Ultimate Games on Creating Simulation Games, the Publishing Process, and the Video Game Market

Ultimate Games was founded in 2015 and later secured PlayWay as a significant investor in 2016, which is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Can you take us through the founding story and early years of Ultimate Games?

The company was officially founded in 2015 by Mateusz Zawadzki, CEO of Ultimate Games, together with PlayWay. It became one of the first companies in the PlayWay group. The idea to start the company came naturally. Mateusz Zawadzki already knew the PlayWay owner from working together on various projects, serving on supervisory boards, and helping with the company's IPO.

Eventually, they decided to create fishing-themed games. As an experienced angler, Zawadzki understood the industry well, and fishing games had a history of steady sales. In 2015, the company was set up under the name Fishing Games sp. z o.o. In 2017, after becoming a joint-stock company, it changed its name to Ultimate Games S.A.

At first, the company focused only on one project: the Ultimate Fishing Simulator game. Investing about PLN 200,000 (around USD 50,000) turned out to be a smart move. The first game was a success, and the Ultimate Fishing series became the company's main foundation. Even now, it is still the most important product, with over a million copies sold and revenues of several million dollars.

Each year, the company steadily expanded its portfolio. New projects were launched, and the company began moving into the console market, starting with Nintendo and later reaching the biggest platforms. This approach is still in use today. The company's strategy is to produce more games with relatively low budgets and to further develop those with the greatest market potential.

The company started simply with one team, one developer, and one project. The first game's success allowed the organization to grow and eventually become listed on the main stock exchange. Before that, the company was on NewConnect and followed the full development path: starting as a limited liability company, then becoming a joint-stock company, debuting on the alternative market, and finally entering the main trading floor.

During its growth, the company completed two rounds of financing totaling about PLN 4 million. Investors participated in these rounds, including Mateusz Zawadzki, the company's president, who personally contributed more than half of the funds. Today, Ultimate Games generates tens of millions of PLN in revenue each year. The whole development process took about 10 years. In December 2025, the company celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Ultimate Games has built a substantial catalog of simulation games across various niches – fishing, hunting, electrician work, and even priest simulation. The simulation genre has exploded in popularity in recent years. From your perspective, what's driving this boom in simulation games? Why are players so drawn to experiencing everyday professions and activities virtually? Are we all nostalgic for being a blue-collar worker?

I think this all comes down to market fatigue. For years, game developers have focused on making graphics as realistic as possible, but games themselves have become less fun to play. If you look at the popularity of simulators and indie games, it's clear that players just want to have fun and hang out with friends. Realism isn't that important. They're after fun, sometimes with a bit of silliness or wild moments, especially in co-op.

To be clear, I don't think it's about missing manual labor jobs. It's more about wanting to try things we see on TV or online, or that we can't do in real life on our own. People want to drive trucks, search for gold, buy houses or land, or try farming. Fishing trip for an exotic shark? Getting electrocuted? Some things are expensive, others risky.

These days, when everyone is busy with work and chasing success, it's easier to relax in a game where you can experience a bit of real life without worrying about making mistakes or taking risks. People enjoy having the freedom to play how they want, at their own pace, and choosing what to do. Sometimes they want to have fun with friends in a silly way, and other times they just want to relax and take it slow.

Electrician Simulator has achieved remarkable success and visibility on Steam despite being about what many would consider a mundane profession. What do you attribute this game's popularity to? What lessons have you learned from titles like Electrician Simulator about what makes a simulation game resonate with audiences beyond just novelty value?

I believe that Electrician Simulator is successful because it gives players what they want: a simple and clear way to play, where every task makes sense, has a clear goal, and feels good to finish. Players can pretend to be electricians without worrying about running out of time, facing really hard challenges, or needing to know everything about real electrical work. It feels more like a fun puzzle than a tough simulator.

The game is easy to play and moves at a relaxed pace, so even people who do not care about electrical work in real life want to keep playing. This mix of being simple yet making you feel skilled is a big reason people like the game. We have definitely learned that we need to add different kinds of sockets and electrical setups! In the first game, we only used one type, which not everyone liked.

