Manifesto Games The Games' Indy Label

Manifesto Games to fuel independent devs

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A new digital distribution publisher founded by American games industry names Greg Costikyan (right) and Johnny Wilson has been formed. Called Manifesto Games, it has one clear aim: "to build a trong and viable independent game industry." The move has come as a response to the percieved constraints of retail channels and their reliance on big budget titles, and is seen by the company founders as the perfect way to encourage niche content or games that would otherwise be overlooked.

Writer and games designer Costikyan (whose Game Developers Conference rant about how the games industry is "fucked" should it continue on its big-budget path Edge readers may remember from our transcription in E149), had this to say about the new venture: "The game industry has become moribund. It is now essentially impossible for anything other than a franchise title or licensed product to obtain distribution. Yet historically, the major hits, the titles that have expanded the industry to new markets and created new audiences have been highly innovative. It is time for us to find a way to foster innovation, because it's not going to happen if we leave it to the large publishers." Manifesto Games
- (through Edge Online)