Skald Solo Developer Anders Lauridsen Talks About Challenges, Success and the Critical Role of the Community

Skald: Against the Black Priory has been nominated for the main prize, 'Nordic Game of the Year,' at the 2025 Nordic Game Awards. In an interview, Anders Lauridsen, the CEO of High North Studios, discussed his experiences as a solo developer, the challenges involved in creating an RPG and the importance of community feedback.

Skald: Against the Black Priory,  developed by High North Studios from Norway and Swedish publisher Raw Fury, has been nominated in two categories at the 2025 Nordic Game Awards: for the main prize, 'Nordic Game of the Year', and for Best Debut. This retro, group-based role-playing game combines classic 8-bit graphics in the style of the 1980s with modern game mechanics, telling a story of tragic heroes, violence, death, and cosmic horror. Skald: Against the Black Priory was released on 30 May 2024 for PC via Steam and GOG.com.

The game was developed by Anders Lauridsen, founder, solo developer and CEO of High North Studios. He initially financed the game via crowdfunding before Raw Fury came on board as publisher. Just in time for Nordic Game 2025, we spoke with Lauridsen about his journey.

GamesMarkt: Can you describe the journey of Skald: Against the Black Priory from crowdfunding to release? And why did you decide to do everything yourself?

Anders Lauridsen: "Skald is a funny little outlier because it's such a common trap for new devs to set out to make their first game a really ambitious, super complex RPG. The general consensus is that this is a terrible idea as RPGs are beasts to make."

"Thankfully, nobody had told me that."

"So basically I decided I wanted to make a game just for the fun of it and that I was going to push myself to launch it on Steam as well so that I got the entire experience from concept to launch. And at this stage, it was still just a hobby project with very low ambition and zero budget."

"But then, as I started talking about the game on social media, it became clear to me that the game was touching a nerve for a certain demographic. People who, like me, were really pining for the RPGs of old. That's when I realized there were actually people out there who were willing to put money towards getting the game made and that it could actually become a proper, commercial project."

GamesMarkt: How important was it to have a publishing partner like Raw Fury on board? And how did you come to partner with Raw Fury?

Anders Lauridsen: "Raw Fury was the game-changer (pun intended). They were the ones who allowed me to become a full-time game developer and go all-in on my dream. And in turn, that's what allowed me to make Skald the successful game that it was and launch my career as a professional game developer."

Nordic Game is the leading games conference in Europe. Gathering thousands of industry professionals in the spring each year, Nordic Game is the "home turf" meeting place for game developers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The Nordic Game Awards is a collaboration between Nordic Game and the Nordic Game Institute to highlight and celebrate the achievements of developers in the nordic region. This years awards takes place at 18:30 CEST on 22 May 2025, broadcasted on YouTube and Twitch.

GamesMarkt: You are a solo developer. What special challenges do you face, i.e. what were the biggest challenges in the development of Skald: Against the Black Priory?

Anders Lauridsen: "Honestly, being a solo-dev is much less of a challenge than you would think. Especially if you have a broad skill-set. I can code, do narrative work and write good art-asset orders. I also have a lot of critical soft-skills that make it possible for me to run a business. So in other words: I'm pretty lucky."

"The biggest challenges come from there being no redundancy in the company. If I get sick, 100% of the staff is sick. If two things need to be done at once (or 10 things more likely) it means I'll be stretched impossibly thin. And so, it's not really a question of IF you burn out, but rather how bad you burn out and if you're able to come back from it once the game is out."

GamesMarkt: As a solo developer, how important was the feedback from the crowdfunding backers?

Anders Lauridsen: "Critical. Honestly, there are pros and cons with crowdfunding but by far the biggest upside, is that you manage to form a community consisting of you most hardcore fans. And the great thing about RPG fans is they're really smart and creative people. The Skald community was really good at offering feedback and doing playtesting. Truly, the game would not be what it was without them. Thank you!"

GamesMarkt: Are you satisfied with the success of the game?

Anders Lauridsen: "Yes! There are always things you would do differently and things that surprise you, but the game has sold great and people seem to really enjoy it so you can't really ask for more. To put it in another way, I get to continue to make my dream games and that is a pretty good metric for success."

GamesMarkt: Did you ever imagine that Skald: Against the Black Priory would be nominated for several Nordic Game Awards?

Anders Lauridsen: "No, not really. I knew I had a good game but I was also keenly aware that it was very niche and so it was extremely hard to gauge how well it would do. So, exactly one year ago I was sitting looking at job ads so that I would have a plan B ready for after launch. Clearly, that didn't become necessary and I'm incredibly thankful for that."

GamesMarkt: What's next for you and High North Studios?

Anders Lauridsen: "I'm working on something new but it's all super, super secret so you'll have to wait a bit before I tell you what it is."

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