Fatshark on Company Growth, Creating Vermintide Games, & Self-Publishing

Few studios have navigated the shifting tides of the game industry as successfully as Fatshark. From its early days as a small Stockholm-based team working with external partners to becoming a self-publishing powerhouse behind the Vermintide and Darktide franchises under the Warhammer banner, the studio’s journey reflects both the opportunities and challenges of scaling in modern game development.

When 80 Level last spoke with Fatshark in 2015, the company was in the midst of a pivotal transition toward self-publishing. A decade later, that bet has paid off in a big way. With over 200 employees, a long-term partnership with Games Workshop, and Tencent as a major investor, Fatshark has evolved into a leading force in co-op action design, all while maintaining a focus on sustainable growth and long-term player engagement.

In this interview, Fatshark CEO Martin Wahlund reflects on the studio's evolution over nearly two decades, from key turning points like the Bitsquid engine and the shift to self-publishing, to the realities of scaling a AAA team while preserving studio culture. 

When 80 Level interviewed Fatshark in 2015 during the development of the original Vermintide, you were transitioning to self-publishing. A decade later, you're over 200 employees with multiple successful Warhammer franchises and Tencent as a major investor! 

How much has Fatshark changed as a company since that interview? What core elements of the original studio culture have you preserved, and what had to evolve as you scaled?

At the core, our values and goals are very much the same. We still want to create the best co-op games we can – and have a lot of fun doing it. That part hasn't changed.

What has changed, obviously, is scale. We're a much larger company today, which means we need more structure, clearer processes, and better coordination. That kind of structure becomes necessary as you grow, but we've been careful that it doesn't come at the expense of creativity or ownership. The challenge has been finding the right balance: adding structure where it helps, without losing the culture that made Fatshark special in the first place.

Looking back over Fatshark's history since its founding in 2007, what were the most significant landmarks or turning points that shaped the company: product releases, technology decisions, business pivots, or team milestones?

One thing I'm especially proud of is that we've managed to survive – and grow – in a very tough industry for nearly two decades. That alone is not something I take for granted.

In terms of specific turning points, there are several. A major one was founding the Bitsquid subsidiary and later selling it. That decision gave us the financial stability and confidence to invest in and self-publish Warhammer: Vermintide. Beyond that, every game we've shipped has taught us something new. Each project has influenced how we think about design, production, and the business side of running a studio, and those accumulated lessons have shaped Fatshark just as much as any single hit release.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 surpassed 25 million players: an extraordinary achievement for a premium co-op game. What do you attribute Vermintide's exceptional longevity to? Both games continue to have active player bases in 2026.

The simple answer is that we focused on making games that are genuinely fun to play together, and then committed to supporting them over time. The core of the Tide games is very strong: the combat feels good, killing enemies is satisfying, and playing with friends amplifies that experience.

On top of that, continuous support has been key. We've treated Vermintide as something we keep improving rather than something we move on from. When you combine a solid core experience with long-term support and an engaged community, you create conditions where players are happy to keep coming back year after year.

A critical moment in Fatshark's history was co-founding and then selling the Bitsquid engine to Autodesk in 2014, which funded your first self-published AAA game. Are you happy with how other studios are working with Bitsquid, such as Helldivers 2, for example?

It was absolutely a key moment for Fatshark. As I mentioned earlier, the Bitsquid journey enabled us to self-publish Warhammer: Vermintide, which fundamentally changed our trajectory as a company.

And yes – I'm very happy to see how other studios are using Bitsquid. Helldivers 2 is a fantastic example. Seeing technology you helped create being used so well is incredibly rewarding. As for recommending similar strategies, it depends on the studio, but for us, it was an important way to build long-term independence.

You've now developed three major Warhammer titles: Vermintide, Vermintide 2, and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. Can you discuss your relationship with Games Workshop and what makes Warhammer licenses so appealing from a developer's perspective? 

