Insights on Indie Game Publishing from Super Rare Games

Introduction

I'm Ryan Brown, and my role at Super Rare is a hybrid one that sees me leading our PR, as well as working on general marketing, bizdev, and game scouting. I also run our Super Rare Mixtape project here – so I am quite a busy cookie, but it's all areas I am passionate about and love!

I've been in the video games industry for roughly 13 years now in some capacity, having initially started as a games journalist writing for small sites, and later full-time at the UK news outlet The Mirror and appearing on BBC and other outlets as freelance. I then moved on to Numskull as head of marketing, working on a huge range of video game merchandise lines based on Resident Evil, DOOM, PAC-MAN, Sonic, basically you name it.

I also worked on the Numskull Games label in marketing, before moving over to Super Rare Games. Initially just for marketing our physical Switch releases, before expanding into other areas as our original publishing label began. I'm also a BAFTA member and have been on the jury for the past 4 years, do talks about indie games, preservation, marketing, and pitching, and have been known for video games news coverage on Twitter. So, I'm very much all over the place!

Super Rare Originals

Super Rare Games originated as a label for releasing and preserving physical versions of indie games for the Nintendo Switch, with 93 games and counting! It's a core part of our self-owned business, having worked on A Short Hike, ABZU, SteamWorld, Worms, and many more big hitters and underappreciated indie gems. As passionate as we are and always will be about that side of the business, and how amazing it is for collectors and developers alike to hold a physical copy of their games, we definitely were eager to get a bit more involved from the start.

We don't have any external investors, shareholders, or stuffy-suited business people commanding what we do and chasing ever-expanding profits, so we're benefitted from having the freedom to reinvest profits we make from our physical business into funding original development.

We came out guns blazing in January 2022 with our Originals label announcement alongside 5 very varied, brilliant game announcements, and have since signed more titles to have a portfolio of roughly 12 released, announced, and unannounced titles. 

We are certainly a publisher, but we almost hate using the term "publisher", as it gives off a much more corporate tone than we like. We see ourselves as wanting to disrupt the typical balance of the dev/publisher relationship, where devs pitch to publishers and perhaps feel they are looking up to or groveling to publishers. Conversely, we see ourselves as more of a bespoke service and just members of their team.

More often than not, we initially reach out to developers, so we're pitching as much as they are! Everything is very equal and teamly. We can provide funding, marketing, PR, QA, production helps, milestone help, storefront admin, physical and digital events, social/community management, press releases/newsletters, third-party relations, porting, platform support, extensive influencer and press campaigns, and complete and full planning.

Whatever developers need to focus on just making their game and not worrying about everything else – things they know need doing and many things they do not even know need doing – that's what we're here for and can provide.

We work with many veteran indies and first-time commercial release indies and our experienced team is really adept at handling projects of all different sizes, needs, and states.

Super Rare Originals’ Projects

Our first digital Originals release was Grapple Dog for Steam and the Nintendo Switch, a fantastically inventive, colorful, and fun 2D action-platformer from Joseph Gribbin. However, we came straight out the gate with 5 games signed, including The Gecko Gods, Completely Stretchy, POST VOID, and LONE RUIN.

We've since released OTXO, and have announced Townseek, Go Mecha Ball, Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip, Cavern of Dreams, and Evolings. We have an incredibly varied portfolio of genres, styles, and scales, which I really love, as it represents a mix of everything we personally love about video games. 

Every project represents completely different approaches and challenges, which is what makes them exciting for us. We've worked with platform holders on several of our projects, which is an amazing prospect to have hit so early into our label's life, and the games we're working on are frankly breathtaking considering our relative newness.

I'd say working out the perfect balance for release timing for marketing and budget purposes, and the time that production realistically needs is always going to be one of the primary challenges for any developer or publisher. We're always keen to meet these challenges in the most realistic, sensible, and beneficial ways possible, with our developers always an equal part of any and all conversations that affect their games.

We always make sure developers have a say, whether that's social posts, key beat timings, attending an event, etc; not just because some of these decisions affect recoup, but because we're always aware their game is their baby and we want them to retain ownership over that.

Choosing the Right Publisher

Selecting the publisher for independent developers is an incredibly important decision and, I won't lie, a very difficult one. I'm always transparent with developers that they should definitely always pitch about and have conversations with multiple publishers – even if it is a game we desperately want to work on ourselves!

It's no good for anyone if the match isn't right. There's a lot to consider; what is it you're looking for from a publisher? Is it primarily funding so you're financially stable to work on your game? Or, is the marketing, production help, and general publishing activities? Having some idea of this in mind is really vital.

We're also super aware that, especially for first-time developers, these answers are not always easy, and we aim to help them through that. Ultimately, if what you're working on is awesome, and you understand the vision of it and can express that well, publishers like ourselves are going to be interested.

Some publishers specialize in certain genres, sizes, or areas of the industry, so it is best to do your research and pitch to multiple partners. The worst that can happen is you get a "no", and the best that can happen is you have multiple partners offering a collaboration which you can decide between! 

