Five years ago, Mike and Amy Morhaime founded Dreamhaven with a vision to create a sustainable publishing and support system for game studios, including their own creations, Moonshot and Secret Door, as well as other partners. In our initial interview, Mike Morhaime expressed a bold ambition for the company, aiming to set a new standard in the gaming industry. He stated, "We want, if I may be so bold as to say, to be a beacon to the industry," highlighting their lighthouse logo as a symbol of guidance and excellence. Their goal was to demonstrate a better approach to game business and operations that would yield excellent products, financial success, and a positive work environment, ultimately elevating the entire industry.

At the time of Dreamhaven's inception, numerous studios led by former AAA executives emerged with similar aspirations for sustainability and innovation. However, the industry faced significant challenges over the years, including a global pandemic, economic instability, widespread layoffs, studio closures, and project cancellations. Many of these promising studios either shut down prematurely or had to postpone their goals.

Dreamhaven, however, has thrived amidst these challenges. Recently, they partnered with The Game Awards for their first showcase, unveiling four new games. Two of these are internally developed: Sunderfolk, a turn-based tactical RPG with couch co-op, set for release on April 23, and Wildgate, a newly announced crew-based first-person shooter focused on space heists, which we had the chance to preview. The other two games are developed externally but published by Dreamhaven: Lynked: Banner of the Spark, an action-RPG from LA-based developer FuzzyBot, already in early access and scheduled for its 1.0 launch in May, and Mechabellum, a turn-based tactical auto-battler from Chinese studio Game River, which was released last September and aims to stay fresh with Dreamhaven's support.

Dreamhaven's activity extends beyond these four games. They are currently supporting ten other external studios, many founded and staffed by former AAA developers, through investments, consultancy, fundraising support, and sometimes publishing assistance. Mike Morhaime, speaking at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), emphasized Dreamhaven's mission to create a "net" to "capture some of this great talent that was dispersing" across the industry. He noted, "We saw all these studios starting up and we have a lot of relationships. We knew a lot of the folks starting up and we wanted to create a structure that allowed us to be helpful and root for these studios."

Wildgate - First Screenshots

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The ongoing industry crisis, characterized by a focus on profits over creativity, has been a hot topic at GDC. Morhaime believes that while profitability is important, it should not come at the expense of innovation and quality. He asserts, "I think in order to create an environment that allows for innovation, you have to have a certain amount of safety and a certain amount of space to be able to experiment and try things." He further explains that Dreamhaven's focus is on creating the best possible gaming experiences, which he believes is the most effective long-term business strategy.

Reflecting on his time at Blizzard, Morhaime highlighted the importance of an "iterative" game development process. He shared, "It was never linear. It was never this straight line where you have this perfect plan and you execute the plan and everything goes according to plan and happiness and success follows." This approach allowed for flexibility and adaptability, crucial for producing games that the team could be proud of.

The biggest difference between his work at Blizzard and Dreamhaven, he says, is the level of agency given to studio leadership teams. He explains, "Probably the biggest difference, this is such an experienced team, and so we're structured in a way that really gives a ton of agency to our leadership teams in the studios." This structure fosters a partnership between the studios and the central company, which is there to support the studios' needs.

Regarding new technologies like generative AI, Morhaime acknowledges both its potential and its complexities. While Dreamhaven has used AI cautiously for internal research and policy drafting, it has not yet been implemented in their games. He sees AI as a transformative technology with both positive and challenging implications, stating, "I think it's undeniable that it will impact all of us in all sorts of ways that we can just speculate on now."

On the topic of the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, Morhaime views console transitions as both disruptive and invigorating for the industry. He notes, "As a gaming startup, I think console transitions are a positive for us." While Sunderfolk and Lynked are set to launch on the Switch, Wildgate's absence from the platform remains unaddressed.

Finally, when asked if Dreamhaven has achieved its initial goal of being a "beacon to the industry," Morhaime is cautiously optimistic. He believes they need to release successful games to truly fulfill this mission. He hopes to build a reputation where the Dreamhaven brand signifies quality and trust, encouraging gamers to explore their games with confidence.