A big advantage is that many people at Fatshark are genuine Warhammer fans, which makes working with the license feel very natural. Beyond the passionate fan base, the sheer depth of the Warhammer universe is a huge benefit. There's an incredible amount of lore, visual reference, and established identity to draw from.

If a developer wonders how something in the Warhammer world should look or feel, chances are the answer already exists somewhere. That provides clarity and consistency, while still leaving room for creative interpretation. Compared to the original IP, you trade some freedom for a very strong foundation – and for us, that trade-off has worked extremely well.

In your 2015 interview, you discussed using the Bitsquid (later Stingray) engine and various technical approaches. How has Fatshark's technology and production pipeline evolved over the past decade?

We're constantly working to improve both our engine and our workflows. The goal is always to be a little bit better in every department. It's hard to point to a single change as the most impactful, because progress tends to come from many smaller improvements over time rather than one big breakthrough.

When it comes to technology decisions, it really depends on the type of game we're building. For the Tide games, the Bitsquid/Stingray engine has been a very strong fit. The same logic applies to tools: if something works well out of the box, we're happy to use it. But if we have very specific needs, we're also comfortable building our own solutions. It's always about choosing what best supports the game, not technology for its own sake.

You mentioned in an earlier interview that Fatshark was "a relatively small team" focused on maintaining work-life balance for experienced developers. Now at 200+ employees with AAA production values, how have team structure and production costs evolved?

There's no doubt that making games today is far more expensive than it used to be. That said, we try to be disciplined about growth and not expand team sizes unnecessarily.

It's important to us that every developer feels like a central part of the project, not just a small cog in a massive machine. We also stay very mindful of budgets, aiming to be able to break even relatively soon after launch to reduce risk. Keeping teams within each project relatively small helps with that – and it also leads to more efficient communication and better decision-making.

Fatshark has transitioned from working with publishers like Paradox Interactive and Deep Silver to self-publishing Vermintide, then taking Tencent investment in 2019. How has your publishing and business development strategy evolved? What lessons did you learn?

We're still learning all the time. The most important thing is to build the best game you can, and then be very clear with players about what they can expect from it.

Publishing is constantly changing. What worked a year ago might not work today, so you really have to stay alert and be adaptable. There's no single formula – you need to keep experimenting, learning, and adjusting as the market evolves.

The game industry has faced significant turbulence recently: layoffs, studio closures, and market challenges. From your perspective, leading an independent studio in Sweden, what's your assessment of the current market state in 2026?

I'd say the environment is still very challenging. For a few years, there was a large influx of investment into the industry, with a strong focus on growth rather than profitability. When the global risk appetite shifted, and investors began prioritizing sustainable profits over pure revenue growth, that climate changed very quickly. Patience disappeared, funding dried up for many projects, and that has had a direct impact on studios' ability to retain staff.

At Fatshark, we've always aimed to be profitable every year, even while investing heavily in new ideas and long-term initiatives. That discipline gives you much more room to maneuver in times like these. As a result, we’re currently in a strong position and able to recruit talent more easily than it was a few years ago.

If you accept that the industry moves in cycles and prepare for that reality, these periods become far more manageable. The fundamentals haven't really changed. Just like a few years ago, the core goal for any company is still the same: to build great games and run a business that can sustain itself over time.

Based on Fatshark's journey from subcontractor to successful self-publisher, what advice would you give developers in 2026 about distribution and go-to-market strategy?

If you don't have a huge marketing budget, it's important to try different things and focus on building a community early. Use channels you understand well, and be very clear about managing player expectations. That means truly understanding your game’s strengths – and its weaknesses.

It's obviously crucial to try to stand out. If you have a fraction of EA's marketing budget, it probably doesn't make sense to copy EA's strategies. Do something different instead. When it comes to platforms, a lot depends on the type of game you're making and the skill set of the team. If resources are limited, focusing on a single platform can often be the smartest choice.

Martin Wahlund, CEO and Co-Founder at Fatshark

Interview Conducted by 80 Level Editorial Team

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