Independent developer Kristian Brynie Hollund spends his evenings and weekends building the cooperative third-person shooter Fractured North, balancing the demanding project with his day job as an IT consultant for Equinor, according to local reporting by Mikkjell Lønning.
Balancing a Solo Project With a Full-Time Career
Hollund dedicates two hours every weekday and between 10 and 12 hours each weekend to developing Fractured North, marking two years of continuous work on the title. According to Lønning’s reporting, the developer has established the company Zeticeta AS and estimates he will spend close to 200,000 kroner of his own money on the project before launch. The game centers on paramilitary groups invading the Nordic region, drawing inspiration from titles such as Helldivers 2, Call of Duty‘s DMZ mode, and Warframe.
Development challenges extend beyond time management. In 2021, Hollund was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, dealing with muscle pain and fatigue that have made his pace fluctuate. Further complications arose in the spring when a gallbladder surgery required a month-long hospital stay. Despite considering full-time game development, Hollund told Lønning that his health issues vindicated his decision to keep a steady day job, noting that being alone in a company without a launch product and with many expenses would not have worked.
State Subsidies Versus Bootstrapping
While Gamer.no recently documented that the Norwegian state has invested over 600 million kroner into domestic game development, Hollund prefers to stand on his own feet. He noted that Funcom stands out as the country’s only developer operating on an international scale, and pointed out that the company was already established before large-scale state subsidies arrived.
Did you know? Norway’s state-backed funding for the gaming industry has surpassed 600 million kroner over recent years, though the vast majority of local studios remain small independent operations or single-person enterprises.
Gameplay Vision and AI-Assisted Design
Fractured North drops players into a large open world featuring multiple Norwegian cities, where they fight computer-controlled paramilitary factions. Hollund uses artificial intelligence tools to help cut down development time, while also purchasing environment assets from Epic Games to construct the massive landscape. Rather than focusing on player-versus-player combat, the developer prioritizes cooperative exploration and replayability.
The thematic backdrop draws loosely on real-world conflicts, with Hollund exploring ways to problematize activities like the Wagner Group’s operations in Ukraine. With no firm release date in sight, the developer continues to build a vertical slice of the game to showcase its core mechanics, funding the entire venture out of pocket simply to create an experience he and his friends can enjoy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Fractured North?
Fractured North is an indie cooperative third-person survival shooter developed by Kristian Brynie Hollund. The game features an open Nordic world where players battle computer-controlled paramilitary forces.
Who funds the development of Fractured North?
The project is entirely self-funded by Hollund through his company Zeticeta AS, without relying on Norwegian state gaming grants.
When will Fractured North be released?
According to the developer, there is currently no set release date as he works on the project during his spare time alongside his job as an IT consultant.
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