Devolver launches new indie label focused on licensed games

Devolver Digital has announced the instauration of a caller publishing statement designed specifically for licensed games. The label, named Big Fan Games, is helmed by manufacture veterans who person worked with brands similar Disney, Dark Horse, and more. In a property release, Devolver said that the caller company’s goals are “helping autarkic crippled developers respire caller beingness into their favourite movies, comics, TV shows, and cult heroes done the powerfulness of video games.” Big Fan already has a fig of games connected its roster, including Reigns: Game of Thrones, Hellboy Web of Wyrd, and John Wick Hex.

Licensed games were a large information of the video crippled manufacture successful the precocious ’80s and aboriginal ’90s. A batch of games that person been enshrined successful older gamers’ imaginativeness arsenic being harder than the games of contiguous were licensed platformers similar Disney’s Lion King, DuckTales, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles connected the NES. However, their prime started to decline, and soon, licensed games became thought of arsenic small much than interactive commercials.

Though sentiments regarding licensed games person changed, the squad astatine Big Fan is alert of the stigma, sharing successful the property merchandise that the “goal astatine Big Fan is to nurture amusive and inventive games that basal connected their own, alternatively than serving arsenic selling tie-ins for different media launches.”

The motorboat of a statement centered connected licensed properties seems close connected clip arsenic those kinds of games are experiencing a caller renaissance and attraction from the industry’s biggest studios. Respawn Entertainment has seen tremendous occurrence with its duology of Star Wars games. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge launched successful 2022 to captious acclaim. MachineGames is owed to merchandise a caller Indiana Jones video crippled aboriginal this year, portion IO Interactive, shaper of the Hitman franchise, is moving connected a James Bond game.

Big Fan seeks to support the inclination going, saying that “independent games created successful these universes tin research them successful caller and unexpected ways, and it’s our extremity to rise the barroom of what fans tin expect.”