Digital Vortex Entertainment is a new publishing team focused on “elevating indie developers”. Founded by former My.Games publishing director and Wargaming director of business development, Digital Vortex says its team will “leverage their industry insight spanning AAA blockbusters, single-developer projects and everything in between.” “Thanks to a shared policy of open discussions, no genre or … Read more
Indian publisher Deftouch has secured an undisclosed investment to expand its portfolio, develop new games and hire new talent. This round is co-led by Krafton, T-accelerate Capital and Lumikai and is also backed by Visceral Capital and Play Venture. “We like to experiment with bold concepts. Even though we are building a cricket game right … Read more
French publisher RIVRS has been awarded €4 million to “professionalize and industrialize” user-generated content (UGC). The company says that with “Strengths [that] lies in its ability to design cross-platform games' such as Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite, and aims to 'become the world leader in video game UGC creation'. The initial funding round, led by Pléiade … Read more
French indie studio Black Flag has folded and filed for bankruptcy. In a statement posted on Steam, the studio said it had been “exploring smaller, secondary projects” following a dispute with its publisher, but that the past few months had “dried up all [its] funding,” leading to the “early closure” of the studio, as mandated … Read more
New indie publisher Shoreline Games has just launched and is also revealing its portfolio for early 2025. The company was created by co-founders Keith Kawamura and Jenny Zha from the US. CEO Kawamura was previously CEO of art products at Too Corporation Americas. He previously worked at companies such as Unknown Worlds Entertainment, Perfect World, … Read more
Argonaut Games returns as a boutique publisher after two decades with a console and PC remaster of Croc Legend of the Gobbos. Launched in 1997, the game is the first in a “planned line of classic Argonaut IPs and exciting titles for both contemporary and retro gaming platforms”. Founded by Jez San in 1982, Argonaut … Read more
Amazon Games boss Christoph Hartmann has said his company will “obviously” develop games for the Switch 2, but he's not too worried about the new console's release date. Amazon Games is publishing Crystal Dynamics' upcoming Tomb Raider game and is also producing a new Lord of the Rings MMO, among other upcoming games. Hartmann told … Read more
Publisher Headup has created a new indie studio: Goon Squad. Headup, which forms the publisher's own development team, says the creation of Goon Squad “marks a significant milestone in Headup's 15-year journey” and “is a testament to Headup's commitment to fostering creativity and innovation.” “Headup allows this creative hub to flourish independently, fostering a space … Read more
In an interview at Devcom, Stray Fawn co-founder Philomena Schwab shared how the Zurich-based studio has survived the past eight years, from refusing to partner with a publisher to the importance of community support in the game's development. Schwab emphasized that Stray Fawn prides itself on being an independent studio with no publisher or outside … Read more
The closure (or near-closure) of Humble Games was another brutal headline in what has been a bleak 18 months for the indie game publisher. We've seen stock prices collapse, layoffs, reduced game signings, and entire companies shut down. Publishers are, of course, caught in the same nightmare that the entire gaming industry is facing – … Read more