Twist of Fate: The Innovative New Venture from Former Zachtronics Developers

Image courtesy of Twist of Fate/Astra Logical.

Game designer Zach Barth has a new initiative titled Twist of Fate. Unlike traditional game developers, such as his initial studio Zachtronics, he describes this venture as more of a “dynamic business model” that enables small teams to work on individual or collaborative projects, whether they be games or otherwise.

Twist of Fate has also unveiled Kaizen: A Factory Myth, a puzzle automation game centered around the establishment and optimization of production lines in 1980s Japan. In the announcement, Barth expressed that the company aims to deliver “the open-ended design we’re recognized for to a wider audience while maintaining depth and complexity.”

Kaizen marks the studio’s inaugural official game project, following the limited educational game Add Astra created for an elementary school educator. The game is slated for release by Astra Logical in late 2025 on Steam and promises to “twist your brain into beautiful, efficient knots.”

Establishing a game studio is a puzzle of its own

Barth’s journey in the gaming industry commenced with the founding of Zachtronics in 2000 and the release of browser games on his website; one of these, the block-building game Infirmer, served as an inspiration for Mojang in the development of Minecraft. Zachtronics’ first commercial game was 2011’s SpaceChem, which challenged players to utilize a visual programming language for constructing chemical structures on assembly lines.

While the studio has experimented with war games and strategy titles, its primary focus has been on puzzle games. Over the years, it gained recognition for titles such as Infinifactory, Shenzen I/O, and Final Name BBS. Its most recent game was 2022’s The Zachtronics Solitaire Collection.

On the subject of cards, Twist of Fate has two physical card games to its credit, The Lucky Seven and Chemistry Set. Barth was the designer for both, collaborating with artists and fellow designers Jonathan Stroh, Jay Ackerman, and Drew Messinger-Michaels, showcasing how committed Twist of Fate is to exploring various mediums.

This flexibility may offer it additional adaptability at a time when developers are shutting down or downscaling their teams, allowing it to choose when to form a new team or pause an existing one, potentially without the need for layoffs.

Game Developer has conversed with the Zachtronics team multiple times throughout the years, the last being a 2020 interview with designer Matthew Seiji Burns about their then-upcoming visual novel, Eliza.

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