with SmartCompany, Massive Monster's creative director Julian Wilton spoke about Cult of the Lamb's creation process, explained what influenced the game's success, and revealed how the studio managed to get in touch with the game's publisher, Devolver Digital.
Wilton shared that Cult of the Lamb was the first title that all studio developers worked on simultaneously adding that the original three-person team even hired a few more employees to create the game. However, to build the great game, the studio still had to find the money.
Massive Monster was approached by several publishers who were interested in Cult of the Lamb, however, the studio wanted to work with Devolver Digital, which is known for supporting even the strangest and most risky projects.
"We knew going in that we could push the style and make it looks kind of fucked up because Devolver likes this style of games – a lot of personality and a kind of punk aesthetic,” Wilton said. "They do whatever they want, even if it’s a bit weird."
Contacting Devolver Digital, however, turned out to be difficult – the studio could not find the publisher's contacts and had to use a bit of guesswork. Wilton shared that the studio's design director Jay Armstrong guessed the email address of a Devolver Digital employee, and after that, Devlover got back to the studio and they signed a contract.
"Jay, the design director in the company, basically just guessed the email of someone there," said Wilton. "They got back to us and said 'we like it, let’s sign!' They were just ready to go, which we like really liked."
More than that, Devolver even offered Massive Monster more money than the studio originally asked for, according to Wilton.
"Publishers will often try just get it for the cheapest they can. But Devolve was like, this isn’t enough money and added like $200,000 budget on the $300,000 we asked for," he said.
Despite the success of Cult of the Lamb, Massive Monster doesn't plan to expand. Wilton shared that the studio's experience with previous games that, according to him, were "moderate success" taught the developers to "bake in some end development to support the game."
Wilton said that the studio needs to do so in case their next game won't be successful enough saying that Massive Monster wants "to be a sustainable company and plan for the worst-case scenario."
You can learn more by reading the full interview here. Also, don't forget to join our Reddit page and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.