The founder story
New Citizen is an early-development roleplay world from Specpixel Entertainment — and as of today it is entirely self-funded by Tanner Rozankovic, who pays for its development out of his own wages earned working as a disability support worker.
"Every street in this city was paid for one shift at a time."
The day job
By day, Tanner Rozankovic works as a disability support worker — helping people with their daily lives, their goals, and their independence. It is honest work, and it is also the entire budget of this game. Every wage that comes in funds what gets built at night: servers, tools, art, engine time, and the long hours of engineering that don't show up on an invoice.
The night shift
There is no publisher, no investor, and no board behind New Citizen. As of today the project is funded in its entirety by one person's paycheck — which means the roadmap answers to the people who play, not to a quarterly report. Progress moves at the speed of real life, and that is a trade we make on purpose: slower, but honest.
Early access, honestly
New Citizen is in early development. Systems are unfinished, edges are rough, and things will break — because everything you see is being actively built around you. Early citizens aren't customers of a finished product; they are the founding residents of a city under construction, and their feedback shapes what gets built next.
Why it matters
Most games this ambitious start with a studio fund. This one started with a support worker who wanted a living city badly enough to pay for it himself. If you're here at the beginning, you're part of that story — and the city remembers its first citizens.
Press & enquiries
press@specpixel.com.auInterviews, founder Q&A, and early-access coverage are welcome — the whole point of building in the open is being able to talk about it.