To start, it is unclear if GameStop will be publishing any more titles after Song of the Deep. According to GameStop Global Lead, Mark Stanley, future projects are contingent upon the success of this current partnership. It would be hard to imagine a future where GameStop doesn’t continue the practice if Song of the Deep turns out to be a successful endeavor.
There has been no better time to be an indie development studio than now. The advent of digital distribution has meant logistics costs plummet. There is no warehouse space to be bought, no shipping to be coordinated, and no discs to be pressed. Some games selling at a price point well below the standard $60 have seen similar success to their high dollar AAA counterparts. Indie games are thriving in 2016. Without this middle man it means even more of the profits are being funneled directly back into the pockets of the studios that make the games.
However, games are not cheap to make. Without the initial start-up cash to get a project off the ground, many games fail to even move past the ‘pen and paper’ phase let alone make it onto platforms. Independently developed games must often rely either on private investors, developer backed funding, or crowdsourcing to bring their project to life. Publishing agreements such as GameStop’s have become the attractive 4th option.
The middle-man publishing position for indie titles is a market that has seen greater competition since the launch of the 8th generation consoles. Take PT spiritual successor Allison Road, for example. After raising over $224,000 of its $380,000 goal in only 9 days of crowdfunding, developer Lilith Ltd. decided to drop their Kickstarter campaign and partner with indie publisher, Team17. This allows the studio resources and time that developing with publisher backing can give.
Team17 isn’t the only publishing house willing to take on indie projects while allowing their creators to maintain creative control and IP ownership. Devolver Digital, Double Fine Presents, and Paradox Interactive are just a few others that have found success in this model.
Now, GameStop throws their hat into the ring with a well-known studio, Insomniac. The scheme has proven profitable to some degree or another in the past, and GameStop is hoping that they will find similar success. If GameStop can manage to gain a foothold in these sorts of projects — whether it be small passion projects for well-established studios or ground floor-level start-ups — the entire trajectory of the company could change.
GameStop’s Global Lead, Mark Stanley, is no stranger to taking companies to places they have never been before. In 2009, Stanley took on the responsibility of taking the PlayStation brand to Latin America. In that time, the PlayStation brand grew across 18 countries in Latin America, and in 2011 the PlayStation digital store launched in Brazil.
In much the same way, this partnership with Insomniac could launch GameStop into just the right space to grow their brand.
