Devolver Digital
| File:Devolver Digital Logo.png | |
| 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 |
GHI Media, LLC, doing business as Devolver Digital, is an American video game publisher and film distributor based in Austin, Texas, which is primarily associated with the Serious Sam and Hotline Miami series.
The company was founded in 2009 by former Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group executives, Mike Wilson, Harry A. Miller IV, and Rick Stults.[1]
After partnering with developer Croteam for the Serious Sam series, their first published game was Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter in 2009, which was followed by Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter in 2010. Devolver Digital continued publishing Serious Sam related video games, but also started shifting their focus to smaller independent developers. Their first major indie success was Hotline Miami by Dennaton Games 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 more easily be able to reach out to developers based in Europe, and to keep track of their public relations in Europe.
In 2013, the company opened their film distribution arm, Devolver Digital Films, which aims at helping independent filmmakers by digitally distributing and promoting their work.[2]
Contents
History
Devolver Digital was founded by Mike Wilson, Harry A. Miller IV and Rick Stults in Austin, Texas in 2009. The trio had previously co-founded publishing companies Gathering of Developers in 1998, and Gamecock Media Group in 2007.
Prior to the foundation of Devolver Digital, they were able to partner with developers Croteam, and were able obtain the rights to the Serious Sam series from 2K Games through Gathering of Developers. This led to Devolver Digital's first published game, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter, the high-definition remake to the 2001 Serious Sam: The First Encounter.[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
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
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