Planet of Lana 2 Devs on Industry Layoffs, Startups & Gaming's Bright Future

This week on TheoryUnlocked we were joined by Adam Stjärnljus and Klas Martin Eriksson, fresh off the release of their latest game Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf. Adam is the creative director and co-head of the studio, while Klas is the co-game director.

As always on TheoryUnlocked, we asked them for their take on the state of the video game industry and how they are preparing to make sure their studio Wishfully can keep pumping out great new games. Adam explained that he thinks the key is supporting start-ups.

“It is very sad to see all the raw talent being let go and it breaks my heart every time. When we started up the studio we joined an incubator program in Sweden… while we did not get any funding for our game, we got funding to pitch our game at game conferences and meet publishers and that made all the difference for us” he continued “We need more of that, supporting start ups and I hope that we can see more creative start ups and we can reset in some sense.”

While things may be bleak and every week it feels like we are getting more and more layoffs, Adam believes that the future of gaming still looks bright.

“Even though there are tough times, there are still so many great games coming out, and I still have hope for the future. People will keep playing games and the industry will get bigger and bigger as our kids grow up.”

Perhaps most important to remember is that this is the first real generation growing up on video games and I have no plans on stopping anytime soon and neither do Adam or Klas.

“Im for sure gonna play when I'm at my elderly home, I'm gonna play like Quake or something with my peers. It's gonna be awesome,” said Adam and Klaus quickly claimed one of the spots alongside him. “I'll see ya Adam!”

Do you share the same optimism as Adam for the future of the gaming industry? What game do you wanna be playing in your elderly home? Let us know in the comments and make sure to go check out Adam and Klas’ latest game Planet of Lana 2.