TMNT: Splintered Fate Design Director Talks Creative Inspirations and Big Improvements

There have been a lot of great Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games. TMNT: Splintered Fate is a fantastic example of that, combining thrilling gameplay with incredible lore that fans adore. Super Evil Megacorp, the studio behind it, achieved this by leaning into what it does best: creating polished, player-focused action games while staying true to its own identity.

CBR spoke with TMNT: Splintered Fate design director Rob Gallerani about the game's creation and what's next for Super Evil Megacorp.

CBR: Congrats on the third anniversary of TMNT: Splintered Fate and its Gold Edition! What lessons were learned from making this game?

Rob Gallerani: That sometimes your highest point can come years after launch. Splintered Fate had a gradual rollout across many platforms, and through it all, we kept looking for ways to both make it better for new players on the new platforms, while also listening to our passionate community and focusing our efforts on areas of improvement.

This balance of championing what the players want, mixed with our vision of where we want to take the game, really paid off. Hitting over a million units sold earlier this year is humbling for us.

CBR: TMNT: Splintered Fate tackles one of the most well-known franchises in pop culture. When working with an IP as big as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, what are the creative pros and cons of crafting a game with characters and lore that everyone knows?

One of the biggest advantages is definitely the richness of the IP and its characters. I mean, there are decades' worth of stories and characters within TMNT, so there’s a lot to draw inspiration from.

At the same time, the legacy also comes with high expectations around what you can and can’t do that we need to live up to. The whole team is keenly aware of that. Ultimately, making sure that the legacy is respected and within standards is a pleasure, and we are all honored to be working with such a classic IP.

CBR: Your studio, Super Evil Megacorp, has one of the most unique names in the industry. What are the origins behind the name?

Glad to hear you think the name is unique; we really love its uniqueness too. The name is intentionally ironic. It is a playful homage to the giant “evil mega-corporations” from sci-fi and video games.

We chose it because it was funny, memorable, and about as far away from a sanitized tech company name as we could get. At one point, a friend joked, “Well, if you’re going to start one of those evil gaming corporations, at least be honest about it and put it in the name.” And it stuck. We became Super Evil Megacorp.

Of course, the name represents exactly what we never wanted to be. It became a reminder to ourselves to build games players genuinely love, treat communities with respect, and never lose sight of why we started making games in the first place.

CBR: Super Evil Megacorp has prided itself on building shared gaming experiences that push creative and technical boundaries. Can you explain the process and challenges behind that?

Creatively, one of the most important parts of our culture is that we’re chefs who eat our own food. Being a remote company, coming together every week for team playtests and build reviews really keeps us honest and connected through shared experiences. When we make games like this, it transfers to the players playing our games.

It can be challenging to keep an in-development game seamlessly networked and playable while features are still evolving, but that process forces us to prioritize multiplayer functionality working throughout the whole process, ultimately making for a better player experience.

On the technical side, we’re fortunate to have our proprietary EVIL engine and platform. One of the many benefits of having your own in-house engine is the flexibility to build exactly what we need, and having multiplayer and multi-platform support working from the start is a testament to our talented engineers.

CBR: How does Super Evil Megacorp separate itself from other studios?

I’d say a few things. First, the tech. We have our own custom engine and platform, which is rare these days. It creates unique-to-us technical challenges, but it also gives us more freedom and power over our own products in terms of how they look, feel, and to provide robust co-op and multiplayer cross-platform support.

In the long run, we believe that it's the right approach and that it helps us stand out. Supporting cross-play and cross-platform across a broad range of devices and range of specs, for example, is very doable for us, but something that often is a challenge otherwise. That distribution capability really helps us reach a broad range of players.

Second, it's the people. Like any game studio, SEMC is a product of its unique group of humans collaborating together and creating cool stuff together. Without all of these awesome, creative, artistic and technical people, we couldn’t be working like this and the company wouldn’t be what it is.

Lastly, over the past decade-plus, Super Evil has continued to build up our capabilities and partnerships in the co-op action space, giving us unique product, design, and tech learnings in the category. This, coupled with the fact we have a proven track record building both new IP and expanding licensed IP, allows us to be extremely well-positioned to build, expand, and support premier action-oriented IP.

CBR: After making TMNT and Rebel Moon games, are there any other IPs you would want to tackle in the future? Or would you want to focus on something non-IP-based?

There are tons of IPs out there that have yet to have great games made for them, from classic TV shows, to movies, to even book or comic series. What is most important is that the team is excited about making it, and that we feel we can bring something uniquely compelling and great with our approach for players and fans.

A passionate team that knows and has reverence for an IP greatly increases the chance of that game resonating with its audience. So if we were offered an IP the team was excited about and one they were less excited about, we would have to follow the team's passion.

As for our own ideas, we are always cooking up new ones. What is most important is that the thesis and core gameplay are fun, engaging, and something we can confidently build that plays to our strengths. For specifics, you’ll just need to keep your eye on us in the future!

TMNT: Splintered Fate is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.