Back in 2018, the developers behind Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Saber Interactive, were working on a game with a rather unusual theme—Donald Trump. Known as Trump Fu, the game was imagined as a Trump-inspired twist on the idea behind Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn. Although Shaq Fu didn’t exactly wow critics, it eventually led to Saber scoring a lucrative deal for NBA Playgrounds, earning a tidy sum due to its perfectly timed launch on the Nintendo Switch.
Saber Interactive, founded in 2001, has built a name for itself as a flexible game studio, adept at both leading its own projects and assisting in the development of others. Over the years, the company has successfully delivered a number of hit titles, starting with their standout achievement, the critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary – a remaster of the classic shooter that made waves on the original Xbox. Their partnership with big projects continued with their involvement in Halo: The Master Chief Collection, leading up to their more recent triumph with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, a celebrated third-person shooter that made its debut in September 2024.
In the lull between handling Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Space Marine 2, Saber ventured into slightly unconventional waters with the idea for a Donald Trump-themed game. This unexpected turn was influenced by Saber’s co-founder and CEO, Matthew Karch, who recounted the story in an interview with Game File’s Stephen Totilo. The seed of this project traces back to Karch’s encounter with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal following the release of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary in 2011. During their meeting, Shaq pitched a detective game starring himself, a concept Karch wasn’t thrilled about. However, this meeting spurred an alternate proposal for a sequel to EA’s 1994 game Shaq Fu.
Going down the celebrity theme route, Saber Interactive produced several titles including Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn (2018), Barack Fu: The Adventures of Dirty Barry (2018), and the planned yet ultimately abandoned Trump Fu after summer 2018. Despite a crowdfunding campaign raising $458,884, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn tanked critically in 2018, with its Barack Obama DLC, Barack Fu: The Adventures of Dirty Barry, largely flying under the radar, as Karch admitted, “absolutely nobody played.”
The ambitious Trump Fu would have followed a storyline where Trump’s cabinet betrayed him, leading to a plane crash that left him stranded in the Mexican desert, trying to find his way back across the border. Nevertheless, the idea was shelved, and Karch even entertained the notion of a Putin-themed fighting game, but it never got off the ground either.
Despite the lukewarm reception of Shaq Fu, it laid the groundwork for Saber to secure the NBA Playgrounds deal. Released in May 2017, NBA Playgrounds hit the market across various platforms, most notably the Switch, which was relatively new and sparse in its game library at the time. This strategic release allowed NBA Playgrounds to dominate the eShop, and according to Karch, the game brought in significant profits, enough to fund the purchase of his $23 million Gulf Stream 280 private jet in 2022.
Saber Interactive, founded in 2001 with headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, operates under the umbrella of Embracer Group and is well-known for franchises like World War Z and Halo.
