Com2uS Holdings has established a new indie game publishing brand. This decision was made based on the judgment that releasing new titles under a "new signboard" rather than the company name would be more effective, similar to how Toyota sells luxury vehicles under the 'Lexus' brand. While there have been many cases of spinning off developers to ensure a free development environment, establishing a separate publishing brand is an unusual move in the gaming industry.
According to the game industry on the 10th, Com2uS Holdings launched the indie game specialist publishing brand 'Ratel' last month. The target market is global. 'Pop Pop Match', released in February, and 'Color Swiper', released last month, are included under this brand. In North America's Google Play Store, 'Rumble Runners' was also released under this brand.
Publishing is a business model where a company takes games created by other developers and handles distribution, marketing, operations, and more. Developers can focus on development while leveraging the know-how of large corporations, and large companies benefit from diversifying their portfolios. Especially in recent industry trends, major game publishers are taking on publishing for indie developers' games like Ratel. As development costs soar and success rates decline, large game companies have sought ways to spread risk with lower costs.
However, establishing a related brand like Ratel is a unique attempt. While developer spin-offs have been common in the gaming industry, creating new publishing brands has been rare. Users often feel familiar with games by trusting the publisher's reputation. Nexon's subsidiary Mint Rocket is the developer of 'Dave the Diver', which has sold over 8 million copies cumulatively worldwide, and Krafton's planned expansion to 19 in-house production studios this year also focuses primarily on development.
Com2uS Holdings appears to have judged that presenting a fresh image would be more beneficial as it has announced the release of more than 10 new titles this year. Com2uS Holdings reported an operating loss of 9.7 billion won for the first quarter of this year on a consolidated basis, significantly widening from the same period last year (a loss of 3.2 billion won). Success with new titles is urgently needed.
Com2uS Holdings began sketching the blueprint for Ratel in the second half of 2024. After project sourcing and pre-testing last year, the brand name and identity were established early this year. 'Pop Pop Match' and 'Color Swiper' are games earmarked as Ratel's "original new titles" from the discovery stage.
Ratel is an in-house brand within Com2uS Holdings with a team of around 10 people; it is not a separate legal entity. It is divided into PC and mobile teams. Currently registered only on Google Play Store, it plans to register on Apple App Store later.
A Com2uS Holdings representative stated, "We created the new brand Ratel to discover creative games that break away from existing frameworks," adding, "We will become a brand that does not fear new attempts, respects developers' creativity, and prioritizes fun as its core value."
in TECH
