Creator Turned Developer: Bellular's The Pale Beyond

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Creators have been an integral part of the gaming industry since the early days of YouTube and Twitch. Until recently, developers and creators generally worked with each other, but operated separately. Today, that line is blurring: instead of promoting someone else's product, game creators are increasingly developing their own games.

Michael Bell, also known as Bellular, went from YouTuber to developer. The first title from its eponymous studio - The Pale Beyond - launched on February 24, 2023. The game challenges players to lead the crew of a doomed polar expedition to safety and manage their resources along the way. . Think Oregon Trail in the Arctic with a rich cast of characters.

Throughout the development of the game, Bellular has balanced its role as creator and developer. The Pale Beyond is a crucial first example for creators considering getting into game development.

Early days

Bell began his career on YouTube in late 2011, primarily covering World of Warcraft news and history from Blizzard Entertainment. He started his channel while studying game design at university, before launching additional channels to cover wider industry news. During this time, Bell met Thomas Hislop, creative director of Bellular Studios.

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As they neared graduation in 2016, the duo chose to join forces and start their own studio. Gaming jobs are relatively rare in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the two are from, so they took matters into their own hands lest they take a more corporate route. Bell would serve as general manager and lead the team's YouTube operations, while Hislop would focus more on development. Today, Bellular Studios continues to use this two-engine approach.

"Michael [Bell's] follow-up on YouTube showed us that there was a real opportunity to create a game studio where we could punch above our weight by having direct access to the community," Hislop said in an interview with GamesBeat.

"We inefficiently burned accelerator programs and funding grants as we gained skills. By 2017 or 2018, the YouTube channel had grown and I started scaling the size of our team," Bell added. "YouTube started earning us enough money to reduce our game's risk.

COVID was a major turning point for the team. It removed the distractions. At GamesCom, the team presented The Pale Beyond to Fellow Traveler, who then published the game.

Benefits of creating content for development

The YouTube team played a vital role in the successful launch of Bellular Studios' first project: The Pale Beyond. The team had an easier time bringing the game to market than many independent studios because they had an experienced in-house content creation team. Hislop cited the trailer as an example where the YouTube team was invaluable.

There are also less obvious examples where the YouTube team has supported development. “Having people close to the project who aren't completely in the trenches was extremely helpful. They know the games well, so their input was really helpful in having a counterpoint during development,” Hislop confirmed.

Bellular Studios still intends to leverage the YouTube team for The Pale Beyond. The team produces a documentary detailing the game's development process. In addition to improving the team's skills, Bell and Hislop viewed the documentary as a fun (and useful) exercise to help differentiate the team during future professional conversations.