The Times Are Changing

Bossa was founded ten years ago, and during its history a lot has changed in the games industry, propelling us to adapt and do different things at all times: social games, PC games, consoles, wearables, mobile, VR. We’ve created some great hits and made our fair share of good and bad decisions, but one thing remained constant through all of it: our focus on the players, the games we create, and the people making it all happen at the studio.

We’ve been mapping some fundamental changes in the industry, and prepared ourselves to ease the company into them with a timeline that looked like a couple of years long. While 2020 will be remembered for far more important things than its impact on the games industry, it nonetheless massively accelerated these trends we have identified, prompting us to react in a compressed time frame, bringing these planned changes forward.

Earlier this year we moved the studio into a flexible remote work setting; launched a huge game three years in the making, shifting it from production to live operation; and decided to reshape the team for the new industry we see ahead of us. The new Bossa is cast to succeed in this landscape where subscription services are growing, premium titles are getting cheaper, and players want different experiences with a strong social element at their core.

As with any truly fundamental change, big decisions are made. The functions we’re reshaping affected around 15% of our colleagues, and we’re in the process of helping them move around the industry or find new positions within the studio itself. At the same time we’re bringing in new talent to help build our novel capabilities for the road ahead.

The other thing about fundamental change is that not everyone agrees with it, and that’s alright – the world would be a much more dull place if we all agreed on everything. A small number of people are unhappy with these changes, and as unfortunate as that is, there’s little we can do other than be candid about our motives and support them as much as possible. They have the right to feel the way they do about these decisions if so they chose to, and criticise us for it. That’s just the way things work.

What’s important in the end of the day is that the team at the studio is vested in our changes and our future, knowing that we are able to make better games for our players, and having fun while doing so. Next year we’re launching Surgeon Simulator 2 on three new platforms, launching I Am Fish, expanding Hogwash and starting the production of a new game. We’ve got a lot ahead of us.

Henrique and the team