Genetix Studio

PJ Chavez, Founder

Cheyenne, Wyoming

2025

PJ Chavez's passion for retro games built a thriving global community

PJ Chavez, founder of Genetix Studio, embarked on a journey to create innovative games rooted in his love for retro pixel art and deep gameplay. Launched in 2011, Genetix Studio is a bootstrapped indie game company that built a successful business by offering free-to-play, ad-supported mobile games to a global community of players.

A new quest begins

PJ Chavez's journey into game development began with a deep-rooted passion for programming that started in high school. He was drawn to the idea of creating digital life forms, which is where the name Genetix Studio comes from. The "X" in the name is a playful nod to mutations, inspired by things like the X-Men. He recalls an early experience developing an RPG game where he felt an emotional connection to the non-playable characters (NPCs) he created, a feeling that still motivates him today.

In 2011, PJ began developing on the Android platform and released his first app in 2012. His creative philosophy is both simple and powerful: "I try to create something that I would’ve wanted to play as a kid."

This approach has led to games inspired by classics like Zelda and new takes on tower defense games, all focused on the retro pixel art style he loves. PJ has been able to successfully balance this passion project with his full-time job as a software developer, a career where he continues to grow his professional skills while keeping his creative passion alive. He has been coding since he was 12, and the experience of working independently has taught him how to do a "little bit of everything" in a business, from coding to marketing.

Powering-up with AdMob

To keep his games free and accessible to a broad audience, PJ chose an ad-supported business model. He initially used a different service for monetization but later transitioned to Google AdMob, which proved to be a very good business decision.

“AdMob was really easy to implement into my apps and get it working correctly. I also found that my earnings with AdMob were just a lot more consistent. And over the years there's been new privacy policies that have been required like GDPR that you have to implement with ads and doing it through AdMob has been incredibly easier than any of the other services I've ever used,” PJ explains.

PJ's monetization strategy is built on a player-first philosophy. He relies almost entirely on rewarded ads, where players opt-in to watch an ad in exchange for an in-game bonus. He believes this approach increases user retention, leading to a much more engaged and loyal audience. His disciplined approach to development and monetization has made his business self-sufficient, allowing him the freedom to create without external pressure.

Over the last couple years, ad revenue has become the primary source of income for his business. “I've made quite a bit of money with the AdMob earnings. It's allowed me to take my family on vacations we wouldn't have gotten to go on otherwise. It's allowed me to lower the stress level. It's given us a lot of freedom financially and so that's been life-changing in dramatic ways,” PJ shares.

“I've made quite a bit of money with the AdMob earnings. It's allowed me to take my family on vacations we wouldn't have gotten to go on otherwise. It's allowed me to lower the stress level. It's given us a lot of freedom financially and so that's been life-changing in dramatic ways.”

Building a global guild

Genetix Studio has developed a strong global following. PJ estimates his apps have been downloaded a cumulative three to four million times. His most popular game, Lone Tower, is nearing one million downloads and was once featured on the Google Play Store for four months. This exposure was a pivotal moment, generating more income than his day job during that time. This success, combined with his passion, has motivated him to continue releasing new games.

PJ's favorite part of his work is seeing the community engage with his creations. On platforms like Discord, players have created spreadsheets to analyze game mechanics and suggest improvements, which has led to "hundreds and hundreds of fixes." This level of engagement has been incredibly satisfying for him.

PJ is also excited to share his passion with his oldest daughter, who is already sketching concepts for a game. He hopes to guide her through the process, teaching her to code and build her own game in the coming years.

Looking ahead, PJ plans to continue developing and releasing two or three mobile apps a year while updating his existing games. He is also interested in exploring other platforms like Steam for PC and potentially virtual reality games in the future. Whatever direction he chooses, his work with Genetix Studio will be guided by his commitment to a player-first approach and creating a deeply connected global community of gamers.

About the Publisher

PJ Chavez is the founder of Genetix Studio, an independent mobile game developer based in Cheyenne, Wyoming. With a background as a software developer, he has been coding since high school. PJ launched his studio with a mission to create engaging, retro pixel art games that he himself would want to play. He balances his passion for game development with his full-time job as a software developer, finding immense reward in building digital worlds for others to enjoy.