Over the past 25+ years, Magic Pockets has gradually built a legacy that spans more than 60 shipped titles, working with major publishers across some of the industry’s biggest licenses. From early days developing on the Game Boy in assembly language to shipping across modern platforms, the studio’s trajectory reflects not just its own evolution, but the broader transformation of game development itself.

What makes Magic Pockets stand out is its uncompromising philosophy: it doesn’t position itself as a co-development partner or outsourcing studio, but as a full-cycle developer responsible for every aspect of production. 

In this interview, Eric Zmiro, Founder of Magic Pockets, offers a candid perspective on their history, their technology decisions, and the realities of navigating an industry that has changed dramatically over the years.

Magic Pockets was founded in 2000, emerging from your earlier work at companies like Titus Interactive and Planet Interactive Development. Can you take us through the founding story? 

Eric Zmiro, Founder of Magic Pockets: Around 1999, the Nintendo Game Boy made a comeback, programmed exclusively in assembly language. I found myself almost alone in using this language (my favorite!). I developed "Antz" at the PAM (Top Spin) offices and left with one of PAM's two bosses (Marc) to start Planet in a neighboring office. I overhauled the entire development process, reducing the time it took to make a GBC game from 9 months to 5 weeks (8 times faster). We churned out game after game, quickly, with visuals superior to the competition. We were one of the two largest GBC developers in the world with fewer than 10 employees.

Marc had become megalomaniacal and unhinged, so I let him go and started MagicPockets to target the Game Boy Advance. Marc closed it down 18 months later after a long and agonizing decline.

On the GBA, we developed 18 video games, including some of the biggest franchises in the world (Harry Potter, Baldur's Gate, etc.), and then moved on to DS, 3DS, Wii, Xbox, PS, mobile (we created The Sims!), and PC. Most recently, we worked on Cobra and Cleanup Earth, which will be released in April 2026.

Magic Pockets has shipped 60+ games for major publishers, working on massive licenses like Harry Potter, The Sims, Baldur’s Gate, and TMNT. How do you typically win and structure these partnerships with such high-profile clients?

Eric Zmiro: Our policy is simple: the publisher offers us the opportunity to develop a game based on one of their licenses, and we create the entire product, from design to code. We deliver a turnkey game and create all the elements ourselves. We don't "porting", we're not an "outsourcer," we do everything... or nothing.

Magic Pockets now ships games on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS/Android, and WebGL: essentially every major gaming platform. From a technical and operational perspective, how challenging is it to maintain expertise across such diverse platforms? 

Eric Zmiro: For 20 years, we had our own 2D and 3D engine. Our last game was Tennis World Tour, which sold 400,000 copies. On the Switch version, we had 30,000 spectators in the stands, animated independently, and the game ran at 60 FPS. No other engine could have achieved that.

Our engine was natively cross-platform. Switching from one hardware to another was free.

Our engine was also very economical, highly optimized, and we were very efficient with it. The problem? The publisher who wants to take over the project is stuck. New graphic designers have to learn how to use it. It had become too complex in a constantly evolving world. We use Unity now.

The co-development and porting market has evolved significantly, especially with engine improvements making cross-platform development easier. How do you balance client work versus original IP development? 

Eric Zmiro: We are currently developing our own game, so the question is no longer relevant! Our own projects are more exciting, but publishers' projects get paid no matter what.

Over 25 years, you’ve witnessed massive technological shifts: from Game Boy Advance to modern consoles, mobile gaming explosions, digital distribution, and live service models. How has Magic Pockets adapted its business model and service offerings? 

Eric Zmiro: One of the biggest changes is the patch. Before, games were released when they were finished; now they're released before and finished afterward.

Then, free games ruined the market.

Finally, game engines (Unity, Unreal) broke down the technological barrier: anyone can make a game, whereas before you had to be very skilled to succeed. We end up with 3,000 games a year, 80% of which are pointless; it's become a jungle.

The game industry has faced significant challenges recently: budget cuts, project cancellations, and studio closures. How has this affected the services market? Are publishers relying more or less on external development partners like Magic Pockets? 

Eric Zmiro: We're making progress. We don't do co-development or services right now, but we develop games from scratch. We've lost most of our major clients, which is a real shame. We're focusing on our own productions.

Our motto is to serve; we don't plan ahead!

Eric Zmiro, Founder of Magic Pockets

Interview conducted by Kirill Tokarev

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