Last year, Take-Two Interactive confirmed that they had sold Private Division, their label that handled smaller games, or as they were popularly known, indies. Today, one of the remaining loose ends from Private Division has finally been tied up.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Moon Studios has revealed that No Rest For The Wicked, a top-down action RPG which was to be published by Private Division, has become fully independent. They gave this statement as part of their recent Wicked Inside Showcase 2:
“We have secured the publishing rights for No Rest for the Wicked, allowing us to execute our vision without restrictions.”
No Rest For The Wicked was a big bet by Moon Studios, who was previously known for making the Ori platformers published by Microsoft. Unlike their stated competitors in Diablo IV and Path Of Exile 2, No Rest For The Wicked brings in a late stage city management system that ties in to the story and also makes it a unique experience. No Rest For The Wicked is currently on Early Access on Steam.
While bigger companies have adopted the indie label for their smaller games, it’s clearly a misnomer. The term was popularized by 2012’s Indie Game: The Movie, but while what fans noticed was the smaller scale of the games, what actually made them independent was that they were made by these developers while not working for a bigger company. When bigger companies made similarly smaller games a decade ago, like Tokyo Jungle or Boxboy, nobody thought of them as indie. So it’s a little perplexing that these names had taken on different associations and conflicting definitions today.
But Moon Studios definitely knows the value of being truly independent; of taking on the risks of running your business alone so that you have the creative freedom to do what you want. Moon Studios’ CEO Tom Mahler very publicly stated that he would never agree for Take-Two or any other big publisher to acquire them, citing what had happened to the studios that EA acquired in the 1990s.
It may not be possible to triangulate exactly when Moon Studios decided to part ways with Take-Two, since Take-Two were themselves evasive about what they were doing with Private Division. When they confirmed the sale, Take-Two did state that they wanted to keep No Rest For The Wicked. It’s possible that Moon Studios waited to find a financial backer or acquire capital funding before they could approach Take-Two about splitting off.
In any case, this is one of those situations where we have a good ending for a studio and a game. We wish Moon Studios the best of luck, and hope they can find further success with No Rest For The Wicked as they update the game, and hopefully bring it to consoles (maybe even some newer platforms).
