Evil Empire Misses Dead Cells, Teases Dream Collaboration

Evil Empire was formed by four Motion Twin developers who continued working on Dead Cells while the rest of the company developed Windblown. The studio ended its work on the roguelike more than two years ago.

In an interview published Oct. 18, 2026, CEO Thomas Pfeiffer and Head of Business Ben Laulan discussed the studio’s future and its connection to Dead Cells.

“I think we’ll always miss Dead Cells,” Laulan said. He described the game as the project that allowed the founders to create Evil Empire and build its current team. He added that the studio’s feelings were now mainly nostalgic because several new projects were in development.

Pfeiffer described leaving Dead Cells as an opportunity to develop Evil Empire’s own identity. “It’s part of our story,” he said. He added that the team was satisfied with creating new games.

Evil Empire has since worked on The Rogue Prince of Persia and Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. It also operates a live-operations division supporting Brotato and is considering work with other partners.

When asked about a dream collaboration, Laulan confirmed that the studio had one and that work had already begun. The developers did not identify the partner or game because the project is still in its early stages.

Evil Empire grew from four founders to 15 developers and later to about 50. Pfeiffer said the studio can work on two or three games at different stages while continuing to run the Triple-i Initiative, which showcases independent games.

The executives also discussed creating an original intellectual property. Pfeiffer described that as a long-term goal that could let the studio take greater risks and generate revenue from its own product. He added that the immediate focus remains making games and strengthening the team.