Rami Ismail

Vlambeer co-founder (Nuclear Throne, Ridiculous Fishing) and indie games advocate

@tha_rami Netherlands Indie Game Makers Educators & Course Creators

Rami Ismail at a glance

Known for: Vlambeer, Nuclear Throne and Ridiculous Fishing
Based in: Netherlands
Indie since: 2010
Active products: Nuclear Throne, Ridiculous Fishing and Luftrausers

Facts checked 2026-10-22

About Rami Ismail

Rami Ismail is a Dutch-Egyptian game developer born in 1988 who co-founded Vlambeer with Jan Willem Nijman in 2010. The two met at the Utrecht School of the Arts and dropped out when the school claimed rights to a game they had made. As Vlambeer's business and production lead he worked on Super Crate Box, Ridiculous Fishing, Luftrausers and Nuclear Throne.

Ridiculous Fishing earned over $1 million within six months of its 2013 release and stabilised the studio, and Nuclear Throne passed $1 million in revenue during early access, built largely on Twitch livestreams. Ismail also created free tools for indies, presskit() and distribute(), and founded gamedev.world, an online conference for developers outside the West. He received the GDC Ambassador Award in 2018.

Vlambeer wound down in 2020, and in 2024 Ismail sold his shares to Nijman. He now advises studios worldwide and is co-developing Australia Did It, a railway-defense game with Aesthetician Labs, due on Steam on 10 November 2026.

Products by Rami Ismail

Nuclear Throne

store.steampowered.com

Post-apocalyptic roguelike shooter developed live on Twitch.

$1M+ during early access

Ridiculous Fishing

en.wikipedia.org

Mobile fishing-and-shooting game made with Zach Gage and Greg Wohlwend.

$1M+ in first six months

Luftrausers

store.steampowered.com

Arcade dogfighting game with customizable planes.

Super Crate Box

store.steampowered.com

Vlambeer's first arcade game.

Australia Did It: End-of-the-World Railway Defense Business

store.steampowered.com

Tactical 'reverse bullet hell' about running cargo trains across a dried-out ocean, co-developed with Aesthetician Labs.

Vlambeer

vlambeer.com

acquired

Dutch indie studio co-founded with Jan Willem Nijman; Ismail sold his stake to Nijman in 2024.

Timeline

2010 — Co-founded Vlambeer and released Super Crate Box.
2013 — Ridiculous Fishing earned over $1M in six months.
2015 — Released Nuclear Throne; named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for Games.
2018 — Received the GDC Ambassador Award.
2020 — Announced the closure of Vlambeer.
2024 — Sold his Vlambeer shares to Jan Willem Nijman.

How Rami builds

Build tools that lower barriers for every developer.
Make the games industry accessible beyond the West.
Develop in public to build an audience.

Rami Ismail FAQ

Who is Rami Ismail?

Rami Ismail is a Dutch-Egyptian developer who co-founded Vlambeer (Nuclear Throne, Ridiculous Fishing, Luftrausers) and is known for advocating for developers worldwide.

How much did Ridiculous Fishing make?

Ridiculous Fishing brought in more than $1 million in revenue within six months of its 2013 release.

Why did Vlambeer close?

Ismail and Nijman announced the closure in 2020, saying they had been moving in different directions; Nijman later revived the studio after buying Ismail's shares in 2024.