Ustwo Games contractor model cuts London overhead to chase PC-indie budgets
Summary
Ustwo Games CEO Maria Sayans confirmed a permanent shift to a core-plus-contractor model.
London-based overhead made £7M-£10M per-title budgets unsustainable for PC-first indie releases.
The studio will hold ~30 permanent staff and route all growth through contractors.
"We've been a little bit too romantic about the idea that we should have employees and give people long-term job security"
01
£7M-£10M budgets can't compete with leaner PC indies
Previous titles cost £7M-£10M over 3-4 year cycles on mobile.
Sayans says PC competitors ship comparable games on far smaller budgets.
London salaries, pensions, and benefits create a structural cost floor.
At peak Monument Valley 3 production, headcount hit ~40 employees.
Contractors were a "relatively low percentage" of that base.
"We will never be able to achieve [those budgets] because we're based in London and have employees with pensions and so on"
02
Permanent core of ~30, all growth via contractors and co-dev
Ustwo will cap its permanent team at ~30 and scale per-project with contract hires.
Co-development partnerships add further flex without fixed overhead.
Sayans frames this as a deliberate structural change, not a temporary cut.
Work-for-hire agencies and co-dev studios gain a recurring mid-sized client pipeline.
"We'll have a core team and any growth will come through contractors, which is something I hate about the industry"
03
Premium launch pricing offsets smaller audience risk
Sayans recommends releasing at higher prices, then discounting later.
Day-one buyers are core fans; £5-£10 price difference is negligible to them.
Combined with contractor flex, the strategy targets lower cash burn per title.
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