What's the talk about?
Title: Navigating the New Indie Pipeline: Starting a Sustainable Game Studio Today
Overview: Starting a game studio today isn’t what it used to be. With traditional funding drying up and the industry shifting rapidly, the old start-up playbook no longer works for emerging developers. So, how do new indie studios survive and thrive in the current climate?
Join us for a candid, lesson-filled session on navigating the modern start-up pipeline. Drawing from first-hand experience transitioning a volunteer-led studio into a commercial incubator, this talk pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to build a studio from scratch today.
What you will learn:
- What We Got Wrong: Honest lessons and pitfalls to avoid when launching your studio.
- Funding vs. Reality: How to start, build prototypes, and manage a team when traditional funding isn’t an option.
- The New Startup Pipeline: Exploring alternative models like rev-share, volunteering, and freelance hybrid structures.
- The ARK Framework™: A practical, responsible blueprint designed to help new founders survive the early stages and create sustainable, paid opportunities.
Whether you are a graduate looking to take your first step, an emerging team experimenting with new models, or an industry veteran curious about the future of indie ecosystems, this session offers a raw, realistic guide to starting a game studio responsibly.
About the speaker: Jenny Caplan is the founder of Wee Tattie Studios, a game studio launched three years ago to help emerging developers gain practical, collaborative experience. Currently transitioning from a volunteer-led initiative toward a commercially sustainable incubation model, they experienced first-hand how the route from education to studio ownership has shifted. This journey inspired them to launch The Games Ark and develop The ARK Framework™, a dedicated effort to build a modern start-up ecosystem and provide new founders with a responsible, realistic roadmap to success.
