Owlcat Games turned 10 this past June, and in interviews marking the milestone, studio leaders discussed the developer's rapid growth and plans for the future. Co-founder and creative director Alexander Mishulin spoke with PCGamesN, while head of publishing Andrey Tsvetkov spoke with GamesRadar+. Tsvetkov noted the studio has shipped three games in a decade, joking that Owlcat is "speedrunning" its history compared to studios that spend years on a single project.
According to reporting from PCGamesN and Wccftech, cited by PC Gamer, Owlcat now employs around 600 people, up from its origins as a smaller studio founded in Moscow. The developer is now headquartered in Paphos, Cyprus, though it's unclear how many offices its staff is spread across. For comparison, PC Gamer noted Larian Studios was above 500 employees at last check, Obsidian Entertainment is now in the low 200s following layoffs at Microsoft, CD Projekt Red reported 1,134 worldwide employees in a 2024 fact sheet (615 in its Warsaw studio per a 2023 financial statement), and BioWare—once around 500-600 employees in its 2010s heyday—has reportedly shrunk to 100 or fewer following layoffs after Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
This expanded headcount supports Owlcat's move to developing two major projects simultaneously. One is Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy, a CRPG that builds on the engine and ruleset established by 2023's Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, but shifts from Owlcat's usual ruler-fantasy framing toward a reactive detective and investigation-focused structure. The other is The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, Owlcat's debut third-person RPG, described as reminiscent of Mass Effect and slated for a 2027 release. Tsvetkov also mentioned an unannounced project described as "quite different" from the studio's CRPG work, along with ongoing conversations with other IP owners about potential future projects.
Despite this diversification, both Mishulin and Tsvetkov emphasized the studio's continued commitment to the CRPG genre. Mishulin said Owlcat will "continue to make CRPGs because we love them," while trying different approaches to avoid stagnation. Tsvetkov echoed this, stating plainly, "We won't be quitting the CRPG genre," while also noting the team wants to avoid repeating past design ideas and holds quarterly meetings to evaluate whether older approaches still hold up.
Tsvetkov traced Owlcat's origins to the success of Obsidian's crowdfunded Pillars of Eternity in 2015, which demonstrated renewed interest in isometric RPGs and inspired the concept that became Pathfinder: Kingmaker. That game was crowdfunded by 18,351 backers who raised $909,000, far exceeding its original $500,000 goal. Its sequel, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, drew more than 35,000 backers and $2 million in pledges. Subsequent titles, including Rogue Trader, have been funded internally, though Owlcat continues to involve fans early through pre-release builds. Tsvetkov also highlighted that many team members are personally devoted to the Warhammer universe, collecting miniatures and matching Games Workshop's own lore experts in knowledge.
Separately, PC Gamer's own hands-on coverage reflected this mixed history: Rogue Trader launched in December 2023 to a 59% review score from the outlet, and the reviewer described early frustration with the game's complex, unfamiliar systems, including its use of "wounds" instead of traditional hit points. However, after revisiting the game following the release of its Infinite Museion DLC, the outlet found that Rogue Trader had grown into what it called an "all-timer RPG," praising its deep character-building system and turn-based combat, and expressed hope that the upcoming Dark Heresy would deliver a similarly strong experience without as rocky a launch.