Seth Sivak

How a small indie studio built a Discord community to rival Fortnite.

Seth Sivak, former founder and CEO of Proletariat, joins Eden Chen (CEO of Pragma) and Kevin Zhang (Partner at Upfront Ventures) to share the rollercoaster journey of his game studio. From humble beginnings at Zynga to building one of gaming’s largest Discord communities with Spellbreak, Seth reveals how persistence and experimental marketing kept his studio alive through multiple near-death experiences. He candidly discusses the challenging fundraising landscape and the factors that ultimately led to Proletariat’s acquisition by Blizzard.

Seth details Proletariat’s evolution from mobile games to Battle Royale, including partnerships with Amazon, Twitch, and Epic Games. From business model decisions to marketing strategies and the constant pressure of operating with less than two months of runway for years, Seth offers hard-earned wisdom for gaming entrepreneurs. His advice: invest in the right team, and remember that cutting through the noise requires extraordinary effort.

Seth Sivak was most recently VP of Development on World of Warcraft at Blizzard Entertainment. Previously, he was the co-founder and CEO of Proletariat Inc, which was acquired in 2022 by Activision Blizzard. His background is in engineering, product, and design.

Discussion points#

• (00:00) Seth’s viral Discord community, building one of gaming’s largest Discord servers, rivaling Fortnite
• (07:09) From engineer to game designer, Seth’s journey from mechanical engineering to Zynga and the founding of Proletariat
• (13:49) Bootstrapping the studio, shipping two mobile games and raising $2.5M amid the mobile gaming boom of 2013
• (21:00) World Domination, creating an Apple Editor’s Choice game, building community through Twitch streaming, and an inside funding round
• (26:14) Survival mode, a partnership with Amazon and Twitch, facing near-shutdown, and pivoting in a frozen fundraising landscape
• (32:31) Viral marketing experiments, finding unconventional channels, creating exclusivity, and the power of “just gameplay” trailers
• (35:35) Spellbreak lessons, why the free-to-play model was wrong, cross-platform challenges during COVID, and missed fundraising opportunities
• (41:30) Exit strategy, the decision to sell to Blizzard, the challenges of staying independent, and managing a stressful runway
• (48:49) Lightning round, dream IPs, productivity hacks, and critical advice for game founders