Lessons from a AAA Launch Gone Wrong | Bret Robbins | Devoted SpeakEasy Ep38

Bret Robbins, Creative Director behind Dead Space and Call of Duty, joins Devoted SpeakEasy to share the unfiltered truth about creating a brand new AAA IP.

🔗 Check out Brett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-robbins-a91a3350/

TIMECODES:

0:00 - Intro

0:42 - Get to Know Bret Robbins

2:41 - The Early Days of Dead Space

6:17 - Breaking Through a Crowded Market

20:08 - Creative Role vs Leading a Company

31:08 - What Worked When Scaling a Studio

43:27 - How to Build a Successful New IP

48:16 - AI in Game Development

50:02 - A Success Story

53:01 - Blitz Round: Rapid Fire Q&A!

55:33 - Ending

🎮 What you will learn in this episode

• Why launching a new IP is tougher than ever

• The two things that make or break any game: a clear vision and a battle-tested team

• How timing and market noise buried Immortals of Aveum

• Lessons on early marketing, community building, and showing work in progress

• How tight budgets and real constraints can spark better design

• Remote versus in-studio production and what actually works for creative teams

👉 Subscribe for more SpeakEasy episodes with game industry leaders and visit Devoted Studios to learn how our strike teams help studios ship ambitious games faster. → https://devotedstudios.com/ 

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