How Sunwise Games Is Building a Sustainable Player-First Studio

Sunwise Games was born from an extraordinary circumstance – 26 developers from Boss Fight Entertainment, choosing to stay together after Netflix shut down the studio in October 2025, despite Squid Game: Unleashed's massive success with 10+ million downloads. Can you take us through that pivotal moment? What made you and the team decide to form an independent studio rather than dispersing across the industry, and how did those early conversations shape Sunwise's founding philosophy?

Irin Berry, Sunwise Games CEO: When we learned that Boss Fight Entertainment was being shut down, the reaction across the team was shock. Many of us were mid-task on upcoming Squid Game content, some were on vacation, and a few were out of the country. It felt sudden and disorienting. In the immediate aftermath, we leaned on each other heavily, processing logistics around the severance, and supporting one another emotionally through a private Discord server that had originally been used just to play games together after work.

The reality of the shutdown did not fully land until the following week, when our regular morning rituals disappeared, and we were no longer seeing each other day to day. That absence made something very clear. This was not just a group of coworkers. The trust, care, and human connection on the team ran deep, and we genuinely missed working together. As conversations evolved, it became clear that the original Boss Fight founders were taking time to rest, which left an open question of what came next for the rest of us.

A small group of long-time collaborators began asking whether this transition could be treated as an opportunity rather than a loss. From there, the idea of forming a new studio emerged. When I shared that intent with former teammates, the response was immediate and overwhelming. Within a week, fifteen people expressed interest. Shortly after, that number grew to over twenty-five. The support from across the former Boss Fight team made it clear that there was a strong desire to keep building together.

From the beginning, Sunwise was grounded in pragmatism. We knew who we were as a team, what we were good at, and where the industry had struggled. Sunwise was founded on the belief that small, experienced teams with clear scope, strong discipline, and mutual trust can still build ambitious games in a sustainable way. That belief continues to shape how we staff the studio, how we operate, and how we approach our first project.

Irin Berry and Nate Bacon, Founders of Sunwise Games

You've described Sunwise as "the change I want to see in the games industry" with a focus on "clear scope, ethical monetization, and teams built to deliver reliably over time." What specific problems in the current game industry are you trying to solve with Sunwise's approach? How does your philosophy translate into your operational decisions and studio structure?

Irin: Sunwise exists to address several patterns we have seen repeatedly throughout our careers. Specifically, teams scaling faster than their processes can support, unclear scope that slowly turns into burnout, and monetization strategies that generate short-term revenue while eroding long-term player trust.

Our response has been to prioritize clarity and discipline at every level. That starts with defining scope early, investing in systems that can grow without constant rework, and making operational decisions that favor long-term health over short-term optics. Structurally, we emphasize developer ownership, team-driven decision-making, and transparency rather than a heavy hierarchy.

We are not trying to move fast at all costs; we are trying to move deliberately and sustainably. Many of us expected to spend our careers together at Boss Fight because working with this group leaves a lasting impression. That sense of belonging and mutual respect is something we want to preserve and grow. Sunwise is designed to be a long-term home for a team that already knows how to execute together and values doing so in a healthy way.

Sunwise is intentionally structured as a "small, senior-led" studio with 30 developers averaging 14 years of experience each, rather than pursuing rapid scaling. What competitive advantages does this senior-heavy, lean structure provide? How do you maintain efficiency and sustainability with this model, and what trade-offs have you accepted by staying intentionally small?

Irin: A senior-heavy team brings a level of pattern recognition that is difficult to replicate. On a daily basis, that experience shows up in how we anticipate risks earlier, right-size solutions to complex problems, and avoid entire classes of mistakes instead of reacting to them late. We spend intentional time in discovery before implementation so that we plan for long-term outcomes rather than just solving the immediate need.

Staying intentionally small keeps communication tight and ownership clear. We believe design decisions should be driven by the designers closest to the work, and engineering decisions by the engineers building the systems. That may sound obvious, but too often direction in this industry flows top-down instead of bottom-up. The trade-off is that we do fewer things at once, by choice.

We would rather deliver stable, playable builds every sprint and iterate on what is fun than overextend the team and ship something mediocre. This structure helps us reduce rework, preserve creative energy, and remain flexible as we move forward.

You've emphasized "respectful monetization" and "player-first design" as core pillars for Sunwise. In an industry where monetization strategies are often criticized, especially in mobile and live-service games, what does "respectful monetization" mean to you in practice? How do you balance building a sustainable business with maintaining player trust, especially given your team's experience with successful free-to-play titles?

Irin: Respectful monetization starts with designing the game first, then asking monetization questions second. It means avoiding systems that pressure players into spending out of frustration or fear of missing out, and instead focusing on value, clarity, and fairness. We've iterated multiple times on the right way to monetize our first game, and ultimately landed on a model that fits the game's features, rather than trying to force a non-complementary monetization pattern into the design. 

From a business perspective, this approach is sustainable because we know trust compounds. Players who feel respected stay longer, engage more deeply, and advocate for the game organically. We love our player base, and they've been with us for decades. Our team has extensive experience operating live service games, and that experience reinforces the idea that long-term player relationships matter more than short-term optimization for cash flow.

Your background includes significant time at Netflix/Boss Fight Entertainment, EA Mobile working on Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, and other major studios. What were the most important lessons you learned from your time at Netflix and these previous roles – both positive and cautionary – that are directly influencing how you're building Sunwise Games differently?

Irin: Across my career, I have seen both what works and what breaks teams down. One of the most important lessons is that experience alone does not produce excellence. Coaching does. At Sunwise, leaders are expected to actively develop their teams, refine workflow processes, and remove obstacles.

