The CEO of Monument Valley developer Ustwo Games, Maria Sayans, has outlined the studio's need to lower development costs. To achieve this, the studio will rely on contractors in the future rather than hiring full-time staff.
Sayans explained that the studio has been making games over three- to four-year production cycles for between £7 million to £10 million. However, they need to lower this cost, especially when working on new projects outside the established Monument Valley series.
For example, if Ustwo were to develop a game like Alba or Assemble With Care, they would have to do it for a significantly lower budget. Sayans noted that other developers are achieving success in these spaces on PC with much smaller budgets, which Ustwo cannot match due to its location in London and the associated employee costs.
Sayans stated that the studio has been "a little bit too romantic" about providing employees with long-term job security. She believes this approach has led to high development costs. As a result, Ustwo will change its balance in the future, with a core team and any growth coming through contractors.