Nitrome, the studio behind the first game to be released under the Rovio Stars banner Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage, has admitted it considered "selling up and packing it all in".
Icebreaker which has received rave reviews across the board, amassing an impressive QI score of 8.8 served as the first non-Rovio game to be published by the Angry Birds outfit and topped App Store charts around the globe upon release in June.
However, Nitrome managing director Mat Annal has told PocketGamer.biz he almost sold up before the game even launched.
'Depressing time'
"The whole process of making Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage, the last few years, have been a very depressing time," said Annal, "to the point that I almost decided to sell the company and pack it all in."
"It's the best job in the world when it's going well and its the most difficult thing to do when you haven't got all your energy, when you try and remain enthusiastic about making exciting games, but you're worried about finances.
"It just saps everything away, it takes all of the joy out of it, it makes you hate the thing you love."
Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage
Annal's candid comments were made as part of a wider Nitrome studio profile, which you can find here.
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Related Articles
Interview
Aug 17th, 2021
"I can't even think of one black game director off the top of my head, so there is an issue"
Mobile Mavens
Jul 6th, 2020
Indie Mavens: Weighing up the benefits between digital and physical events for indies
Top Stories
Feature
May 17th, 2024
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from a battle royale to a console classic remake
Feature
May 16th, 2024
Behind the scenes: How adding sandwich offers to an idle merge game boosted three metrics at once
Events
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Digital Dragons | Europe | May 19th |
GamesBeat Summit 2024 | North America | May 20th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Nordic Game Spring 2024 | Nordic | May 21st |
Impact 2024 - Indie Games | May 23rd | |
MomoCon 2024 | North America | May 24th |
Morocco Gaming Expo | Africa | May 24th |
Popular Stories
Feature
May 14th, 2024
53 top mobile games in soft launch: Squad Busters, Battle Guys: Royale, Plants vs. Zombies 3, LEGO Hill Climb Adventures, and more
Feature
May 13th, 2024
Hot Five: Dubai's new Gaming Visa, April's mobile game charts, and Xbox studio closures
News
May 10th, 2024