Another key lesson is that clarity beats control. When teams understand the why behind decisions, they make better choices and take ownership of outcomes. These lessons directly inform our context-first leadership model and our emphasis on trust and autonomy in the team.

Having senior talent with extensive shipping experience is clearly a strategic advantage for Sunwise. Beyond the obvious benefits, what specific capabilities does a team with this level of experience bring that younger or less experienced teams might struggle with? How does this experience base affect your production timeline, risk management, and decision-making processes?

Irin: A team with deep shipping experience brings pattern recognition to the table. That affects everything from production timelines to risk management. We are better at spotting false efficiency, avoiding over-engineering, and knowing where quality truly matters.

Another way this experience directly enables us to win is that it allows us to evaluate work on a spectrum, rather than expecting perfection at every stage. We've built systems that support iteration and better decision-making under uncertainty, which ultimately helps us build games meant to last.

You've mentioned that Sunwise is developing "systems-driven games with long-term depth." Why is systems-driven design so important to your vision, and what makes it particularly well-suited to the type of sustainable, long-term games you want to build? How does this approach differ from more narrative-driven or content-focused game design philosophies?

Irin: Systems-driven design aligns closely with our values. Well-designed systems create emergent depth and support long-term engagement without requiring constant brute-force production, a.k.a. "content treadmills."

This approach also supports sustainability for teams. Systems that evolve gracefully are easier to maintain and expand without crunch. They reward thoughtful design and long-term planning, which is exactly the kind of work our team excels at.

Sunwise is currently working on its first title, described as "PC-first" rather than mobile (despite the team's mobile background). What drove this platform decision? How does developing for PC align with your studio's values around systems-driven gameplay, respectful monetization, and long-term player engagement?

Irin: Mobile development has become its own ecosystem with very high barriers to entry. The scale, marketing costs, and platform expectations make it increasingly difficult for smaller or independent teams to innovate meaningfully without significant capital. Across the industry, we have seen many experienced developers step away from mobile for this reason. The cost to compete has grown faster than the space available for creative risk.

Developing PC-first gives us room to lean into depth, flexibility, and long-term engagement without many of the constraints that come with mobile-first development. PC players tend to value systems-driven gameplay, modifiability, and iteration over time, which aligns closely with how our team likes to build games. It allows us to design monetization models that feel additive rather than intrusive, which supports our commitment to respectful monetization and player trust.

PC development also supports a more iterative relationship with the community. Early feedback, rapid iteration, and long-term ownership are all easier to support in this space. That fits our goal of building games meant to live for years rather than months. For Sunwise, our goal is not to chase short-term trends, but to choose a platform that supports sustainable development, healthy teams, and games that can grow alongside their players over time.

You're attending DICE 2026 and seeking publishing and funding partnerships "aligned with long-term studio health." In an industry where publisher relationships can sometimes conflict with creative vision or sustainability, what specific qualities are you looking for in partners? What red flags would make you walk away from a deal, even if the money was attractive?

Irin: We are looking for partners who value long-term studio health as much as short-term performance. For us, that means alignment around sustainable development practices, respectful monetization, and realistic expectations around scope and timelines. We care deeply about retaining creative ownership and IP, not out of control, but because we value stewardship of the IP over the long term across multiple titles.

The strongest partnerships are not purely financial. We are looking for collaborators who complement our team with capabilities we do not already have, whether that is publishing expertise, market reach, operational support, or strategic insight. A good partner should make a strong team stronger by filling gaps, not by overriding judgment or imposing solutions that do not fit the game or the players.

Red flags for us are fairly clear. Pressure to compromise core values, disregard for team well-being, or incentives that reward short-term gains at the expense of long-term player trust are all deal breakers. We have seen how quickly those pressures can erode both teams and products, even when the intent is good.

Ultimately, we believe the right partnerships amplify good teams rather than control them. We are patient about finding the right fit because we are building Sunwise to last. A deal only makes sense if it helps us create better games, healthier teams, and a future we are proud to sustain together.

Looking at 2026 and beyond, where do you see Sunwise Games in 2-3 years? Beyond your first title, what does success look like for the studio – is it about building a portfolio of games, expanding the team strategically, or proving that your model of "discipline over hype" can create both strong returns and enduring games? And more broadly, what's your outlook on the game industry's recovery from the recent tumultuous years?

Irin: In two to three years, success for Sunwise means having shipped a strong first title, built a stable operational foundation, and proven that our model works. We want to demonstrate that disciplined, values-driven studios can create enduring games while also supporting healthy, sustainable careers for the people who make them.

For us, a large portfolio of games is the result of sustainable business practices, not necessarily the primary goal of the business. Ideally, Sunwise reaches a place where we have multiple titles at different stages of each game’s lifecycle, with one game in active development while another is live and thoughtfully supported by the team. That kind of cadence reflects balance, not scale for its own sake.

More broadly, we believe the industry is in the middle of a recalibration. Large publishers are understandably cautious and often focus investment on established IP, making it harder for original ideas to find support. At the same time, the past several years have seen an unprecedented number of layoffs, which have been painful for individuals and destabilizing for teams across the industry.

On the other hand, that turbulence has created space for new development models to emerge. Experienced developers have not disappeared. They are simply reorganizing, forming smaller, more cohesive teams, and finding ways to keep building meaningful work together. Sunwise Games is our contribution to that next chapter. We are focused on craft, humanity, long-term thinking, and on proving that games built with care can succeed both creatively and commercially.

Our goal is not to chase trends or scale aggressively. It is to build something durable, to ship games we are proud of, and to show that there is a better way forward for teams who want to keep making games together for the long haul.

Irin Berry, Sunwise Games CEO & Co-Founder