The development of Manor Lords has been ongoing for a long time, but just before the release, the solo developer had to seek help to ensure the game would be available on Steam.
Is Manor Lords no longer just from a single developer? That’s not so easy to answer. The man behind Manor Lords is named Greg Styczeń and he has been developing the game for 7 years as a solo developer.
Recently, however, complaints surfaced that the game is not solely developed by him. The credits show many more people and there is a “Motion-Capture” department.
These comments were triggered by Crate Entertainment CEO Arthur Bruno, who is responsible for the city-building game Farthest Frontier. In an interview with PCGamer, he said: “And then you look at the credits for [Manor Lords], and the team size may be larger than ours.”
On X (formerly Twitter), the Manor Lords chief has now addressed the accusations.
Here you can watch the trailer for Manor Lords:
Manor Lords has recently gotten helpers
Who are the helpers? The developer Greg Styczeń admits that since April, shortly before the release of Manor Lords, he has involved additional programmers. According to him, there were issues with the different versions for various platforms that threatened the release.
A game on Steam needs somewhat different things than the same game on Epic Games or in the Gamepass. To ensure everything runs smoothly, support was sought.
The helpers, who previously remained secret, were meant to “minimize the risk” and were recruited in consultation with the publisher. Viewed objectively, this would no longer make Manor Lords a “one-man show,” but according to the chief, the new developers are now working on a port for Unreal Engine 5.
The chief himself is presumably still responsible for the content of the game and states about his role: “If I stop, the game is over, no more Manor Lords.”
What about the “Motion-Capture” department? The “Motion-Capture” department, which records movements in real life and translates them into the game, does not exist. A video from 2020 on X (formerly Twitter) is supposed to prove this, but the Manor Lords chief clarifies that the people in the video are his “best friends in a children’s photo studio.”
The development of Manor Lords is truly in the hands of one man, even though he has received help during development.
Whether the developer still officially qualifies as a solo developer will likely remain a matter of debate. However, it is undisputed that Manor Lords would probably not exist without him. How the development will continue, you can find out here: Developer of Manor Lords foregoes a roadmap, prefers to work on things you really want
