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Lucas Pope, best known as the creator of Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn, says he has stopped publicly discussing the games he is currently working on due to concerns that unfinished ideas could be copied or absorbed by artificial intelligence tools.
Speaking during the Mike & Rami Are Still Here podcast with Mike Rose and Rami Ismail, Pope explained that while he previously enjoyed sharing updates about projects in progress, he now feels less comfortable doing so in today’s development environment.
“I also like to talk about the stuff I’m working on,” Pope said, but added that the situation now feels different compared to earlier in his career. He expressed concern that ideas might be “slurped up by AI” or copied before they are completed, which has made him more cautious about revealing details prematurely.
Prefers Working Alone Rather Than Building a Studio
During the discussion, Pope also clarified that he has no plans to expand into running a large development team. Instead, he prefers working independently—handling art, programming, music, and design himself while experimenting with ideas until they naturally evolve into something that feels ready for release.
According to Ismail, Pope represents a type of developer who is driven primarily by curiosity and creative exploration rather than production pipelines or business scaling. Pope agreed, noting that many of his projects begin as experiments rather than structured commercial plans.
Success Has Made Future Releases Harder to Approach
Pope also acknowledged that the critical success of Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn has made him more cautious about committing to another major release. Both titles were widely praised for their distinctive mechanics and storytelling approaches, setting high expectations for whatever he creates next.
Because of that reception, he admitted there is some hesitation about whether a future project could match the impact of his earlier work.
Rather than rushing toward another large-scale title, Pope said he has spent the past several years focusing on experimentation and rediscovering the enjoyment of making games at his own pace. For now, he appears content to continue developing ideas privately while deciding what form his next release may eventually take.
