🎮 The Rise of Old Glory Studios | Player Driven Podcast

In this episode of Player Driven, we sit down with Lewis Manalo and Matt Patak, co-founders of Old Glory Studios, an indie game studio founded by AAA veterans and combat veterans. With experience at Ubisoft, Sharkmob, Massive Entertainment, and Certain Affinity, these two developers saw an opportunity to create something unique outside the constraints of big publishers.

Their first game, Victory’s Grave: Outflank, is a tactical PvP shooter designed to balance realism, strategy, and accessibility. They want to create a game that feels authentic without the extreme complexity of military simulators or the overly casual approach of mainstream shooters.

In this episode, we explore their journey from AAA to indie, the current challenges in game development, and how they’re using equity crowdfunding to involve players in their success.

⏳ Key Takeaways & Timestamps:

[00:00] 🎙️ Meet Old Glory Studios Lewis and Matt share their backgrounds in the gaming industry and military service, explaining how their paths led them to start their own studio.

[09:00] 🎮 Why Go Indie? They discuss the limitations of working in AAA studios, the creative compromises that come with big-budget game development, and why going independent gives them the freedom to build the game they truly want.

[22:40] 🔍 Finding the Fun First One of their biggest priorities was making sure Victory’s Grave: Outflank was fun from the start. They talk about their approach to playtesting and how early player feedback helped shape the game’s mechanics.

[30:10] 💰 Crowdfunding Instead of Traditional Investors Rather than going through traditional investors or big publishers, Old Glory Studios is using equity crowdfunding, which allows players and supporters to own a piece of the company. They explain why this model makes sense for their vision and how it helps them stay independent.

[50:10] 🚀 What’s Next? With a playable prototype already developed, the team is now focused on building a vertical slice and preparing for early access within a year. They also discuss how players can get involved by wishlisting the game, investing, and providing feedback.

📢 Support Old Glory Studios

🎮 Wishlist Victory’s Grave: Outflank on Steam
💡 Learn more & invest in Old Glory Studios
📲 Follow their fundraise!