Team17 Branching Out Into Publishing

Team17, that seemingly ever present purveyor of warring invertebrates, are branching out from a purely self-publishing business model and into one which sees them publishing third parties. In other words, Team17 are helping other developers get their games on the digital marketplaces, after 23 years as an independent studio.

So they’re moving beyond their catalogue of franchises, which has for a long time seen regular Worms games and revamps of titles like Alien Breed and Superfrog, and they’re doing so by supporting the game by Brighton based Just A Pixel, Light.

Light, currently going through the Steam Greenlight process, takes a very simplistic and minimalist aesthetic and turns it to a top down stealth game, with the various viewing angles and geometry blending together for complex and quite striking visuals.

From Team17’s perspective, this is clearly a bold move on their part, but it’s also being done at a time which makes sense. Indie games are getting more and more time in the spotlight, and with the next generation of console hardware hitting in the next few weeks, it’s Indie games which are in at the ground floor, helping to create a vibrant selection of titles to enjoy. It’s the time to launch new ideas, new IPs and take risks.

It’s great that we can now have more access to smaller developers thanks to the wonders of the internet, Steam’s Greenlight process and early access system, Sony’s newfound love and the viral proliferation of good ideas thanks to the various social media channels. But it’s worth remembering that it’s often difficult for those small teams to navigate the choppy waters of console submission process, not to mention the costly minefield that is marketing a modern game. Hopefully, in time, Team 17’s experience can help to light (get it?) those paths for a few more small teams too.