Players quickly saw that having more variety makes the game more fun. The game owes its success simply to its simplicity and quality. It is an enjoyable simulator that lets you feel like an electrician as you complete tasks, without the pressure of time or the consequences of poor choices. This style of gameplay makes the title not just a curiosity, but a game you want to come back to.

Ultimate Fishing Simulator has been particularly successful for Ultimate Games, with the sequel continuing that momentum and achieving 90% positive reviews on Steam – making it the best-rated fishing game on the platform. What's the secret to creating compelling fishing simulation experiences? What makes fishing such an attractive subject for simulation games, and who is your target audience for these titles?

Fishing games are a fascinating subject. To give you some context, the first game received about 90% positive reviews, but the second one got less than 70%. The story behind this game is pretty unique. When I started at Ultimate Games, my first job was to look into the idea of a fishing game. At first, it was actually a lot like My Summer Car, but focused on fishing. There were grenades, dynamite, a filleting knife, and gas stoves. It was meant to be a wild fishing adventure.

After talking it over with the developer, we decided we should turn the game into a fishing simulator and build it together with the players. In the first six months, the project underwent a complete overhaul. We launched a Kickstarter campaign and later released the game in Early Access. For months, we worked closely with the players, listening to their feedback and suggestions.

Most of the new maps were picked by the community through surveys and votes. You might think it was easy since players shared their ideas, but it wasn't. I've helped release over 400 games on platforms like Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch, and I can honestly say the fishing community is one of the toughest to please.

Why is that? Many of the players are real anglers who notice even the smallest details. We spent a lot of time making realistic 3D models of fish, gear, and maps, but the most important part is getting the physics and behavior of the equipment right.

To really get all this right, you need real-life experience to know how things should work. No manual or book can teach you what needs to go into the game to make it enjoyable. The hardest part was balancing the needs of players who wanted a hardcore simulator, an arcade experience, or a sandbox.

We knew it would be tough, but we took on the challenge and made three game modes so everyone could play how they liked. What gets people excited? I think it's the chance to catch river monsters, sea creatures, and colorful exotic fish from around the world. Plus, being able to see your records in aquariums or trophy rooms really adds to the fun.

Your business model focuses on producing "a large number of low-budget, high-margin games through dispersed small development teams." This is quite different from traditional publisher models. Can you explain the strategic rationale behind this approach? How do you manage quality control and maintain profitability with this volume-focused strategy?

I agree to some extent. This business model was effective during the company's early years. Back then, we focused on creating our own IP and game concepts, often working with outsourced developers. For our own IP, indeed, we held the majority of the profits.

To answer the question about "strategic justification," the reason is straightforward: on average, 1 out of 10 games earns enough to cover the production costs of the other nine. So it's just pure statistics. In recent years, our company has changed a lot, with a strong focus now on publishing and supporting indie developers.

For publishing, we stick to three main rules: we don't buy IP rights, we don't set strict deadlines, and we don't force our own design ideas. Our goal is to be a partner who helps developers throughout production, offering funding and full support in QA, game design, translation, marketing, publishing, and access to our in-house experts, like level artists, level designers, sound designers, and 2D artists.

In these partnerships, developers always get the majority of the profits and can earn extra bonuses, for example, for positive game reviews. Quality control is a complicated topic. The QA and LQA teams can report bugs, blockers, feedback, and ideas, but these are just notes until the developer fixes them. Sometimes, the publisher or QA team seems to care more about the game's quality than the developer does.

I always try to talk about this and remind everyone that you only get one chance to make a good first impression. With how Steam's algorithms work, it's even more important for the game to be stable, polished, and get good reviews at launch. This helps the developer feel positive and focus on improving the game rather than crunching on fixing release issues.

Who are Ultimate Games' primary customers in terms of demographics? Can you share insights about your player base – age ranges, geographic distribution, gaming preferences? Are simulation game players different from typical gaming audiences, and how does understanding your audience influence your game selection and marketing strategies?

