Bigmode's journey, from YouTubers to publishers
In September 2022, content creators Jason Yevgeniy Gastrow (better known as Videogamedunkey or just Dunkey) and Leah 'Leahbee' Gastrow announced the formation of their indie publishing label, Bigmode.
Earlier this year, the publisher revealed its first title, Shared Memory's Metroidvania-style game Animal Well.
"What we've been able to accomplish so far has really exceeded our expectations," Leah tells GamesIndustry.biz.
"We've gotten to connect with so many extremely talented people across different fields, we've already made our first game announcement, and we're getting ready to show it at PAX East this March. We have some very exciting things going on behind the scenes too. It's of course lots of work and learning new things, but we have nothing against that. This is a real passion project and a breath of fresh air for us, after working pretty much in solitude for so long."
Jason and Leah have been content creators for over a decade – they both started their YouTube channels in 2010, with Jason in particular gaining tremendous popularity on the platform over the years, now boasting over seven million subscribers and billions of views.
Launching a publishing company was just a "natural progression and evolution" from what they've been doing for years and what they "care about and want to do," Leah says.
"One thing I'd like to mention is our desire to help incredible projects stand out," she continues. "Something pretty common across all forms of entertainment and 'content,' is that because of the way people consume media and the insatiable demand for more, some great things can get lost in the churn. There's so much of everything all the time, so we feel having a way to stand out is more important than ever.
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