Security Breach XBOX Launch and Studio Updates!
Hey folks!
It’s been a while since we’ve given y’all a peek behind the curtain - time for some updates!
Starting at the beginning of this year, we took a hard look at ourselves and began discussing how Steel Wool will evolve. We asked two big questions: how do we grow our teams responsibly and improve our development processes? Being a scrappy indie developer isn’t just in our blood; it’s literally our DNA and monumentally crucial to our creative identity. Altering processes and hiring more folks are going to affect that, so we’ve been taking our time to ensure the spirit of who we are flourishes to meet our lofty ambitions.
We knew we needed more developers and operational staff. So we set our hiring goals in February, and as of today, we’ve filled every single one of those roles, nearly doubling the total size of our studio. This includes programmers, producers, game designers, animators, IT, HR, 2D artists, 3D artists, and a small army of Quality Assurance staff - we are fully equipped to do some truly astounding things going forward.
Hiring is only half the battle; the second half is analyzing our strengths and weaknesses to determine where we double down and where we need to improve. We’ve already implemented changes that have shown promise, specifically in our pre-production phases. Speaking of which…
Let’s talk about Security Breach: Ruin! I don’t have any gameplay details that we’re ready to share, but I can talk about where we’re at in development. Pursuant to growing our processes, the Security Breach team spent significant time in a rigorous pre-production process focusing on streamlining our ability to construct fun, stable gameplay. So far this year, we have delivered on our Vertical Slice milestone earlier than planned and are ahead of schedule for a major upcoming development milestone. That Vertical Slice build was the very first one in my entire career that was a complete, actual VC with functional versions of all the gameplay elements and systems we’d intended to build. Our team is absolutely crushing it, and I couldn’t be prouder of them. We’re fired up and can’t wait to share more with y’all.
NOW, for the really exciting news that many, many of you have been asking for! We're incredibly pleased to announce that Security Breach is coming to the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One on November 22nd! A key area we focused on strengthening is our ability to deliver a game on multiple platforms, so we cannot thank you enough for your patience while we took our time on this version of the game.
That’s what we’ve got for now. There’s plenty more to share in the near future, so stay tuned! Thank you all for your support - it gives us the energy we need to do what we love!
Ray McCaffrey
Executive Producer