Vampire Survivors Creator Embraces Creative Freedom Over Commercial Success
By Occasionally, you come across a variety of games, ones that you’ve never encountered before, and suddenly, it turns out to be the most captivating game in existence. While we’ve seen titles like Balatro and Deadly Company gain popularity recently, few have transformed into such an overnight phenomenon as Vampire Survivors, which introduced an entirely novel genre. It seems that the secret to its popularity was its creator’s decision to develop the game purely for enjoyment, without thinking about commercial success.
In an interview with Edge Magazine, Luca Galente stated, “I had abandoned the notion of success long ago. Vampire Survivors is the first game I created solely for enjoyment. That might be the essential factor in its success.” He emphasizes that he will continue this approach, saying, “Whatever I pursue next, and however I proceed with Vampire Survivors, will be for fun. If I stray from that principle, thinking about competitors or analyzing the market to create content specifically for them… that’s not my intention. It simply won’t succeed.”
“I don’t want to start searching around just to maintain success. The success was accidental. It’s incredible; it’s wonderful – I am immensely thankful to the players for that. However, it shouldn’t become the target. If it does, we enter a completely different realm – which I honestly do not prefer.”
Vampire Survivors had an impressive year in 2024, featuring substantial expansions linked with Contra and Castlevania. Yet, the excitement doesn’t stop there, as developer Poncle has hinted that 2025 is set to be the game’s “most intriguing, chaotic, thrilling, and varied year ever!” with a new expansion teased.
Galente recently acknowledged that Vampire Survivors was “lucky” to thrive, as it faces competition from numerous budget clones.