Today I'm announcing two things: Demon Squirrels Game Studio, and its first PC game, Song of the Fight.
On founding the studio
Building my own studio has been a dream since childhood. What I didn't know is that it would take twenty years to get here, years spent in different studios, shipping games, building and leading teams, mentoring people, watching projects succeed and fail. Most of them failed commercially but all of them taught me something valuable.
I waited to gain the right skills, the right financial position and honestly the right moment as well. That moment is now.
Why now?
New technologies, yes including AI, mean I can build large, complex, deeply realized games as a solo developer or with a tiny team. The dynamic feels like the C64 era again: one person with a vision and the tools to execute it, without needing to build an organization of dozens just to support the work of making the game.
I know there's real sentiment against AI in games, and I understand where it comes from. My position is simple: games have always been about using every available tool, technology and technique to realize a vision. That's been true since the first pixel was pushed. I will continue to champion that idea, and I'll use every tool I have to make something worth playing.
Demon Squirrels' motto is: We make products with a soul.
Our creative north stars are the games of my youth: Fallout 2, Jagged Alliance 2, the original X-COM series. Games that ooze creativity, meaning and depth. That's the bar.
Song of the Fight
Song of the Fight is a tactical gang leadership RPG. You take command of up to 20 fighters and build your criminal empire across St. Louis, starting from 1900, when the underworld was still young and everything was up for grabs.
The strategic layer draws from Fallout 2's tilemap exploration. Base building and team management take cues from X-COM and character depth and richness is inspired by Jagged Alliance 2.
What's new is the psychology. Song of the Fight simulates real human psychology: how violence shapes people, how corruption moves through an economy, how trust and fear determine who follows you and who betrays you. Every fighter has their own psychology, survival instincts, and relationships that affect their stress tolerance and behavior, in combat and out.
The combat system puts 20 fighters against 20 in brutal tactical brawls. You issue commands through your lieutenants. The rest is on them, and on the bonds, grudges and fears you've built up over the campaign.
Run protection rackets. Forge deals. Break rivals. Rule St. Louis as a violent brute or a master of corrupt diplomacy, your call. Just recruit accordingly. In this business, trust is the one thing nobody can afford.
Follow the development.
PS. I'm also looking for early investment partners who believe in the future of small, soulful studios. If that's you, reach out at ville@raumaholding.com