A Broforce to be reckoned with
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Every single studio we talked to at Africa Games Week mentioned it at some point, and shared their own story of how the studio helped them, worked with them, or simply encouraged them: Free Lives is not only the poster child for the South African industry, but also undoubtedly a powerhouse in supporting all of those that have followed in its footsteps.
Finally meeting Free Lives managing director Dominique Gawlowski, we mention this status and what led the studio to be in this trailblazer position.
"The way we think about it is that it's unwanted attention but we understand that it's important and we've accepted that we are this to people in South Africa – so let's do everything we can to make sure that we give what we can give to bolster the local industry," she says.
"This was not something we set out to achieve. We set out to make good games and that was it. That was our only goal. And alongside that should I say, it was also to [create] a wonderful environment to work in. We've spent a great deal of time, effort, and money to break away from that mould that everyone thinks a business has to be, in terms of how it has to be run in order to make profits, which often comes at the detriment and the sacrifice of the employees."
Free Lives will celebrate its 12th anniversary this year, having been founded by Evan Greenwood in 2012 to develop what would become Broforce, originally a Ludum Dare project. Free Lives' debut title also marked the beginning of its relationship with Devolver, which has published almost all its games since then and "elevated the studio," Gawlowski notes.
After Bro Force came Genital Jousting, which made a mockery of toxic masculinity, then Gorn VR, one of the very few games in its genre available when the Quest launched, and Cricket Through the Ages, one of the very first Apple Arcade titles. Free Lives has always managed to find sweet spots with its releases, getting into niches
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