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Been looking forward to a Crackdown 3 announcement today? Stand down people, stand down.
While the stars had seemingly aligned for a Crackdown 3 reveal this afternoon, it turns out that Microsoft’s news was the acquisition of the Gears of War IP. And Ruffian’s news? It has teamed up with Square Enix to help push its new indie title – Game of Glens.
The scheme is called Collective (the pilot phase of which kicks off today) and sees Square Enix introduce indie titles to gamers in an effort to get these games funded. The publisher is offering indie developers promotional support as well as advice to help build momentm for their games. Developers can even make games based on select Square Enix IP.
However, there’s no obligation for developers to sign with Square Enix after they get their titles funded.
Indie studios can get their titles funded through Square’s crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, although again, these small firms can choose not to go down this route.
Early partners include Ruffian, Kitfox and Tuque. Ruffian is creating a title called Game of Glens, Kitfox is building a game called Moon Hunters, while Tuque Games is building World War Machine.
There are lots of really talented small teams around the world with great game ideas. For those teams, getting visibility, momentum, funding and distribution can be very tricky and that’s where we hope Collective can help,” Collective project lead Phil Elliott said.
It’s up to the teams how much or little help they want from Square Enix and it’s our opportunity to help some fantastic games become a reality and uncover the development stars of the future.”
There’s a Collective website for more details.
