This article was originally published on August 22, 2025 - read the full issue here

Interview by Alan Wen, words by Marie Dealessandri

It's fair to say Balatro's breakaway success was responsible for cementing Playstack's position as a premium indie publisher after a decade of existence. But the company is showing no complacence – at Gamescom, CEO Harvey Elliott tells us the label's slate is almost full until the end of 2026.

On the showfloor this week, Playstack is busy looking for the indie gems of 2027.

"Gamescom is just a great way of taking stock," Elliott says. "It's the biggest event of the year. There are [other] big events, like ChinaJoy, but not for western audiences and western markets. So, for us, this is the place to be for a western audience.

"We know the USP is finding great indie developers with a passionate vision and belief in their game, but need support to find the market and the success it needs. It's a great opportunity to see everything all at once."

We ask if Balatro's success – the title grossed $1 million in eight hours and had sold five million units as of January 2025 – affected the publisher's strategy and how it approaches events such as Gamescom.

"We always do publish more than one game a year," he says. "Probably between six and eight games a year. But obviously the games depend on how well we're known, and your reputation builds with each success you have.

"So Balatro hasn't changed our strategy. We didn't say, 'Oh, let's double down and focus only on that one thing'. But it's reinforced the strategy. It's given us confidence, and has made us of note to developers. [Balatro] has opened opportunities for us, but it hasn't changed who we are."

Visibility and demos

Playstack is showcasing three games at Gamescom: roguelike coin-pusher Raccoin, rhythm-based adventure Unbeatable, and sci-fi FPS Voidbreaker. Both Unbeatable and Voidbreaker were showcased in Gamescom''s Opening Night Live. Slots in the Geoff Keighley-hosted show famously don't come cheap, but visibility remains a pressing issue for indies, creating a tricky balancing act between budget and opportunity.

"We're not going to spend money if we don't think it's [worth it]. You know, we don't do it for kudos," Elliott says. "So when we invest in something like an ONL campaign, [it's because] we believe the game will do better because of it, and we are meticulous. For Unbeatable and Voidbreaker, we felt very strongly that the content and the quality of the games was such that ONL was a great place to put them."

Elliott highlights that big physical shows such as Gamescom still carry weight for publishers in terms of visibility and development.

"Developers want us to do the right thing for their game, and we are very careful to make sure that we're spending proportionate to the opportunity we think it generates. The games on the floor may have a marketing budget dedicated to being there, and we're going to look very carefully at the ROI for that. As a whole, Gamescom is the place we need to be."

Having demos on the showfloor is also still a key aspect to promoting and improving titles, Elliot argues, especially in conjunction with the games being playable at home (Raccoin is currently available on Steam Playtest, Unbeatable has a demo, and Voidbreaker released in Early Access on Tuesday).

"We can see how [players] respond to it, so we get insight from that. If we get some coverage from being on the floor, that will generate interest in communities to take more time looking at demos and playing. So the reach is actually much more than the hands that touch the game today. Voidbreaker is on the floor, but you can also buy it.

"So it's just another way to showcase something we very much think people will love playing. It gives a point you can emphasise with communities: 'It's good enough to show on the floor, it's good enough for you to play at home'.

"But it's important for us to see the reactions first-hand as well, and use that to tailor how we position the game and tweak the development."

Indie voices and market sensibility

At the time of our conversation, it's still early to reflect on Gamescom as a whole, but Elliott plays along when we ask for his feel for the show and how it might reflect market trends.

"I would say the noise of the big blockbuster games isn't as loud this year as it's been in previous years. It feels like there are a lot of indie voices here, and there are fewer games that are just 'one and done'.

"There's a lot more that feels like communities will get behind them. I don't think we're looking at huge live-service games – that's not the market we're in. [It's more about] games that can live beyond that release and have more longevity in the market."

Considering the show as a snapshot for the industry, Elliott says he's "hoping we look back at Gamescom and say we're doing better."

"I don't feel that this year has been overshadowed by some of the cuts and the losses that we've had in previous years, where big companies have made strategic changes and shifts. Instead, we're looking at games and talking about games that we think are exciting and interesting. And it's a growth industry. It's had horrible changes to make, but it still grows year-on-year.

"I'm a natural optimist, but I'm not foolish, right? The optimism is built because I believe in our teams, and I believe in the developers we've chosen – and they've been chosen for very good data-driven reasons, good insights, good market opportunities. The timing, the schedules, the costs – all those things fit, and that means we've put the right ingredients into the titles we're bringing out.

"It also means that we can feel good about the choices we've made, and we get validation for being at events like this. I don't think we're in a world of hope where you sign something because you love it, you hope it will do well, and nothing else. You have to have some market sensibility."

This article was originally published on August 22, 2025 - read the full issue here