Popular YouTuber and content creator ‘Dunkey’, aka Jason Gastrow, has announced the establishment of a brand new indie game publisher, known as Bigmode. The label will seek to publish games that boast quality, originality, and fun’ and will be involved with projects ‘from pitch to near-completion.’
The decision to found the company was reportedly born of a desire to not ‘sit on the sidelines’ – with Gastrow stating he’s tired of ‘waiting for great games to appear’. Notably, Gastrow does not have prior experience as a game publisher – although the breadth of his audience, which includes 7 million subscribers on YouTube, will no doubt aid his publishing and marketing efforts.
‘I have always sought out the very best indie games out there and have tried to do them justice, putting millions of eyes on the games that actually deserve attention,’ Gastrow said in a YouTube announcement. ‘For gamers that actually play and care about video games, my channel is where they come to find out what’s actually worth playing. Bigmode will be a harmonious continuation of my channel.’
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The company will be run by Gastrow, alongside his partner Leah – and it appears they have a strong vision for the future. Bigmode will not take ‘creative control’ of projects, but will aid publishing efforts along the way, with Gastrow promising ‘insane value’ for developers. Notably, this will not extend to those working in the NFT, crypto or blockchain gaming spaces.
Bigmode is currently asking for developer pitches on its website, and is promising a range of services in exchange for support: PR and community management, QA, porting, funding, localisation, and more.
As Bigmode is currently in its establishment phase, it has no games on its roster just yet – but given the reach of Gastrow via his YouTube channel, it’s likely we’ll hear more from the publisher in short order. Content creation skills don’t necessarily transfer directly into game publishing, but there’s no doubt that Gastrow has plentiful experience with marketing and promoting a brand online.
Bigmode has potential to make a major splash, although we’ll have to be patient to see this company bear fruit.
