Devolver Digital
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas, United States |
Number of locations | 2 offices (2015) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Fork Parker (CFO) |
Number of employees | 11 (2015) |
| Subsidiaries | Devolver Digital Films |
| Website | DevolverDigital.com |
GHI Media, LLC (doing business as Devolver Digital) is an American video game publisher and film distributor primarily associated with the Serious Sam and Hotline Miami series. Based in Austin, Texas, the company was founded by Mike Wilson, Harry A. Miller IV and Rick Stults, three of the founders of Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group, in 2009.[1] Differently from these previous companies, however, Devolver Digital is set to reach out further to the digital distribution market, allowing less popular games of their publishing line to also receive their attention, even outside of retail.
Beginning with recovering the license for the Serious Sam series from the three founder's previous, now defunct company, Gathering of Developers, their first game to publish was Croteam's Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter in 2009. Following up with Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter, Devolver Digital kept on publishing Serious Sam-related video games, until it shifted the view from only publishing the Serious Sam series to also supporting smaller independent companies by publishing their game. This resulted in the first game, Hotline Miami by Dennaton Games, being a massive success of universal praise and critic acclaim, in 2012.
Alongside the release of Hotline Miami, Devolver Digital opened a second office in London, England, led by Graeme Struthers and Andrew Parsons, to easier reach out to European developers and keep track of the public relations in Europe.
In 2013, Devolver Digital opened their film distribution arm, Devolver Digital Films, which aims at helping independent filmmakers by digitally distributing and promoting their work.[2]
History
Devolver Digital was founded by Mike Wilson, Harry A. Miller IV and Rick Stults in Austin, Texas in 2009. All three of them had previously co-founded publishing companies Gathering of Developers in 1998, which went defunct in 2004, and Gamecock Media Group in 2007, which went defunct in 2008. Prior to the foundation of Devolver Digital, they were able to sign a contract with Croteam, who were able obtain the rights to the Serious Sam series from 2K Games, which had taken on Gathering of Developers publishing rights, to work with them on Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter, the high-definition remake to the 2001 Serious Sam: The First Encounter and forming Devolver Digital.[1]
Transition to indie game publishing
Prior to the release of Serious Sam 3: BFE, Devolver Digital and Croteam experimented with the idea of shifting its focus towards publishing games of smaller independent companies. Using Serious Sam as a test bed, Devolver Digital contracted Mommy's Best Games and Vlambeer for smaller high-concept titles, publishing Serious Sam Double D and Serious Sam: The Random Encounter, respectively. Afterwards, fan-made titles Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! by Be-Rad Entertainment and Serious Sam: The Greek Encounter by Eric Ruth Games, were taken into the official "indie series" portfolio and also published by Devolver Digital. Since then, Devolver Digital continued this approach with different types of games and made a breakthrough with the very first game in that concept, namely, Dennaton Games' Hotline Miami. The title went on to receive critical praise, appear on multiple "Best of 2012" lists,[3] sell over 1,700,000 copies, receive a port to a new engine with OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita versions inbound.[4]
Expansion into film distribution
At the South by Southwest Film Festival 2013, Devolver Digital announced that their newly formed film distribution arm, Devolver Films, LLC (doing business as Devolver Digital Films), will be spearheaded by their very own Mike Wilson, partnering with Andie Grace, both of which are experienced filmmakers and industry insiders. Citing the lack of support for independent filmmakers at the point of distribution and financial support in production, Devolver Digital Films aimed "to be that much needed second or third wind to truly find an audience for the film at the home stretch and finish line."[2] Employing the same approach to film distribution as with game publishing, Devolver Digital Films' ambition is to "apply that same fiercely creative devotion to indie filmmakers and their projects."[2]
Fictional CFO controversy
Fork Parker, the alleged chief financial officer of Devolver Digital, is a fictional character who first appeared in a promotional video for Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter on August 18, 2009, where he received a lot of fan acclaim. Due to his increasing popularity, he was turned into an advertisement figure, appearing on press releases and in game credits, as well as receiving his own Twitter account where he promotes Devolver Digital's games and gives critical opinions about current trends or news.[5] Although he is a fictional character, Fork Parker has officially been listed as Devolver Digital's chief financial officer and is treated as such, appearing as an avaricious personality in the form of Easter eggs in various games.[5]
Published games
Acquisitions
| Year of acquisition | Year of original release | Title | Developer(s) | Genre(s) | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2001 | Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter |  Croteam |
First-person shooter | Microsoft Windows |
| 2002 | Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter | Croteam |
First-person shooter | Microsoft Windows | |
| 2011 | 2005 | Serious Sam 2 | Croteam |
First-person shooter | Microsoft Windows |
| 2013 | 1997 | Shadow Warrior Classic |  3D Realms |
First-person shooter | Microsoft Windows, OS X |
| 2006 | Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure |
|
Beat 'em up, action-adventure | Microsoft Windows | |
| 2015 | 2014 | Breach & Clear | Mighty Rabbit Studios |
Turn-based strategy, action role-playing | Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux |
References
- 1 2 Grant, Christopher (June 25, 2009). "Gamecock, Gathering of Developers founders re-emerge as Devolver Digital". Engadget. AOL Tech. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
- 1 2 3 Chiullan, Moisés (March 7, 2013). "SXSW: Videogame Developer/Publisher Devolver Digital Adds a Film Distribution Arm!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
- ↑ Hamilton, Kirk (January 3, 2013). "Kirk's Top 11 Games Of 2012". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
- ↑ Krupa, Daniel (February 19, 2013). "Hotline Miami Coming to PS3 and PS Vita". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
- 1 2 Newman, Heather (December 1, 2015). "A Very Special Holiday Interview with (fake) Devolver Digital CFO Fork Parker". GamesBeat. VentureBeat. Retrieved December 18, 2015.