Devolver Digital welcomes in Big Fan, a new home for licenced videogames

Overnight Devolver Digital revealed that they have a new publishing label, one that is dedicated to the publishing of games based off movies, comics, books and more.

Part of their reveal of Big Fan was a letter, which essentially breaks down why they are doing it, you can see it below. But what does all this mean for you, the gamer?

Well we don’t know the future line up, but we have ideas. The group have already rebranded 3 existing games that were published by Devolver Digital and Good Shepherd Entertainment, those being John Wick Hex, Hellboy: Web of Wyrd and Reigns: Game of Thrones, but that is the past.

Currently whenever a licenced videogame is announced it falls into one of two groups, a mega developer or a specialist licenced developer. The mega developer can be anyone, such as Electronic Arts with their Star Wars games or their upcoming Marvel titles, or Ubisoft with things like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Those specialist developers only really fall into two groups these days, Outright Games and Gamemill Entertainment, the first focuses more on kid friendly and the second makes bad games.

What we are hoping for with this new arm, is that as the studio looks to be giving control to indie devs, that folks who have always wanted to make a Game of Thrones game, but like The Witcher can do so, or maybe a racing specialist wants to kart-ify The Amazing Race. Those are just random thoughts from us, but there really isn’t any restrictions, it also means that we might see Star Wars, Marvel or DC games that don’t take thousands of people to make.

There is no time frame on when the group will reveal the first new game, but given the core of what Devolver Digital does, bring unique games to players, we can only imagine that Big Fan is going to do the same.

Here is the letter:

Like you, we’re really into games. But when it comes to “licensed games”, we think there’s room for a new approach. One where indie developers get to make the call. To take some risks and explore unique ideas that aren’t dictated by spreadsheets. So we formed Big Fan to help make that dream a reality. From a team that carries a deep bench of experience working with games and entertainment properties like Dune, Star Wars, Blade Runner, Lord of the Rings, Hellboy, Evil Dead, John Wick, Blair Witch, The Power Rangers and more.

We believe (and have seen firsthand) that great games that propel existing franchises can offer a connection with a fan that only an interactive experience can offer. Independent games created in these universes can explore them in new and unexpected ways, and it’s our goal to raise the bar of what fans can expect.

Drawing inspiration from beloved franchises, we strive to bring these worlds closer to fans—both old and new—through the lens of creative teams driven by their passion for the material. We support developers by providing our industry expertise and the resources they need to bring their ideas to life. Our goal at Big Fan is to nurture fun and inventive games that stand on their own, rather than serving as marketing tie-ins for other media launches.

It’s easy for us to make grand statements in a press release, but we like to think we can back them up. Collectively, we’ve published a lot of different games on a lot of different platforms, some of which you might have even heard of. Our work includes collaborations with like-minded teams at Disney, Dark Horse Comics, Rebellion, Lionsgate, and more. We are actively working with these partners right now, with more on the way.