Devolver Digital has long specialized in the publishing of indie games, and it just opened up a new way for the studios behind those games to hit the big time. Formed from the team behind Good Shepherd Entertainment, Devolver Digital’s new Big Fan Games label will allow indie devs to work with some major franchises.
From humble beginnings to rapid growth, Devolver Digital continues to become more and more of a household name—especially with the lore-heavy, comical skits portrayed through Devolver Directs. The publisher has been involved with some big names for a while now, but it managed to reach new heights when it published Fall Guys in 2020. After publishing rights for Mediatonic’s runaway hit were swiftly sold to Epic, Devolver was able to use the funds to expand its own operation and merge other firms into itself.
Devolver Digital’s New Label For Licensed Indie Games
In the midst of Devolver Digital’s recent operations, a new publishing label has been announced. First revealed on October 1 on Twitter, Big Fan Games is a publishing operation with the goal of bringing together indie devs and big-ticket licensed IPs. Alongside this announcement, a website for Big Fan has debuted—though no new games have been shown off yet. However, the website does display the publisher’s partners; a lineup that includes Disney, Rebellion, HBO, and Darkhorse Comics.
The publisher is formed from the team behind Good Shepherd Entertainment, one of Devolver’s aforementioned acquisitions, which previously published Hellboy Web of Wyrd and John Wick Hex. These two games are being promoted (alongside the Devolver-published Reigns, which collaborated with Game of Thrones) on the page as examples of what Big Fan can do for indie studios. The new page also loudly promotes how Big Fan is actively seeking new pitches, with an email address for pitches.
What Big Fan Is Offering Indie Devs
Not only is Big Fan offering collaborations on the level of John Wick, but several other bells and whistles expected with publishers such as this are all geared towards pairing indies with big names. The site doesn’t go into too much depth, but it does boast how Big Fan can take on the trouble of “red tape,” localization, porting, quality assurance, marketing, and even creative assistance in the vein of project management and co-piloting.
In this manner, Kruse confirms the extent to which Good Shepherd has been rolled into Big Fan Games, something already demonstrated by Big Fan’s site, where old Good Shepherd press releases are displayed with the publisher’s new name. More pressingly for developers, this statement reaffirms why Big Fan is operating separately from Devolver. Kruse also adds “We are all specialists at what we do,” further emphasizing the specialized skills of this separate label—albeit one that maintains the connections of Devolver, which Big Fan can leverage when acting as a middle-man between indie studios and IP holders.
At a time when gamers are growing increasingly fatigued with AAA games, the indie market has massively exploded. While licensed shovelware is, to a degree, a relic, giving small studios the chance to engage with big IPs could be the perfect marriage of innovation, revitalization, and mass acclaim—especially as independently-run studios like Larian Games have been able to make a big splash with major licenses.
Devolver Digital
- Date Founded
- June 25, 2009
- Headquarters
- Austin, Texas
- Subsidiaries
- Croteam , Firefly Studios
- Known For
- Hotline Miami