Valadria

What Valadria does

Valadria is a California-based solo-operated independent game development and publishing studio led by founder Matt Hackett. The company pursues a dual mandate: developing and publishing its own video games, and producing educational content that teaches other individuals how to make and sell games. Core products include the paperback book 'How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself' (sold on Amazon and Gumroad, 6,000+ copies), the advanced tutorial package 'Making Big Indie Games' (63-page ebook plus 17 videos, priced at $49 on Itch.io and Gumroad), one-on-one video coaching/consulting sessions booked through Calendly, and indie video games including Pixel Washer (published by Acclaim) and Witchmore (in development).

The company's technology stack centers on indie game development tooling, with Pixel Washer built on an Entity Component System architecture that enables comprehensive state saving and loading, and uses the Tiled map editor for level design. The game supports multi-language localization across English, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. Under the September 2025 publishing agreement with Acclaim, Valadria now also accesses third-party publishing infrastructure for marketing, localization, and porting, while Matt Hackett retains focus on game development and has engaged a contracted level designer and pixel artists.

Valadria's revenue model is diversified across four one-time-license streams (book sales, tutorial packages, game sales) and one professional-services stream (coaching). GTM is content-led and community-driven: a podcast ('Make the Game'), YouTube channel, Twitter/X following, Discord community, newsletter, and GDC speaking generate top-of-funnel reach that converts into coaching bookings and product purchases. Customer segments include aspiring game developers, intermediate and advanced indie developers (with the latter targeting those earning $50K-$250K from their games), and end-consumer players in the cozy-game category. Valadria is bootstrapped with no outside investment; all operations to date have been funded by product revenue.

Name

Valadria

Legal name

Valadria

Website

https://valadria.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Valadria is a California-based indie game studio and publisher founded by Matt Hackett that develops video games (Pixel Washer, Witchmore) and sells educational products, including a book and tutorial package, plus coaching services for indie game developers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Indie Game Development & Publishing

NAICS

Software Publishers (51321), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Indie Game Studios (MPAFAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Indie Publishing & Label Services (Funding, Marketing, Release Management) (MPAFABAF), Casual/Hypercasual Game Studios (MPAFAAAG)

Keywords

• Indie game development
• Game development education
• Solo game developer
• Cozy pixel games
• Indie game publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Physical and digital sales of 'How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself' paperback ($14.99 on Amazon) and signed copies through Gumroad. Over 6,000 copies sold.
2. Tutorial Packages: 'Making Big Indie Games' advanced tutorial package sold for $49 (reduced from $99) through Itch.io and Gumroad. Includes 63-page ebook and 17 videos totaling ~2 hours.
3. Coaching and Consulting: 60-minute video coaching/consulting sessions booked through Calendly. Matt offers 1-on-1 advice with follow-up emails. Flexible payment through PayPal with special accommodations for those without financial access.
4. Game Sales and Publishing: Pixel Washer is being published by Acclaim. Revenue comes from Steam sales with Acclaim handling publishing, marketing, localization, and porting. Witchmore is another game in development.
5. Digital Art and Illustrations: Hand-drawn illustrations from the book sold as signed prints with the book through Gumroad. Limited quantities (1 of each design).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Valadria develops and publishes indie video games (Pixel Washer, a cozy 2D power-washing pixel game published with Acclaim, plus Witchmore in development) and sells educational products aimed at solo and small-studio game developers: a paperback book ("How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself"), an advanced tutorial package called "Making Big Indie Games," and 60-minute one-on-one coaching/consulting sessions. Revenue streams include one-time book/tutorial sales, coaching fees, and game sales through Steam.

