There is absolutely a hierarchy when it comes to video game development. It might seem like that at times, but when you, or other gamers you know, start to list the “best video game developers,” or even publishers, that are out there, you realize really quick who stands out the most. For example, Nintendo is one of the best around, if not the best around, because they consistently crank out titles that appeal to numerous kinds of gamers and have a high quality. Then, there’s FromSoftware, who cranks out a game every few years, and it’s one of the best games you’ll play in that year.
Seriously, when was the last time you heard of a BAD title by FromSoftware? It’s been a while, like over a decade or so. Regardless, the reason we’re talking about them today isn’t because of a new game or a lack of quality but because of what its future may hold. In an update from Kadokawa, the owner of the developer, they posted that its financials had a nice spike in the latest quarter. It was further noted that the DLC that the developer recently dropped only affected the financial data a little, as it had been out for only ten days.
Given that Kadokawa has its hands in all sorts of media, including manga and anime, the results aren’t fully tied to the game developer. However, they also noted that the dev team is “progressing” in its desire to publish its own games:
There are many ways you can take this, but the implication is that the team want to publish its titles going forward, which could leave a certain publisher out in the cold. If you look up the titles that FromSoftware has made since its “boom period,” you’ll see quickly that Bandai Namco is the publisher of record for all of them, including its most recent title.
The role of a publisher is manyfold, including helping build and polish the game at times, handling distribution, and even marketing it. Many game developers who aren’t attached to companies like Xbox, Sony, or Nintendo seek them out so that they can get an extra boost at launch. However, companies like Square Enix, Capcom, and others are big enough and strong enough to do all that themselves.
We recently heard from the dev team’s President that they might be interested in making more games within a shorter period. This could lead them to want to be their own publisher, so they don’t have to worry about any “red tape” that might come up.
