'Art and science and procreation, that's about all life is good for:' Two former freeware developers are still trying to keep it weird in an era when companies 'sell games to people in 5-second clips'

‘Art and science and procreation, that’s about all life is good for:’ Two former freeware developers are still trying to keep it weird in an era when companies ‘sell games to people in 5-second clips’ | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these RPG ‘We lost things such as physics in games:’ The dev behind my most anticipated RPG thinks players are craving more interactive games, not just ‘moving around in a static 3D environment’ Third Person Shooter Arc Raiders design director says players ‘never worked together’ in testing, but the emergence of care bear lobbies ‘encourages us to lean toward giving opportunities to have friendly interactions’ RPG The dev behind my top upcoming RPG is a Hungarian chef who thought ‘if not now, then when?’ and learned coding from scratch to make his dream ‘eurojank’ masterpiece Adventure ‘We never had plans to update Peak at all’: Aggro Crab reveals that it doesn’t want ‘to be a studio that works on one game forever’ FPS Hellscreen, the FPS with a rear-view mirror, has left Steam early access two episodes short of its original plan: ‘This is a bittersweet experience for me’ Horror Reanimal review: Astonishingly bleak and oblique survival horror Roguelike Cult of the Lamb may be a murder-happy fever dream, but the devs have principles: ‘We wouldn’t want to fleece players’ Roguelike ‘We’re definitely excited to do something else’: After Cult of the Lamb Woolhaven, the Massive Monster devs are excited at the prospect of something new—’We always like to follow the fun’ Roguelike ‘It’s weird in the industry right now’: Cult of the Lamb’s devs still have faith that the indie scene will continue dishing out ‘smash hits’ Action Inside PC gaming’s wildly creative Tomb Raider mapping scene: ‘Being able to create my own adventures for other people to play is such an addicting concept’ Sim One of the best-reviewed new games on Steam right now is about feeding raccoons and cryptids with the cosmic, Lynchian oven of your eerie woodland house Games The best indie games on PC Gaming Industry Despite having nearly its entire back catalog on Steam, Suda51’s studio doesn’t benefit much from sales of its old games: ‘It’s really nice for the other people who are making bank off that, though’ Games 2025 was the year friendslop reigned, and so many low-cost ways to have fun with your pals couldn’t have come at a better time FPS ‘I consider it a millennial shooter’: The FPS dev making hit shooters by leaning into ‘2007-core’ PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Arc RaidersBest PC gearFalloutGame Quizzes Games Horror ‘Art and science and procreation, that’s about all life is good for:’ Two former freeware developers are still trying to keep it weird in an era when companies ‘sell games to people in 5-second clips’ News By Ted Litchfield published 20 February 2026 “These money people need numbers to know they will make their money back, which kind of conflicts with the nature of experimentation and trying to push the boundaries of the medium.” When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Talha & Jack Co) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Signup + Every Thursday GTA 6 O’clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O’clock experts. Signup + Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what’s on the horizon. Signup + Every Thursday The Setup Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more. Signup + Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo’s new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play. Signup + Every Saturday The Watchlist Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Talha & Jack Co⁠—the indie dev duo Jack King-Spooner and Talha Kaya⁠—are on to something special. The pair is currently working on Abide, their third game in as many years, yet nothing they make has any of that insubstantial, game jam feel you might expect from a quick turnaround⁠.They do experimental, memorable, hefty games held down by King-Spooner’s eccentric, stop-motion-animated art. It’s harder than ever to stand out, but they do, and I wanted to get to the bottom of how they do it when we sat down for a recent interview. ABIDE Trailer – YouTube Watch On “Game design experimentation is done on a commercial scale these days, with real budgets and time that you have to put into projects in order to find people who might appreciate it,” Kaya told me when asked how the industry has changed since they started. Related articles One of the most underrated indie duos out there is making its 3rd game in as many years: An ‘extreme stop motion horror’ project that promises to be ‘grossly fun but also stomach-churningly appalling’ ‘It’s weird in the industry right now’: Cult of the Lamb’s devs still have faith that the indie scene will continue dishing