Outersloth has been a “really bad public secret” since 2022.
That’s according to Innersloth’s communications director Victoria Tran as we sit down to chat about Among Us developer Innersloth’s new indie fund. Unveiled in June, the initiative aims to provide funding to smaller studios, and already has the backing of a number of teams including Outerloop Games, Strange Scaffold, and Visai Games.
But the first signs of Outersloth came when the new company signed its first title, Mars First Logistics from Australian studio Shape Shop.
“[As part of the announcement]we had the Outersloth logo, which is basically the Innersloth logo reversed, where the sloth is on the outside and the person is on the inside. And some people sent us very worried messages saying, 'I think there's someone out there trying to steal your name!'” Tran laughs.
“I had to say, 'We know, it's okay, don't worry! ' And I couldn't say anything else because we wanted to wait until the process was really well organized and we were clear on what we wanted to do. And also because (I thought) once we had a few more games, it would be a really cool announcement that we could save for a presentation, which happened at Summer Game Fest.”
But the idea for Outersloth predates the deal with Mars First Logistics by a few years, and Tran said the fund had been in discussion at Innersloth since 2020.
“Forest Willard, our CEO, always wanted to do something like this,” he recalls. “But before Among Us became successful, it wasn't a real possibility. Once Among Us started taking off in 2020, it became pretty obvious to him that it was something that could happen. And it took a lot of prep work.”
“Ideally, Outersloth would become self-sufficient”
Figuring out exactly what constitutes a good deal for an indie game was at the heart of the idea, as the original Innersloth team had been approached in the past by publishers with some shady terms, something that commonly occurs among developers.
“I wouldn't use the word 'predatory,' but it's not worth it,” Tran sums up. “And from there, understanding what we would have liked to see when we didn't have the success that we had, the type of deal, the type of funding, the type of people we wanted to work with, in the earlier days… It all came from there.”
Among Us has seen incredible success over the past few years, maintaining strong momentum since 2020, and it looks like the title is here to stay; we asked Tran how dependent Outersloth is on Among Us' continued success.
“At the end of the day, our true passion is making games, right?” he replies. “So, whether that’s making them ourselves or supporting people making them with Outersloth. As a team, we want to continue making our own games. We want that to be our primary way of doing things. Which is good because it takes a lot of pressure off of Outersloth, but it means that at the end of the day, the success of Innersloth and our people comes first.”
“So we're not spending money in a way that's like, 'I guess we have to lay off half our people now because we're spending it on this other thing that we think is fun. ' Ideally, Outersloth will become self-sustaining. So we're investing money into it, but we're hoping that Outersloth, from the investments we've made in other games, will at least break even and the money that comes in will be reinvested into funding more games.
“But it's not going to start draining money from Innersloth in a way that's uncomfortable for anyone on the team. So I would say it was dependent in the sense that it couldn't have existed without Among Us. But now, hopefully, if all goes well, it won't be dependent on Among Us and its success.”
He mysteriously adds that the team “also has other things planned,” although we won't know more about that for now.
Outersloth has been very clear from the beginning about not being a publisher, meaning support is primarily financial.
“We're definitely much better at supporting more self-sufficient teams,” Tran explains. “And I think that's why we've been so careful to say that we're a game fund rather than a publisher.”
“(Publishers) are going to miss out on some really great games because of the kind of deals we're so used to in the industry.”
“I think being an editor means that you get marketing help, quality control help, localization help, all kinds of things that are expected of you, and I'm very careful about setting expectations… I have a marketing background and I'm more than willing to give advice and help where I can, but I don't like to promise things that I can't deliver. We don't want to promise anything that's not going to happen.”
He adds: “That's why we're very specific: we'll provide funding and here are all the other hopeful optional things we can do, but since we can't promise it, we won't do it.”
Tran notes that there are some “amazing publishers out there” and acknowledges that there is a place and use for full-service publishing, but that’s not the path Innersloth wanted to follow.
The types of games Outersloth is looking for vary, and Tran laughingly notes that there probably isn't a Venn diagram that Strange Scaffold's Clickolding and Mars First Logistics fit into. He's previously said it was more about “vibes” than tangible, specific aspects.
“We truly believe in our teams, whether it's your first game or your fifth. Supporting good people doing good things is what really makes us tick.”
She continues: “It's nice because Forest and I have pretty similar tastes in what we're looking for, (but) also different tastes in genres, different tastes in what we find funny, and I think that creates a nice balance.
“I think having different tastes and different perspectives is what makes the video game industry so rich and fun to work in.”
For now, Outersloth is run by the Innersloth team, in addition to its other functions, with the help of a contractor. Growth will depend on how these initial deals go, but Tran hopes it will create a sustainable, self-sustaining model — a breath of fresh air in the current state of the industry that he hopes will serve as inspiration for others.
“The hope is that Outersloth can create conditions that work and really put the developer first, in a way that’s also sustainable for the fund – you also need to survive as a company. And it creates this sort of race to the bottom where publishers are almost trying to outdo each other to give developers the best deal they can give, because otherwise they’re going to miss out on some really great games because of the kind of deals we’re so used to in the industry. Whether that works or not is another thing, but I hope it does,” he laughs.
“The industry thrives when there are different funding models for different needs. Some people want to publish with all the bells and whistles, others just need the money and do what they want. But there are a lot of different funding and a lot of different publishers. Outersloth is one of those taking on the task of creating something that works.”
Our conversation takes place on the day Bungie announced it would be laying off 220 people, yet another wave of layoffs in an industry that Tran describes as “bleak” right now.
“We really believe in our teams, whether it's your first game or your fifth. Supporting good people doing good things is the real deal.”
“It's complicated in every aspect, whether it's funding games or just keeping studios open. And hopefully in times like this, people can find support for each other, whether it's indies helping indies[or]… It would be great if it was corporations, the bigger ones, that were also helping indies, or helping each other. And just trying to change things because obviously it seems like at the rate we're going, it's not very sustainable. We're losing a lot of talent, we're losing a lot of ideas.
“What does that phrase say? It's very dark and I don't want it to sound like it's the same as dying. 'If there's one death, it's a tragedy. If there's a thousand, it's a statistic.' (We don't want to) reduce people to, well, just another 2% of the industry or something.”
We asked Tran if he thinks large, successful companies have a responsibility to share the wealth and help foster new talent.
“I think so. It's very difficult because everything is so entangled. I'm not the CEO of PlayStation, so I don't have to wake up and think about shareholders,” she smiles.
“I don't know if they should do exactly what we're doing because I don't know their situation. I'd love to. I think it's the idea that a lot of people have talked about: when you're chasing maximum profitability at the expense of people, you lose… I don't know, it seems like that's the goal of doing anything, really. That infinite number that always has to increase, no matter what it is.
“Do I think it's their duty or not? I would say that as a person, it would be nice to help others, whether it's through a fund or some other initiative that only they can dream up and carry out. But I think it's just thinking of people first, honestly.”