Rocket Flair Studios

Rocket Flair Studios is an independent game developer established in Northern Ireland in 2017. Its work focuses on PC strategy games, management simulations and survival colony builders, combining settlement development with environmental pressures and interconnected systems. The studio draws creative inspiration from games including SimCity, Pharaoh, Zeus, Dungeon Keeper, The Settlers, Anno, Frostpunk and Surviving Mars.

Its development capabilities span game design and systems architecture, 3D modelling, environment art, animation, quality assurance and in-engine optimisation. Across its projects, the studio explores how players manage resources, build infrastructure and adapt to demanding settings, from the ocean floor to ancient Egypt and the atmosphere of a gas giant.

Games and development

Surviving the Abyss is a hardcore deep-sea survival colony management game set during a Cold War research expedition in 1976. Published by Paradox Arc, Paradox Interactive’s indie publishing label, it entered Steam Early Access on January 17, 2023, before reaching its full 1.0 release on November 5, 2024.

Dynasty of the Sands brings the studio’s city-building focus to ancient Egypt. Its design combines survival systems with divine worship, disease control, the dynamic flooding of the River Nile and monumental construction. PlaySide Studios announced a publishing partnership for the game in May 2023; publishing rights subsequently returned to Rocket Flair Studios for self-publication on Steam.

Announced in June 2025, SkyRig extends the studio’s systems-driven approach into science fiction. Developed in partnership with publisher Astra Logical, the game centres on chemical synthesis and pressure-based engineering aboard a floating rig in the hostile atmosphere of a storm-wracked gas giant. It is planned for PC through Steam.

Together, these projects reflect a consistent interest in strategy and simulation while giving each game a distinct setting and set of management challenges. Rocket Flair Studios remains independently operated, working with external publishers on individual productions.