Developer Pieces Interactive boasts over ten titles under its belt, such as Magicka 2 and Titan Quest. They are now back with the terrifying adventure game Alone in the Dark, which has propelled the company to entirely new heights.

- The work on Alone in the Dark has been on a completely different scale and genre compared to our previous games, says Robert Lazic, CEO of Pieces Interactive.

Pieces Interactive was founded in 2007 through Science Park Skövde's startup program, and was one of the first game companies to establish itself in Skövde. Robert Lazic, CEO of Pieces Interactive, previously founded another company during the program's journey, before joining Pieces Interactive in 2010. In 2017, the company was acquired by Embracer Group.

"In a different league"

On Wednesday, Pieces Interactive released its largest project to date, the adventure horror game Alone in the Dark on PC, Xbox and Playstation. Among the main characters are familiar faces such as actor David Harbour from Stranger Things and Jodie Comer from Killing Eve.

- We have been working on the project since 2019, and it is the biggest project we have ever worked on, which has been both fun and challenging. It is in a completely different league, which has required us to scale up. Alone in the Dark is an old IP from 1992 that we have given a fresh look, says Robert.

Doubled the team

Since the start of the project, Pieces Interactive has nearly doubled its team and currently has over 42 employees, with the majority working from the office in Skövde. They have attracted talent from various parts of Sweden, such as Stockholm and Gothenburg.

- We have recruited from our network, friends of friends, and some from the University of Skövde and other educational institutions in the country. Some who have come in as interns have stayed on after their studies and become part of the gaming community here in Skövde, says Robert.

Finding processes

Last year, Pieces Interactive chose to finance an industrial doctoral student from the University of Skövde, Tobias Karlsson. His research aims to contribute to improved processes, to become better at everything related to project development, team setup, and role definition, among other things. It is the first time that a game company in Skövde has chosen to invest in an industrial doctoral student.

- At the moment, there is some research on games, but extremely little research specifically on game development. Even though the games industry generates more revenue than the film and music industries combined, it lacks the research typically associated with major industries, says Tobias.

By gathering information directly from game companies, Tobias aims to develop proposals for measures that can improve game development processes.

- Specifically, I want to find processes that allow for creativity and well-being for game developers, without negatively impacting the production demanded by economic interests. That means aiming high, but if there's one thing I've learned from the creative people I've worked with in the games industry, it's to dare to try."

"Proud of the team"

Robert and his team at Pieces Interactive naturally hope for a successful game release when it becomes available to players around the world on Wednesday.  

- When you've worked so closely with a project for so long, it can be difficult to judge on your own, but I'm incredibly proud of what the team has managed to achieve.