Kraken Studios talks about their upcoming game Total Victory
Kraken Studios was created out of necessity rather than ambition. I’ve always loved strategy games, but I never imagined they could become a source of income. When my son was about six years old, we discovered on the autism spectrum. It became clear that both parents working fulltime wasn’t possible. He needed one of us home consistently, and no employer was willing to accommodate the frequency of time off required.
Working part-time wasn’t sustainable, especially since my income fell under my wife’s much higher tax bracket which transformed my income to an almost insignificant amount. That’s when I made a decision that changed everything: I would become a game developer. My first real test was designing the final two expansion packs for Strategic Command 2. Their success proved I had the capability. In 2013, Kraken Studios was born.
I started by dreaming far too big. I had loved World War II strategy games since I was a teenager, so I set out to tackle the entire European Theater in a way no one had before. I had to relearn coding and teach myself Unity Engine from scratch. The early months were grueling, and I nearly quit more than once. Gradually, things started to click. I took the best ideas from every grand-strategy title I had ever played and merged them into one massive project.
Six years later, after countless lessons, mistakes, and breakthroughs, the game released in October 2019. Matrix Games took a chance on me, guiding me through the process and helping refine my work. The code was messy but functional, and although the game launched with bugs, I attacked them relentlessly. I absorbed player feedback and applied everything I learned from my work on Strategic Command. My first game, WarPlan, became a success.
With breathing room for the first time, I researched the industry more deeply. The data was sobering: most new developers struggle for years, many never earn a living, and beginners are urged to start small. Had I read that before diving into a massive project, I might never have begun. But by then I had discovered something important, I could perform nearly every function of a game development team. I could design, code, create art, build sound effects, handle support, and eventually, market my games. That versatility became my greatest advantage.
In 2021, my next title was released: WarPlan Pacific. It is an evolution of WarPlan with new systems for the Pacific theater. I expected it to perform at about 40% of the original. The European theater historically draws far more players, a fact confirmed by market research. The game met my expectations.
In 2024, I released Kingdom, Dungeon, and Hero. I had been studying the fantasy strategy landscape for years and saw a gap. No one had released a true fantasy wargame in a long time, and the last attempt had mixed reception. AAA titles were also missing something crucial, adventuring. With improved skills and experience, I rewrote my entire codebase using better structure and cleaner architecture. The resulting game blended wargame mechanics, light 4X, and hero adventuring. It launched with far fewer bugs than WarPlan and met all performance expectations. I am hoping to release a DLC in 2026.
My current project, Total Victory, is my most ambitious yet. Built on the refined code foundation of Kingdom, Dungeon, and Hero, it is a grand strategy WWII game covering both Europe and the Pacific. What differentiates it is the level of detail delivered without overwhelming the player. Like other grand-strategy titles, it is a corps-level game. It has the same stacking rules as WarPlan with a land, air, and fleet counter stacking in a single hex. Each counter contains underlying divisions, wings, and ships. The game includes 1,452 division types and 3,466 division names across land, sea, and air. It’s immense in scale while still focused on minimizing micromanagement. My goal is simple: to create the ultimate WWII grand strategy experience. The game is currently in Alpha.
Kraken Studios succeeded because circumstances forced me to generate income due to my family needs. This change in my life uncovered a skill set I didn’t know I had. If my situation had been different, I might never have gone down this path. I feel fortunate today that my games provide a stable income for my family while allowing me the flexibility to meet their needs. My son is now thriving, attending university on scholarship and studying computer science. He hopes to follow in my footsteps and become a game developer.
I am grateful to Hubert Cater for opening the door, to Matrix Games for giving me a chance, and to my wife for teaching me the foundations of application design. Their support made everything possible. I still have many games I want to build. I am always aiming to fill unmet niches, challenge players intellectually, and reduce needless complexity. Thank you to everyone who has supported my games over the years.
Alvaro DeSousa, owner of Kraken Studios.
Warplan
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