It’s been a hot minute since Chicago-area developer High Voltage Software released an original game. The thirty-year-old studio was acquired by external development conglomerate Keywords Studios in 2020, ending an impressive run as an independent developer, shifting to supporting other studios like Fortnite developer Epic Games.
But in 2024 the company announced it was releasing its first original title since the 2017 virtual reality game They Live To Destroy!: a turn-based roguelike called Dragon Front: Adventures. Set in the same world as the 2016 VR game Dragon Front. That’s an unusual—though not unheard of—move for an external development studio. Keywords and competitors like Virtuos generally make money not by selling games, but by landing contracts with larger studios who need temporary support in game development without increasing studio headcount.
So is High Voltage getting back into full-time original game development? The answer is “no,” according to CEO Anthony Glueck. Rather, Dragon Front: Adventures is a passion project for the company partly meant to keep full-time employees working on games and helping new hires upskill on a lower-stakes project. He said the project proves external development studios can use their between-contract resources to make fun games on a low budget.
In other words, instead of laying off developers or having them sit around idle while waiting for a new contract, High Voltage had an opportunity to let them do what they do best: making games.
Dragon Front: Adventures came to life after developers became “suddenly available”
According to Glueck, it was the surprise ending of Keywords contracts in 2024 that gave life to Dragon Front: Adventures. The studio found itself with “a group of developers” suddenly available after being “removed” from assignments (he alluded to it being an “all-too-common” occurrence seemingly in reference to the wave of game cancelations and studio closures of the last few years). He explained that High Voltage had the ability to retain these devs, but it “needed a home” for them.
He explained that the studio was tasked with spinning up a project that could bring together developers from different disciplines (some from other Keywords North America studios). The team started by making Fortnite islands using Unreal Engine for Fortnite, but later set off on making a “longer-term” game based on Dragon Front. The studio was in an unusual position—thanks to years of development on the original VR game, it had 500 unique 3D assets that could be the foundation for a new game.
Design director Micah Skarita and senior producer Keith Hladik—both huge fans of roguelike deckbuilders—took lead on what would later become what Glueck calls a “tug-of-war” roguelike. The change happened after the team realized the roguelike deckbuilder market has become “saturated.”
Image via High Voltage Software.
Making games with “between-contract” developers poses a unique challenge for external development studios: even though Keywords supported Dragon Front: Adventures‘ development, High Voltage’s bread-and-butter requires developers to jump on projects when available. Glueck said Dragon Front‘s lead developers needed to be flexible in planning production because developers needed to be added and removed from the team—sometimes on a weekly basis.
Development even slowed down a few months after greenlighting, when the studio was brought on to an “important” project for one of its biggest clients. Developers weren’t allowed to “double-dip” because legal obligations require development teams to be separated and not cross-pollinate between projects.
While the core development team stepped away to work on the bigger project, High Voltage brought on “benched” developers from other Keywords North America studios. Work on Dragon Front could continue, and Keywords clients wouldn’t lose access to top talent.
The “win-win” situation produced another “win” for High Voltage Software, which continued to hire new developers even while the industry laid off workers by the thousands. New design hires could be onboarded and trained before being transferred to contract projects, and quality assurance testers interested in game design roles could branch out and upskill on a lower-stakes project.
The shuffling staff roster created some discipline deficiencies at different points in the project—but that was taken as an opportunity, not a reason to shut it down. Artists and other developers were “encouraged” to build cross-disciplinary skills. “Some artists that primarily worked on rigging and animation tried their hand at lighting and environment staging,” Glueck said. “Concept and character artists jumped in to create a new User Interface design and 2D images for the Steam achievements. Environment artists learned how to create VFX in Niagara and implement them with blueprints, and all team members contributed to QA by playtesting the game often.”
Art producer Kate Wareham was one staffer who took the chance to upskill while working on Dragon Front: Adventures. After the game’s design and engineering producers were called back up for client work, the pair taught Wareham how to produce “other disciplines.” She also took on release management duties for Steam and the Epic Game store, and chipped into marketing efforts as well (including reaching out to Game Developer—something normally handled by PR teams).
“That’s been one of the most beneficial parts of this project for the whole team,” she said. “The a opportunity to learn new skills and develop talents that we may not have had the chance to in a professional setting otherwise.”
Will High Voltage make more original games?
The team at High Voltage is apparently very fond of the Dragon Front franchise, whose unique hook is that it’s a fantasy setting with a World War 2-influenced aesthetic. Glueck said the studio has toyed with a JRPG version of the game over the years—but for now, the studio’s first order of business is serving its clients, not building Dragon Front into a huge global brand.
But the experience has taught Gleck that it’s “healthy” to work on side projects that can be successfully brought to market. He said that making these games can “give people some further creative output, new skillsets, and save you money in the long run.”
“Losing a creative employee, by choice or not, is expensive. You will inevitably have to spend more to get the same level of competence, and no matter how much you pay, you will usually lose invaluable experience.”
He urged any studios looking to make their own side project teams to plan for “fluidity” and not a traditional “waterfall” production approach. “Since we didn’t know how long we’d have benched staff, we just kept the game modular by adding factions. The game was originally going to release with just 6 playable factions, but we had some people working ahead and were able to squeeze another into the day-one build.”
Developers should still set milestones and concrete goals, but also be flexible with their release dates. When done right, he said these projects can build company culture, shape a studio’s identity, and let developers make a fun game they can call their own.
