Tripwire Presents, the publishing arm of Killing Floor studio Tripwire Interactive, has started a program to help smaller self-published indie games reach more players, beginning with five titles that include The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire.
According to a release, the program offers ‘flexible, dev-friendly partnerships’ meant to help good games find more players while making sure their developers benefit the most. Tripwire says it will help with cross-promotion, PR, content creators and events, and will open up its own player community to these games.
Developers also get access to Tripwire's platform and storefront relationships and promotional calendars. The publisher will advise on pricing, discounts, sales timing and lifecycle management (how a game is supported and promoted over the years after release). It plans to sign games at different stages, from pre-release to Early Access and after launch.
“Tripwire Presents is starting this new program to give additional visibility to great self-published indie games that we feel Tripwire fans will absolutely love,” said Bryan West, Publishing Director at Tripwire Presents.
West called the studios ‘scrappy developers’ who built and promoted their games on their own. He said Tripwire wants to help each of them reach a broader audience.
The five launch titles
BEF Games' The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire left Early Access with its 1.0 launch on October 27th. The open-world crime game mixes action with running a criminal empire in the fictional Night City. It costs $18.99 on Steam, with 20% off until November 10th, and has a free demo.
Starforged Legacy from Second Shift Games is a single-player sci-fi roguelike bullet hell. Players turn one small ship into a warship with salvaged weapons and upgrades, and resources from failed runs make them permanently stronger. It's in Early Access on Steam for $7.99.
Outlier Games' Mars Attracts is a park management sim set in the Mars Attacks universe. Players are the Martians, building enclosures, managing staff and abducting humans to entertain Martian guests. It recently left Early Access and costs $24.99. A free update has already added a new human enclosure type and a limited-time Halloween decor set.
One-Eyed Likho is a first-person folk horror adventure from Morteshka, the studio behind Black Book. Based on 19th-century Slavic folklore, it has players outwit the one-eyed Likho with fire-based puzzles in a dark, monochrome hand-drawn style. It sells for $19.99.
Eslabong by shirowita combines tactical strategy with running a mercenary club. Alone or in co-op, players recruit fantasy mercenaries and compete in leagues and cups across rolling seasons. It's in Early Access for $14.99, with a free demo.
All five games are on PC via Steam. Tripwire says it will share more about the program and its current and future titles later.
Tripwire Interactive was founded in 2005. It is known for the Killing Floor and Rising Storm series, which have sold over 30 million units combined, and for Maneater, which the company says has passed 20 million players with its DLC. Maneater 2 is in development. Tripwire Presents has also published Chivalry 2, DECEIVE INC., Road Redemption and The Stone of Madness, among others. Tripwire Interactive is a standalone company within Embracer Group.
The following was sent as a press release to Inven Global.
