Minecraft Dungeons: Small Team, Unreal

What happened

Minecraft Dungeons was built on Unreal Engine by a team of about twenty developers. Source access let them adapt the engine to the game instead of working around it, and lightweight workflows kept iteration fast.

Why it worked

• Engine source access turned blockers into small, local engine changes.
• The game was scoped to what a small crew could actually polish.
• Fast iteration loops mattered more than tooling breadth.

What we'd take into a client project

• If you plan engine changes, agree up front how they are tracked and merged so engine upgrades stay possible.
• Write the scope down per milestone and cut features before polish time, not during it.
• Measure iteration time (edit, build, test) early; slow loops cost a small team more than a large one.

Related

• Game development services
• Game development stages
• Clair Obscur: a small team in UE5

Note: Feative Studios was not involved in this project. This breakdown summarises what the developers have shared publicly; the takeaways are our own.