Chris Kerr, News EditorNovember 19, 20243 Min ReadImage via RemedyAt a GlanceRemedy is going all-in on self-publishing but claims the approach will require a change in mindset.Alan Wake and Control developer Remedy claims self-publishing will drive the studio create games for a wider audience.Outlining the company's five-year strategy during a Capital Markets Day presentation, Remedy CFO Santtu Kallionp said ditching the publisher-funded model isn't just about securing a bigger chunk of revenue, but rather changing how Remedy approaches development."With the publisher funded model, the way Remedy has approached building our game concepts and business cases can be explained in the following way. [...] It starts by Remedy creating a captivating creative pitch and game concept, which includes a budget ask," said Kallionp."Then we would have taken that out and sold it to a potential publisher. Once a publisher has bought the concept it is the publisher's responsibility to try and position [the title] and try to find a big enough audience for that game. Often publishers, especially if they are platform holders, have strategic platform interest, making them more willing to take risks on creative projects with unknown commercial upsides."Kallionp explained that with its previous titles, especially projects funded by publishers, Remedy didn't prioritize building a game with a huge target audience in mind. Instead, the company was more focused on creating a compelling concept that would attract interest (and investment) from prospective partners.That's going to change. Now that Remedy intends to fund development and self-publish its titles (with help from select partners like Annapurna Pictures and Tencent), Kallionp said the company will need to be "more strategic" when thinking about that intended audience. He explained the studio will need to understand from the get-go whether a concept will be capable of attracting a large playerbase, because it's now Remedy's "sole responsibility" to ensure its projects become commercially viable.Remedy expects entire organization to buy into new publishing modelKallionp said Remedy's approach to self-publishing is shaped by three guiding principles. Firstly, the Finnish studio wants to build a "focused internal team" that owns the critical publishing areas and can achieve operational scale and global reach by working with key partners.Secondly, he emphasized that Remedy will only publish its own gameslargely because it wants "publishing to be closely integrated with our development teams throughout the life cycle of our games." Finally, he said everyone involved with production must understand "how we are publishing our games [and] how we are marketing out games," because all employees are driving towards the same end goal.Kallionp noted that Remedy is still expanding its self-publishing team, which is split into six key units each with their own leader, and hopes to grow the division to just over 20 people. If the company can realize its vision, Kallionp believes Remedy will deliver lucrative hits and nurture expansive player communities."By publishing our games ourselves, we get to build closer integrations between game development and publishing to help align our games with a large enough target audience. We will also get closer closer to our players, as we are responsible for making the key decisions regarding updates and fixes based on player feedback and analytics," he added."And finally, self-publishing will push and motivate the whole organization to think more commercially, as we are solely responsible ourselves for the financial success or failure of our games."Read more about:Remedy EntertainmentTop StoriesAbout the AuthorChris KerrNews Editor, GameDeveloper.comGame Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, andPocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.See more from Chris KerrDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like