Devolver launches new indie label focused on licensed games

Devolver Digital has announced the creation of a new publishing label designed specifically for licensed games. The label, named Big Fan Games, is helmed by industry veterans who have worked with brands like Disney, Dark Horse, and more. In a press release, Devolver said that the new company’s goals are “helping independent game developers breathe new life into their favorite movies, comics, TV shows, and cult heroes through the power of video games.” Big Fan already has a number of games on its roster, including Reigns: Game of Thrones, Hellboy Web of Wyrd, and John Wick Hex.

Licensed games were a big portion of the video game industry in the late ’80s and early ’90s. A lot of games that have been enshrined in older gamers’ imagination as being harder than the games of today were licensed platformers like Disney’s Lion King, DuckTales, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the NES. However, their quality started to decline, and soon, licensed games became thought of as little more than interactive commercials.

Though sentiments regarding licensed games have changed, the team at Big Fan is aware of the stigma, sharing in the press release that the “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.”

The launch of a label centered on licensed properties seems right on time as those kinds of games are experiencing a new renaissance and attention from the industry’s biggest studios. Respawn Entertainment has seen enormous success with its duology of Star Wars games. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge launched in 2022 to critical acclaim. MachineGames is due to release a new Indiana Jones video game later this year, while IO Interactive, maker of the Hitman franchise, is working on a James Bond game.

Big Fan seeks to keep the trend going, saying that “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.”