It's always important to hire a lawyer to look over any potential contract and advise you so that you do not get stuck in a situation you won't be happy with years down the line. Who are the people you'll be working with on a day-to-day basis; are they the same people you're talking to before signing? What does post-launch support look like? How do the recoup terms look, and do you retain IP ownership?

There's a lot to consider, which you're best doing alongside a lawyer with experience in this field. Of course, the advantage of finding the right partner over self-publishing is night-and-day. There's an incredible amount of work and responsibilities lifted off of you – it is effectively as if you are hiring 10-30 people to help work on your game, without having to pay them upfront, to significantly improve your games' chances at getting seen and performing as well as it possibly can.

Super Rare Originals' Approach to Publishing

Above all else, we are indie game players, passionate about indies and gaming and preservation. We work on projects like the Super Rare Mixtape at break-even – a personal passion project of mine to highlight and preserve smaller games from the itch.io and game jam scene on a physical compilation release – because we grew up with indies.

Honestly, the pitching process is usually me and Super Rare head George Perkins, and we're both just absolutely giddy at the idea of working on cool games with cool people. I grew up as a teenager, before the commercial indie game boom of the Wii and Xbox 360 days, in indie spaces like TIGsource, Game Maker Blog, The Daily Click, and 64 Digits, absolutely loving non-commercial, free indie games that nobody had ever heard of.

I frankly hate stuffy corporate-ness and cold, calculated, purely numbers-driven approaches and I think companies lose a lot by being like that. If we "vibe" with a developer on a call or in person, and we think their game is awesome, chances are we are going to try and make something work if we're able. Sure, there's all that publishing stuff that we handle, as we want to completely maximize the success of a game for the developers' sake and genuinely enjoy doing it. But ultimately... we just love your game and want to work with you.

I think that indie developers are far more passion-based than AAA publishing machines can tend to be, and our approach matches that. We're equals, we're members of your team, not your boss. We might want to hang out and just eat burgers with you and not talk about work at all. I want you to tell me everything about your cool game and play all your past jam games and unfinished builds, and then get sad about how none of it is preserved or available anywhere. I want to genuinely consider our developers friends and be rooting for you, alongside you, and give you genuine, objective advice, even if it is not in our own interest to do so.

Above all else, we care deeply about the art of video games, and we just want to be a part of putting them in more people's hands. It really is that simple because it can be that simple. I'll die happy as an old man if I have worked on indie games all my life and genuinely helped improve devs' lives and been a part of getting amazing games played. And we have the expertise, experience, connections, and passion to handle all the intricate publishing side of things to make that happen.

Super Rare Originals' Criteria for Game Developer Submissions

I think our current line-up represents a huge variety and diversity of game genres and styles because that is what we ourselves enjoy seeing and playing! Of course, we also understand the market and audiences and know what does and does not work, and what gives games the best chance at performing well commercially.

I'd say we all have different tastes here, and having people here who are massively passionate about personally playing a game is a big decider on which games we work on. We simply wouldn't pursue games we are not personally passionate about, even if we think they're going to be multi-million sellers, because it just wouldn't be a mutually beneficial fit. 

I don't want to necessarily list off personal genre favorites, as I don't want to scare off any developers potentially approaching us with something wacky or different, or something that doesn't quite so easily fit into a predefined box. For our criteria though, we do want to understand your game, and its scope, and have a good picture of both what you need as a developer and what that final product will look like.

We're more than used to seeing extremely unfinished builds and assets, naturally, but it's vital we – or any publisher – have a true grasp on where the project is heading, what that end-user experience will be like, and how you as a developer aim to get there.

Again, we don't always necessarily expect developers to have all these answers! Ideally, we'd like to see a pitch deck, with screenshots, GIFs, video if possible, an intro and background on the team, your estimated release timing, what you need from a publisher, and, if that includes funds, some sort of breakdown on where that'll go towards. It really doesn't need to be super fancy or polished or intricately detailed, but we need a really good grasp of everything we know is already inside your head!

Current Trends in Gaming

The landscape is ever-changing, which is something we're always aware of and tracking and keeping in mind, without simply rendering ourselves as trend-chasers. There's an abundance of roguelikes, roguelites, farming sims, and "cozy" games at the moment, which is all happening for good reason and are areas which we are also fulfilling with our own spin on titles like OTXO, LONE RUIN, Go Mecha Ball, and Townseek.

I also personally have a particular interest in the "microgames" area, which is a bit of a given with my history and love of the likes of itch.io, game jams, my Mixtape project, and seeing all the talent, originality, and value there. I think there are lessons that can be learned from the likes of Vampire Survivors and POST VOID, which has really opened the door to low-budget, lower-risk, low-pricepoint games finding great success, and so that is an area I am keen to explore more.

Super Rare Originals' Future Plans

We've got an incredibly busy slate over the next 12 months and beyond, with anticipated releases like Cavern of Dreams, Evolings, Townseek, The Gecko Gods, Tiny's Terry's Turbo Trip, Go Mecha Ball, and Completely Stretchy on the horizon. So definitely keep an eye on those! We have a few more surprises up our sleeve, and of course, we are always keen to talk to more developers, especially as we look towards our late 2024/2025 slate and beyond!

Ryan Brown, Partnerships & Communications Manager at Super Rare Games