The Vampire Survivors Developer Is Opening Studios and Making over 15 Games

Why It Matters

Poncle’s federation approach shows how a hit indie can fund broader publishing, diversify revenue, and attract major IP partnerships, reshaping the economics of independent game development.

Key Takeaways

• Poncle expanding with studios in UK, Italy, and Japan.
• Over 27 million players drive continuous revenue and community growth.
• Developer reinvesting profits into publishing and new IP collaborations.
• New spin‑off “Vampire Crawlers” launches with partner Norse Blade.
• Federation model aims to keep indie spirit across multiple small teams.

Summary

Poncle, the studio behind the breakout hit Vampire Survivors, is using its success to launch a multi‑studio federation. Chief Strategy Officer Matteo Sciutteri announced new offices in the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan, turning the once‑solo operation into a globally distributed development network.

The company now has fifteen active projects, with more than twenty concepts in the pipeline, and has already sold over 27 million copies across PC and mobile. Rather than hoarding profits, Poncle is reinvesting earnings into publishing support for other indie teams and into collaborations with major IP holders.

Sciutteri highlighted Luca Galante’s decision to forgo a yacht in favor of a free DLC with Square Enix, and described recent DLCs for Konami’s Castlevania and a Warhammer 40K partnership built on a custom “Vampire Survivors engine.” The upcoming spin‑off Vampire Crawlers, co‑developed with Norse Blade, exemplifies the studio’s genre‑experimentation strategy.

By structuring each location as a small, autonomous team, Poncle hopes to preserve the creative freedom that made Vampire Survivors a phenomenon while scaling production capacity. The model signals a new path for indie studios to leverage blockbuster titles into sustainable publishing ecosystems and high‑profile IP collaborations.

Original Description

In today’s edition of The Game Business Show, we speak with Poncle, the developer behind Vampire Survivors. The studio’s Chief Strategy Officer Matteo Sapio reveals that the developer is working on over 15 games, opening studios in other countries, and working with external brands.

The interview was conducted on-stage at the Games Finance Market, which was part of London Games Festival.

00:00 Introduction

01:13 Vampire Survivors sales

03:30 Third-party publishing

04:45 New studios

08:42 Vampire Crawlers

12:02 Warhammer Survivors

15:12 Indies and big brands

19:12 Original games

23:13 Survivor fatigue

26:04 Fuiture