Independent Arts Software Becomes Astragon Development

astragon has announced the visible integration of its studio subsidiary Independent Arts Software. The Hamm-based developer will operate as astragon Development in future. Founder and Managing Director Holger Kuchling is gradually stepping down, and formal management has already been handed over.

With the name Independent Arts Software, one of Germany's oldest game development brands is disappearing. The Hamm-based studio was founded in 1990 and has since worked on numerous projects for various publishers, including titles from the Tropico, Dungeons, Construction Simulator, Railway Empire, Fishing and Eldrador IPs. Since 2023 (in German), Independent Arts Software has been part of astragon, which in turn is part of the Everplay Group (Team17).

astragon is now taking a strategic step by integrating the studio subsidiary into its name. The studio will operate as astragon development in future and will focus more on games based on astragon's own IP catalogue. This is evident in the latest announced project, The Ship Sim, which is set to launch in Early Access later this year.

The new name also comes with a change at the top. Founder and Managing Director Holger Kuchling will gradually step down and hand over his responsibilities. Kuchling is set to leave the company on 31 August 2025 and will then remain in an advisory role.

His duties as Managing Director of the company have already been handed over to Julia Pfiffer and Tim Schmitz, who also serve as Managing Directors of astragon.

In addition, Christian Grunwald has joined astragon Development as Studio Manager to support operational management. He brings over two decades of experience in the gaming industry and has worked for Travian Games, Deep Silver and Ubisoft, among others. From 2013 to 2019, he was also part of astragon.

"We are deeply grateful to Holger for his decades of dedication, inspiring vision, and the invaluable support he has offered throughout this transition. His unwavering commitment laid the foundation for both the company and its talented team. As we take this next step, we’re excited to bring the studio even closer into our strategic direction and continue crafting high-quality simulation games together," says Julia Pfiffer.

Tim Schmitz adds: "Strengthening our Own-IP game development continues to be a cornerstone of our long-term vision, and with Christian on board, we look forward to reaching exciting new milestones together and taking our games to the next level."

Never miss anything from the German, Swiss and Austrian games industry again: subscribe for free to our Daily newsletter and get all news straight to your inbox.