We do not collect any additional player data beyond what Steam provides. We understand how valuable data and privacy are and fully respect our players. Player demographics differ significantly by game theme. The top three countries are typically China, the US, and Russia. In fishing games, China accounts for nearly 40% of players. In Ultimate Fishing VR, 35% are from the US, with Turkey, Germany, and Japan occasionally ranking among the top three.

When it comes to marketing, we always try to show our games honestly and openly, without exaggeration or promises that aren't in the game. Even for new games and new ideas, we do not make computer-animated trailers. We record everything straight from the game itself. For simulator players, being real is important, so we make sure our messages are clear: we show real gameplay and real features, and we clearly state what the game is and what it is not.

The game distribution ecosystem has evolved dramatically with digital storefronts, subscription services, and changing platform dynamics. How does Ultimate Games approach distribution in 2026? Beyond Steam, how important are platforms like Epic Games Store, GOG, console stores, and mobile marketplaces? How has the distribution landscape changed, and what challenges or opportunities does it present?

Ultimate Games plans to keep its current approach to digital distribution. Steam is still our main platform for both developers and players. Most of our traffic, visibility, and sales happen there, making Steam the core of our PC business. We have launched several games on both the Epic Games Store and GOG. Surprisingly, our games often sold better on GOG than on EGS.

Each platform has its own community and features, but both are much smaller than Steam. Releasing a game on EGS or GOG is not hard, but it does need the developer's cooperation and commitment. As a publisher, we can only suggest this, and the final choice is always up to the studio making the game. For consoles, we are glad to offer both our own games and those we publish. We see porting as a normal part of a game's life cycle.

We handle all porting in-house at Ultimate Games, allowing us to control quality and timing. Right now, we focus on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro, and Xbox Series X|S. Two years ago, we also released most of our games on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. However, this often meant extensive optimization and reduced graphics quality, which some players disliked.

Also, older consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One still use HDDs, which limits them in a few ways. We do not specialize in the mobile market and do not plan to expand there at this time. Designing, monetizing, and supporting mobile games is very different from how we make premium games for PC and consoles.

Lately, the distribution market has become more fragmented and competitive. This gives us more chances to reach new audiences and keep games alive on different platforms. But it also means higher costs to stay visible and more competition for players' attention. That's why we focus on quality, honest communication, and being present where our audience is.

Ultimate Games operates as both a publisher and developer, handling PC, mobile, and console conversions. Can you walk us through your typical publishing process—from evaluating a project submission to supporting development, handling console ports, and managing live operations?

It all begins when we get in touch with the developer or game owner, or sometimes they reach out to us first. We aim to be transparent throughout the process. The first step is signing an NDA. Ours is a straightforward, three-page document that protects the developer and enables open discussion of the project.

For PC publishing, we play the game with our QA team to check its quality, stability, and market potential. I also look at the user experience and game design. After that, we put together a summary and share it with the developer. If we see potential, even if the game has few wish list entries or low visibility, we still try to give it a chance.

How the developer responds to feedback and bug reports at this stage is very important and shows what working together might be like. If things go well, we move on to business discussions. Once the contract is signed, we start working together on production and marketing. When it comes to game porting, our process is a bit different. We start by thoroughly evaluating the project and testing its performance on the target consoles.

Working on someone else's project without knowing its structure can be challenging, but that's our area of expertise. We estimate the required work and identify technical issues, such as custom shaders, high memory usage, suboptimal assets, or compatibility problems. Sometimes, issues only show up during the actual porting. When that happens, we handle them as part of our job and don't pass the responsibility on to others.

Uniquely, we cover all porting costs upfront and recoup them only from the game's revenue. This allows developers to focus on PC game development without additional financial risk related to consoles. We assume the financial risk ourselves. In both situations, we keep communication open throughout the process. Important decisions, such as the game's price, release date, discount policy (and more), are made in collaboration with the developer or IP owner.

Our main rule is simple: no forced agreements, only partnerships that benefit everyone. Developers always have full control over your game and its distribution. We are here to offer support, experience, and help carry out the agreed strategy.