Product overview

Valadria is a game development studio and publishing company operated by Matt Hackett. The company offers a portfolio of game development educational products and indie games. Core offerings include: the book 'How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself' as the foundational guide, the advanced tutorial package 'Making Big Indie Games' for experienced developers, and 1-on-1 coaching/consulting services. The company develops and publishes video games including 'Pixel Washer' (a cozy pixel art power-washing game published by Acclaim) and previously 'Witchmore'. Additional content includes the 'Make the Game' podcast, game dev comics, and the 'Game Dev Medkit' asset collection. Valadria positions itself as dedicated to both making games and helping others make games.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Make the Game: A podcast hosted by Matt Hackett about making and selling games, featuring developer interviews, marketing tips, and game dev discussions.
• How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself
• Making Big Indie Games
• Game Dev Medkit
• Pixel Washer
• Witchmore

Products and services

• Pixel Washer A cozy, zen-like 2D overhead indie game where players control Pigxel the pig to power-wash dirty pixelated worlds, with upgradeable equipment, hidden secrets, satisfying mechanics, and multi-language support (English, German, Spanish, Japanese, Simplified Chinese). Targeted at casual players seeking relaxing gameplay.
• How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself A paperback book by Matt Hackett providing step-by-step guidance for solo game developers on discovering their passion, picking game engines, and shipping finished games, including personal anecdotes and quotes from working game developers.
• Making Big Indie Games An advanced tutorial package (course) for indie developers ready to ship bigger, more polished games, comprising a 63-page ebook and 17 instructional videos totaling about two hours of content.
• Game Dev Coaching/Consulting One-on-one 60-minute video coaching/consulting sessions with Matt Hackett covering game development guidance, encouragement, scope decisions, and post-session follow-up emails with action plans, served via Zoom/Calendly with PayPal-based payment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,000+ copies sold of How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AcclaimcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 11 September 2025Acclaim (revived classic gaming brand founded 1987) is publishing Pixel Washer. This partnership allows Valadria to expand game scope, focus on development without worrying about marketing/localization/porting, and take Pixel Washer further than possible through self-publishing. Acclaim handles publishing, marketing, localization, and porting while Matt focuses on game development. This is Matt's first time publishing with a publisher.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Finji: Indie game publisher (Overland, Night in the Woods, Tunic) and developer. Comparable as a small-scale publisher supporting indie developers; Acclaim/Pixel Washer relationship parallels Finji-style publishing partnerships.
• Acclaim Games: Revived classic publisher now publishing Pixel Washer. Comparable as a business relationship (channel partner), but operates as a much broader gaming label/aggregrator rather than as an indie studio.
• Mega Cat Studios: Small-scale indie publisher producing retro-style games and press coverage (Pixel Spotlight interview series cited in Valadria's press). Comparable as a peer publisher in the retro/cozy indie space.
• Devolver Digital: Major indie game publisher with hundreds of titles. Less directly comparable but a useful benchmark for indie publishing economics and the publisher-developer relationship model Valadria has entered with Acclaim.

Direct peers

• Derek Yu (Spelunky): Solo indie developer of Spelunky with a long-running dev blog and active community presence. Comparable: experienced solo indie dev who combined personal content/blogging with game development and publishing.
• GDQuest: Solo/small-team game dev education company producing Godot tutorials, courses, and assets. Comparable: educational content business targeting aspiring indie developers with paid courses and asset packs.
• Game Maker's Toolkit: Mark Brown's solo educational brand covering game design analysis, with Patreon/YouTube monetization. Direct comparable: single-creator content brand teaching game development/design with a personal-audience-driven business model.
• Brackeys: Game development tutorial brand (originally by Asbjorn Thirslund) producing high-quality free tutorials on YouTube. Comparable: indie game dev education brand monetizing through courses and community; recently relaunched.
• Heartbeast: Benjamin Anderson's solo indie game studio (Celeste, Witch Spring) that also publishes extensive game-development tutorials on YouTube. Direct comparable: solo creator combining educational content, YouTube audience, and indie game publishing under a personal brand.

Others

• Itch.io: Open marketplace for indie games and game-dev tools/courses. Comparable as a distribution channel used by Valadria for tutorial packages, plus a hub for the indie developer audience Valadria targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/@richtaur
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Valadria
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/valadria

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Valadria