Isaac is the Founder and CEO of Crimson Herring Studios, based right here in Edmonton. On January 15, 2024, the studio released their first game, Sovereign Syndicate. We talked to Isaac on the eve of the release of the game on what brought him to this point and what he’s learned throughout the process.
About Sovereign Syndicate
Sovereign Syndicate is a Victorian steampunk RPG that is inspired by games like Disco Elysium, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Hammer 40K: Rogue Trader.
About Crimson Herring
Isaac founded Crimson Herring Studios in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Inspired by his desire to see more games in the genre of Sovereign Syndicate on the market, he set out to bring his vision to life.
Inspiration
Inspiration came from a love of traditional Victorian science fiction writing, steampunk and games such as Disco Elysium and Shadowrun.
What makes this game different
Sovereign Syndicate steers away from combat and tells a more detailed story, using tarot cards instead of the traditional dice, setting itself apart from many in the RPG space.
Lessons Learned
Coming from traditional corporate background, Isaac didn’t know a lot about the games industry from a business perspective and the importance of funding soon became apparent.
Advice
Marketing, Marketing, Marketing. With thousands of games released every year, you’ve got to make yours stand out and that doesn’t happen on it’s own.
Sovereign Syndicate is out on on Steam and GoG.com
Visit crimsonherring.com for more info.