So grateful for my team for speaking up when we need to pivot our product and make shifts as necessary. The only way to make a great product and allow constructive feedback is to check your ego at the door. #gamedev #productbuild

A few more helpful tips when starting your own business #startup #indie #gaming #gamestudio

Where our inspiration comes from... 2 of our titles comes draws inspiration from one genre but are 2 completely different games. 3D cozy simulator and 2D simulator survival. Hopefully you can see the homage when the games come out. #gamedevlife #indiestudio #indiegame #simulator

Going live this afternoon with Lanoexe to talk about our game studio. Tune to www.twitch.tv/lanoexe at 4pm PST / 7pm EST. #twtich #livestream #startup #interview #gamedev #gofundme

One of my favorite games of all time is Chrono Trigger. This really sparked my interest in gaming and storytelling. Such an amazing vehicle for escapism and amazing way to get lost in another world. Highly recommend for those looking for an OG RPG. #gamedev #rpg #gaming

Looking for a game & level designer who knows their way around unity 🎮 We're early-stage indie so this is rev share but you'd be building something real from the ground up. DM if interested or tag someone who should see this #gamedev #unitydeveloper #leveldesign #hiring

We have found our first influencer partner. Check out her info in the beacons link below. Doing our first stream together this Friday (3/27). Be sure to tune in a follow. So excited! beacons.ai/LanoExe

Entering production. This is where ideas start turning into real products. Still early, but excited to see everything come together. #GameDev #StartupJourney #StudioBuilding

GDC 2026 as an indie founder still in the trenches is something else. I took notes. I asked questions. I listened a lot. Kato.8 Studios isn't the biggest name in those rooms yet, but we belong there. and that clarity alone was worth the trip. let's build. 🚀 #GDC2026 #GameDev #IndieDev

Just wrapped an incredible week at GDC! 🎮 From investor meetings to connecting with studio and product heads, to soaking in industry panels. The insights and connections made this one for the books. Can't wait to share what's next. #GDC #GameDev #Indiedev

Being back in my hometown during GDC reminded me why I started building Kato.8 Studios. Some of my best memories growing up were tied to games and the feelings they created. If we can give even a fraction of that feeling back to players, it’ll be worth it. #GameDev #GameIndustry #StartupJourney

GDC is wrapping up. A lot of great conversations, new perspectives, and reminders of how collaborative the game industry really is. Excited to bring what I’ve learned back to the studio. #GDC #GameDev #IndieGameDev

I got kicked out of high school. For a long time I struggled with confidence and felt like I was always behind everyone else. Now I’m building a game studio from scratch. Life has a strange way of working out if you keep moving forward. #GameDev #StartupJourney #BuildInPublic

One thing I’m learning about the game industry: Networking matters a lot. But it’s not always easy. It takes time, persistence, and the willingness to put yourself out there, even when it feels uncomfortable. Still worth doing. #GameDev #GameIndustry #BuildInPublic

Starting a game studio isn’t easy, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’ve launched a GoFundMe to help support the early stages of building Kato.8 Studios. If you're interested in supporting the journey, the link is below. gofund.me/53f04a325 #gofundme

One thing I’ve learned from starting a game studio: The hardest lessons usually show up after you begin. Here are 3 things I wish I understood earlier. #FounderLife #IndieStudio #GameDev

Excited to attend the Game Developers Conference this year. Always interesting to step outside the day-to-day work of development and talk with people across the industry about how studios are evolving. #GameDev #GDC #StudioBuilding

Midway through pre-production. This stage is mostly conversations, iteration, and tough decisions about scope and direction—but those choices shape everything that comes next. Quiet progress, but important progress. #GameDev #IndieStudio #BuildInPublic

Names carry meaning. When I started this studio, I wanted the name to represent how we plan to build. Here’s the story behind Kato.8.

The groundwork is done. We’re entering production — turning plans into playable work and conversations into systems. This is where the real build begins.

Building a studio largely solo means wearing every hat: development, planning, communication, marketing. Keeping audiences updated takes time. But not updating breaks trust. Finding the balance is part of the job.

Tough decisions as a CEO rarely feel good in the moment. Sometimes it’s choosing focus over excitement. Sometimes it’s saying no to something promising. Sometimes it’s protecting long-term stability over short-term momentum. The responsibility is the weight and the privilege.

Strong collaboration creates trust. Trust creates clarity. Clarity creates better work. That chain matters more than any single tool or feature.

Publishers can be great partners but only at the right moment. If a studio doesn’t yet know its identity, audience, or production realities, a publishing deal can create pressure instead of leverage. Alignment beats acceleration.

Being able to spot AI-generated art is quickly becoming part of visual literacy. As tools evolve, so does the responsibility to know when something is machine-generated versus human-made, especially in creative industries. That awareness informs how we choose to build.

There are a lot of tools available right now, but not all of them align with how we want to build. For Kato.8 Studios, that means choosing not to use AI-generated art and instead prioritizing human creativity and collaboration from the start. It’s a deliberate decision.

Pre-production starts now. It’s not the flashiest part of game development, but it’s the most important—clarifying direction, aligning the team, and making sure we’re building the right thing before scaling. Looking forward to sharing progress as we go.

Building a studio has made one thing very clear: You can grow without having traction. Teams, plans, and activity don’t automatically equal validation. Traction is earned, tested, and listened to—and that’s where our focus is right now.

Early collaboration in game development isn’t about moving faster — it’s about moving smarter. The earlier different perspectives are involved, the easier it is to catch issues, align vision, and build something cohesive. That mindset shapes how we approach pre-production.

After months of planning and setup, we’re finally moving forward. Pre-production begins next week—a phase focused on clarity, foundations, and making sure we’re building the right thing before scaling. Grateful to everyone following along as we take this step.

Milestone goal for our first beta: If we reach 5,000 beta purchases, we’ll be celebrating with a Steam Deck giveaway for the community 🎉 The giveaway will be free to enter and no purchase will be required. Details once the milestone is reached.

The news about Ubisoft’s restructuring and studio closures this week is tough to see. Behind the headlines are teams and individuals who’ve contributed years of creativity to this industry. Wishing everyone affected stability, support, and a strong next chapter.

Momentum update from Kato.8 Studios: We officially start pre-production on Feb 2nd. Our first beta is planned for release in under two months. The beta will be part of our donation + crowdfunding effort to help get the studio fully off the ground as we move forward.

We are up on Patreon as well! Help support our dream of creating a studio, by the people for the people patreon.com/Kato8Studios...

The name of the studio (Kato.8) comes from my late dog, Kato. It is a combination of his name (Kato) and the number of limbs on his favorite chew toy, a stuffed pink octopus (8). That is also why the logo is what it is, a pink octopus with a bite taken out of it.

Quick update from Kato.8 Studios: We’re nearly finished assembling our internal teams and are preparing to move into pre-production. The focus next is refining scope, validating ideas, and locking down workflows before early development begins.

We’re in the early stages of building Kato.8 Studios and documenting the process publicly—including a small GoFundMe to support studio setup. If you’re a creator interested in collaborating or helping share the journey, happy to chat.