Crammed into a computer shop in Rotterdam, Benjamin van Hemert waits anxiously. It's February 2017, and over a hundred people have arrived for a launch party, celebrating the culmination of six months' work on a game design course. Van Hemert and his team are all still students, but they're proud of what they made and are keen to put it out into the world – and specifically onto Steam. The team have opted for a free release, in the hope that the low barrier to entry will help net them the 1,000 downloads needed for a passing grade.
Less than two hours later, Van Hemert's mind has been blown – We Were Here has already racked up seven times their target. "That's when I started feeling, OK, maybe I should've asked for money for this," he smiles. Making games had been a dream for Van Hemert since he was first given a Game Boy as a toddler; he'd taken game design as a minor, just one part of his wider multimedia degree. But this small success could change all that. "This might actually be a step into the games industry," he remembers thinking. And more than that, We Were Here's success provided a launchpad for an entire studio, one that quickly made its name as the go-to for virtual escape rooms.