You're also the CEO of 3T Games and have been working on Ultimate Hunting as what you've called Ultimate Games' most ambitious project. How do you balance managing multiple roles, and what makes Ultimate Hunting particularly significant for the company? How do you see larger, more ambitious projects fitting into Ultimate Games' high-volume, lower-budget strategy?

To start, 3T Games no longer exists. It merged with GamesBox S.A., and now the company operates as Wildlands Interactive S.A. How do I handle so many roles? Honestly, it comes at the cost of my personal time. I usually work 13 to 14 hours a day (I must add, however, that I do not encourage anyone to work in this way because it is simply unhealthy). Daily discipline is essential. I wake up at 7:55 a.m., and within five minutes, I'm at my computer checking overnight projects and updates.

At the moment, I'm overseeing more than 150 games, which is a significant organizational challenge and requires me to manage my time very carefully. It does sound intense, and it really is. But when you enjoy your work and feel responsible for what you create, whether it's your own IP or a publishing project, you naturally want to be there for the teams. For me, it doesn't matter if the project is from Wildlands or Ultimate Games. It's my job to support it.

The best part is seeing a game succeed and a developer proud of their work, knowing that our team helped make it happen. Sharing that success is very rewarding. Is Ultimate Hunting particularly important to the company? Yes, but we also have several other important projects, including new IPs that we haven't announced yet. However, Ultimate Hunting is particularly important to me personally.

I have been involved with hunting and fishing games since I was a child. Creating the documentation, concept, and game design for this project was a huge challenge, but also a great pleasure. However, the project is very large, and the team is relatively small, resulting in a long production time. Bigger, more ambitious projects are risky, not just because of the budget, but also because of PR and player expectations.

Everyone wants to take on ambitious projects, but I've learned two things from experience: ambitious projects don't have to be AAA-quality, and they don't have to be expensive. From a business perspective, it is natural to minimize risk. From a game designer's perspective, the situation is different. Your head is full of ideas, and every day there is an internal struggle between ambition and real resources. There is nothing more demotivating than an ambitious project that ends in failure. That is why it is crucial to find a balance between the scale of the vision, the team's capabilities, and the budget.

Looking at 2026 and the next few years, what's your assessment of the video game market's health and trajectory? The industry has faced significant challenges recently with layoffs and studio closures, yet simulation games seem resilient. Where do you see opportunities for Ultimate Games, and how are you positioning the company to navigate whatever market conditions emerge in the coming years?

With so many games released on Steam each year, it is getting harder for indie projects without a clear marketing strategy or plan to stand out. The competition is tough, and gaining visibility is now one of the biggest challenges.

It is discouraging to see studios closing, job cuts, and restructuring at big companies. For gamers, though, the future looks bright with more games, greater variety, and better technology. But for employees and businesses, tough years lie ahead. Companies will need to focus on cost control, meeting targets, and handling higher investor expectations.

Independent developers who succeed and self-publish feel less of this pressure, since they have more control over their projects and costs, which gives them extra flexibility, but it's getting harder and harder. Many people are wondering whether AI will replace developers or artists. I think it will still be a few years before AI can truly take over these roles, but since I am not an expert, it is hard to say exactly how things will develop.

Besides, the future will depend on a few other things, such as the next generation of consoles, VR evolution, cloud gaming, and what happens in the hardware sector. Problems in the memory and components industry can raise hardware prices and change consumer behavior. That is why it is important to stay flexible and respond quickly to changes. I believe that with a strong cost structure and a smart strategy, it is possible to remain stable even in tough markets.

Regarding Ultimate Games, our main priority is diversification. We are developing different parts of our business, such as our own IP, publishing, and porting, to create stable sources of revenue for ourselves and our partners, no matter how the economy changes. Instead of relying on a single big project, we are building a broad production base.

We are seeing strong growth in in-house production, publishing, and game porting. Since early 2025, there has been a clear rise in projects, publishing submissions, and new hires. I expect that 2026 to 2028 will be key years for our publishing strategy. We plan to introduce many new and interesting titles and keep building our portfolio.

Ultimate Games

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