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During IGDX 2025, we had the chance to have an exclusive interview with Fajrul, the creative developer behind Acts of Blood, an action game that’s been gaining serious attention from the gaming community. What started as a passion project has now evolved into something much bigger, with a publisher deal in place and over 170,000 wishlists on Steam. We spoke with Fajrul about the game’s journey, the team behind it, and what makes Acts of Blood such an important release for the gaming industry in Southeast Asia.
From Passion Project to Industry Game-Changer
When Fajrul started Acts of Blood in late 2023, he never imagined it would become what it is today. At the time, it was simply a learning project—a way for him to pick up programming in Unreal Engine while working his full-time job at another game studio. But what began as a side project has now caught the attention of major publishers and players around the world.
“I think this is the first game from Indonesia that even from Southeast Asia, that is bringing a grounded beat-em-up game that I know,” Fajrul explained during our interview.
“I think it’ll be a history for our game industry in Indonesia.”
Today, Fajrul remains committed to his full-time job while leading the Acts of Blood project. His team of around 10 people—a mix of talented developers from Indonesia and around the world—continues to work on the game while balancing other commitments. The diversity of the team speaks to Fajrul’s vision of creating something that could resonate with players everywhere.
Building a Multinational Team
The team behind Acts of Blood is far from typical. While Fajrul initiated the project and handles programming and design work, he brought together friends from different countries to contribute their skills. The team needed artists for animations, musicians for the soundtrack, and voice actors to bring the world to life.
“We already have a publisher and we already signed the deal, but we’re still waiting for the funding to come,” Fajrul said, noting that the publisher deal came after the Summer Game Fest showcase. Having that support has helped the team move forward with their vision, even as they continue to balance other work commitments.
The Summer Game Fest Moment
One of the most interesting parts of Acts of Blood’s story happened completely by chance. Earlier this year, Fajrul received an email from Geoff Keighley himself—though his initial reaction was skepticism.
“It’s actually a really funny story. Geoff Keighley himself emailed me and I thought it was a scam,” Fajrul recalled with a laugh.
“Because if you see the email, it’s like he didn’t introduce himself properly, and I thought ‘Oh, this is a scam.'”
What changed his mind was seeing that Keighley had followed him on Twitter. After realizing it was the real Geoff Keighley, Fajrul replied to the email and asked if Acts of Blood could be shown at the upcoming Summer Game Fest event. The answer was yes and all they needed was a trailer.
That appearance at Summer Game Fest turned out to be massive. “In three days at its peak, the game received around 30,000 wishlists,” Fajrul shared. Months after the event, the game has maintained around 6,000 wishlists consistently, and has now reached a total of 170,000 wishlists.
The exposure also brought in major gaming influencers. Players like MoistCr1TiKaL and TheRadBrad have played the game, which helped spread the word even further. Despite all this attention, Fajrul says the team hasn’t felt overwhelmed by expectations.
“Not really, I guess because before that we already have this mindset to be just like we are just focusing on creating the game, and we don’t really mind other attention like people expect something from this game. We just really care about the game and just released it.”
A Love Letter to Classic Action Games
Acts of Blood draws inspiration from several beloved games that defined the action genre. The game is influenced by Indonesian action movies like The Raid and The Night Comes for Us, but in the gaming world, the team looked to titles like Sleeping Dogs, Sifu, and the classic PS1 game Jackie Chan Stuntmaster.
“For those people who are waiting for a new Sleeping Dogs and Sifu, I think they will love this game a lot,” Fajrul explained.
“We take inspiration from those games. Also, we take inspiration from classic Jackie Chan Stuntmaster from PS1. From that game, we take a lot of inspiration from the vibes of the levels.”
The story itself is straightforward and intentional. The main character, Hendra, is a college student whose family is killed by criminals. Like in Sifu, he then seeks revenge, facing off against the bosses responsible for his family’s death level by level. Fajrul was clear that while the story serves its purpose, the real draw of a beat-em-up game is the action itself.
“We are not really focusing on the story, because we already know the players that play the game don’t really care if they play a beat-em-up game, they just want to punch people in there.”
What’s Next
As for when players can actually get their hands on Acts of Blood, Fajrul said the team is targeting a release in Q4 2025 or Q4 2026. One thing they’re keeping in mind is the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, which will likely pull a lot of gaming attention away from other titles.
“We target around Q4 or Q4 next year. Obviously before or after GTA 6, because it will destroy all the engagement for other games. So yeah, we will see when exactly GTA 6 will be released.”
With a publisher backing them, a global fan base already waiting, and a team that remains focused on creating the best game possible, Acts of Blood is shaping up to be a significant moment for the gaming industry in Southeast Asia.
