Deep Rock Galactic dev launches publishing label for Danish studios

polygon.com:

Ghost Ship Games, the developer of Deep Rock Galactic, announced on Thursday that the studiois expanding into publishing. Ghost Ship, based in Denmark, will begin publishing small titles from other Danish studios. While the studio only has one game under its belt, the long-lasting success of its dwarven co-op sci-fi shooter has paved the way for more projects from other creators.

“Deep Rock Galactic is still the main thing for Ghost Ship Games,” said Søren Lundgaard, CEO of Ghost Ship Games, in a call with Polygon. “Because we are game developers, we continue to pour our heart and soul into this game. But when we’ve been out at conferences and events where we meet other developers, we got approached for advice on how to safely go through Steam Early Access and how to build the game with the community.”

Ghost Ship Games originally worked with Coffee Stain publishing, but have since transitioned to self-publishing “90%” of Deep Rock Galactic. “We were looking for developers that want to go the open development route and want to engage with the community,” said Lundgaard.

After five years, Deep Rock Galactic reviews are “overwhelmingly positive”, with nearly 150,000 players weighing in on Steam. The community is known for spreading the game through positive word of mouth, backed by a generous microtransaction model and clear communication from the developers. “It takes a lot of time to build that trust,” says Lundaard. He is optimistic that journey will translate into publishing advice for other developers. “We actually haven’t had a traditional game publisher in Denmark — some for mobile, but not for Steam. We see a big opportunity for us to go in and help Danish game developers get published with Steam friendly games.”

Gh