In this GDC 2011 talk, Klei Entertainment's Jamie Cheng talks about the development process that gave birth to Shank, which would propel Klei onto the global game-making stage.

Cheng discusses how Klei was at the verge of bankruptcy during development of its ultra-violent action game Shank, explaining that the situation was so dire the studio introduced temporary (and optional) employee wage reductions with interest in order to finish the game.

Thankfully, after striking a deal with EA Partners which would allow Klei to retain creative freedom and IP, the risk paid off when Shank was released in August 2010, selling 41,000 units within the first week.

It was an insightful talk that's still worth watching, so developers shouldn't miss the opportunity to do so now that it's freely available on the official GDC YouTube channel!

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