Turnkey Games bootstraps Doom Eternal veterans' debut with no office and no publisher
Summary
Doom Eternal art director Tony Garza and id Software alum Richard O'Neal founded Dallas studio Turnkey Games to build horror title Apart.
The founders bootstrapped rather than sign a publisher to absorb production costs.
Turnkey runs with no office lease and hires only when a role improves the game.
"We are not spending money on an office or building a huge team before the game can support it"
01
Bootstrap sequencing funds the game first and marketing last
Garza chose bootstrapping to avoid needing an immediate publisher to absorb production costs.
Budget goes to development, equipment, software and specialized contractors before marketing.
Marketing spend is deferred until the game can support it.
"Most of the money went directly into making the game, development equipment, software, contractors where we needed specialized help, business and legal expenses, and eventually marketing"
02
Scope discipline caps both features and headcount
Garza filters every feature through one test: is the game better for it.
Features that do not meaningfully improve Apart get cut or simplified.
Hires are added only when they make the game better.
"Every person we've brought on has been a deliberate addition that made the game better, not just bigger"
03
Engineering shifts from universal frameworks to simplest working systems
AAA systems are built to support many developers, platforms and years of production.
That approach becomes unnecessary overhead on a small fixed-team indie project.
Systems still need reliability but not universal-framework scale.
"I have had to become much more comfortable with finding the simplest solution that delivers the intended player experience"
04
Founders now absorb the risk a AAA studio distributed across teams
At a large studio, an established structure spreads risk across departments.
Going indie makes creative, technical and financial risk personal.
Founders now own contracts, marketing, trailers, platform requirements, budgets and hiring.
"You are also responsible for far more than making the game"
What this means
For Investors & VC: A bootstrapped studio with deferred marketing signals capital need concentrates near launch, not production.
For Publishers & Developers: Turnkey's model shows AAA veterans can ship without early publisher terms, weakening upfront-deal leverage.
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