In the fast and ever-evolving world of video games, it’s hard to push out updates to an already-released title. Most developers start preparing their next game, and they often don’t get enough time to patch things out unless it’s essential. This is exactly where Hidetaka Suehiro, aka ‘Swery65’, developer of the game Hotel Barcelona, thinks differently.
Known for his work on the popular indie title Deadly Premonition, Swery65 has been making games for close to 30 years. His team recently worked on a game called Hotel Barcelona, and while it did not receive the type of feedback they initially hoped for, they’re owning up to their mistakes and planned a complete relaunch of the title, which is out now.
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In an exclusive chat with Digit, Swery provided some interesting insights about the game, himself and the wider gaming landscape. Edited excerpts of our interview follows:
Q) Games getting new features in the form of patches is pretty common, but I want to understand why this is being called a ‘relaunch’. What are some of the main things in this new version that made you feel like it should be called a relaunch?
Swery: Rather than a simple patch, we’re rebuilding the very foundation of the game experience. Previously, to ensure players experienced and understood the Slasher Phantoms, one of the game’s main systems, our design centered on strong developer messages such as “You must experience death” and “You cannot progress without using Phantoms.”
With Under New Management, we’ve eliminated that approach. The player can play the game however they want now, and the systems we provide have been reverted to the simplest philosophy: “feel free to use it if you want” and “the game itself should be enjoyable even if you don’t understand it.”
As a result, we simultaneously redesigned multiple core elements: improving the comfort of controls, readjusting difficulty and rules, enhancing performance, and revising online features (including PvP). Therefore, this isn’t a “patch” but a “reconstruction,” and we believe “relaunch” is an accurate term to use for it.
Q) What was the overall energy of the room upon announcing that you’re willing to rework and relaunch the game?
Swery: To be honest, we felt both joy and fear. For an indie developer, deciding to “redo” a work that’s already been released isn’t easy. But it’s also true that outside feedback helped me see exactly what needed fixing. So I was prepared to “do what needs to be done” and also possessed a positive mindset that “this will make the game even better.”
Q) With the base game reworked, does this open the door for even more content in the form of DLCs that wouldn’t have been possible with the old version?
Swery: Of course. Stabilizing the foundation naturally gives us more choices for our “next step.” Rushing development with piecemeal additions puts undue strain on both the team and the finished product. However, by revisiting the foundation from the ground up for Under New Management, we’ve established a base capable of supporting future expansions.
We hope this conveys our commitment to our users: to continue nurturing this work through ongoing updates, including further collaborations and additional content releases.
Q) You are adding character skins from Slitterhead, Demonschool, and Promise Mascot Agency. What draws you to these specific titles? Do you see Hotel Barcelona as a sort of hub for these specific indie games?
Swery: First and foremost, it’s simply because every title possesses a “provocative uniqueness.” Indie games often have sharper contours than AAA titles, with the creators’ passion directly serving as the design. That’s what draws me to them.
Furthermore, Hotel Barcelona itself is structured like a showcase that lets you experience horror subgenres side-by-side. The idea of “guests from another world” arriving there felt natural. It’s less about being a hub and more about the sense that new “guests” keep visiting the hotel.
Q) I don’t like using Wikipedia as a source, but as per the platform, Hotel Barcelona was first envisioned as a “light and easy to play” game for mobile platforms and the Nintendo Switch. Now with the relaunch done, do you plan on bringing the game to those platforms? Maybe not mobile, but what about the Nintendo Switch 2? Any plans to launch the game on that device?
Swery: We cannot yet confirm future support for specific platforms, but we can assure you that something is definitely progressing behind the scenes. We will continue to make HOTEL BARCELONA Under New Management accessible through White Owls’ own publishing, and we aim to deliver experiences beyond your imagination while incorporating your feedback and requests to the best of our ability.
Q) Being an industry veteran and having worked on games on many different platforms, I have to ask, so far, what has been your favourite platform to develop games for?
Swery: I can’t definitively say “this platform is the best.” I think ease of development depends on the project, team size, and the desired experience.
Plus, I’ve been developing games for nearly 30 years, so comparing every single platform from those 30 years feels a bit unfair. It’s like saying, “Back in the day, there were fewer things to make, so it was easier,” or “But now, with more tools and broader expressive capabilities, it’s easier in a way.”
Q) Have you been playing any games lately? I know your all-time favourite game is Minecraft, but what were some of your favourite releases from 2025?
Swery: Lately, I’ve been playing SUDA51’s ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN, of course, but last year, in 2025, I was playing Mario Kart World constantly.
I was pretty busy last year, so I didn’t get to do much driving, let alone racing. So, after finishing work and feeling tired, I’d drive around the vast world in Mario Kart’s Free Run mode… that’s where I found my relaxation, and that’s why I kept playing it.
Q) I know about the controversy that happened with Hotel Barcelona using Gen AI, and while it was later removed from the game, on that note I wanted to understand something. More than a game developer, and rather a normal person, have you been using AI in general for any tasks in your life?
Swery: I keep it at a distance, treating it as training wheels for thinking and work. For instance, in situations where I need another pair of hands – like drafting business emails or reviewing and summarizing contracts – I have the AI handle the initial drafting work.
Then, for responses to players and partners in other language I use it for translating messages where word choice matters, I use it when an immediate response is necessary and I have to convey something difficult.
Additionally, it serves as a sounding board for organizing business practices and processes… I have found it very useful for moving things forward on the operational side so that I can keep most of my focus on the creative side.
Ultimately, since I’m spinning both the management and creative wheels alone, it might be fair to say I’m using AI to streamline much of the business side. Incidentally, the reason we used generative AI voice at HOTEL BARCELONA was due to circumstances during the pandemic, which made voice recording (especially overseas recording) difficult.
That VHS content was created entirely by me, at home (during stay-at-home time), by montage-ing all the live-action footage. I simply had no source material to use for the voices. Initially, I tried covering it up with noise or beeps, but it just wasn’t up to a standard I could deliver to users.
I left the footage on hold for nearly a year. That’s when I learned about an AI service that, for a licensing fee, could generate dialogue using registered voice actors’ voices. I tested the service and determined the quality was sufficient for implementation in the product, so I decided to use it.
However, failing to disclose this on the store page was a complete mistake. If it had been intentional, it would have been tantamount to deceiving our users. Therefore, regardless of the circumstances or background, as the director, I deeply regret this matter and have concluded that we must re-record the audio and remove the AI content. I am truly sorry for causing any negative feelings.
Video games these days have turned into quantity-first rather than focusing on quality. Most developers are focused on providing more hours of play, rather than a good time. In this scenario, it’s nice to see how developers of Hotel Barcelona didn’t go the general route. They owned their mistakes, listened to feedback, incorporated and continued to delight their gamers.
The update for Hotel Barcelona has already gone live, and it is currently available at a 35% discount, bringing the game price down to Rs 845. If you’re a fan of the roguelike and hack-and-slash genres, then it is definitely something worth checking out.
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