From DMA Design to Unity, CEO Paul Farley Wants to Right the Wrongs of the Developer-Publisher Relationship
Edinburgh, UK. 20th January 2022: With the goal of crafting games that have fun and accessibility at their core, new full-service publisher Firestoke today lifted the lid on its intention to reset the developer-publisher relationship for the good of games and, even more importantly, gamers.
Firestoke is headed up by CEO Paul Farley, who over the course of the last two decades has plied his trade at everyone from industry stalwarts like DMA Design to mobile staples such as Tag Games and ChilliConnect (latterly acquired by Unity).
Now, with Firestoke, his aim is to partner with studios that have a focus on delivering compact, accessible, and – most importantly – joyful games for console and PC. The ambition is to form closer, more balanced relationships with the developers for the betterment of the games those partnerships deliver.
“I’ve been on both sides of the developer-publisher relationship throughout my time in the industry, which is one of the key reasons why I moved to start Firestoke,” says CEO Paul Farley of the venture. “There’s an opportunity to move away from the misalignment and miscommunication that has existed in these relationships and do better. With better listening and understanding we can align on our goals and expectations, and break down some of the preconceptions and barriers to mutual success.”
According to Farley, one of Firestoke’s aforementioned goals will be to focus on ‘games that have a positive impact on their players’ – or, in other words, titles that put the spotlight on rewarding and social experiences, rather than just guns and violence.
“It’s important to us to build a consistent and trusted brand and, as such, there are definitely genres and themes we want to publish, and genres and themes we don’t,” continues Farley. “To ensure cross-generational appeal we’re not going to target hardcore gamers and the 14 to 25-year-old audience – so shooters, deep RPGs, heavy strategy and sims aren’t going to be our specialty, nor are games that utilise violence, gore, or deal with adult subject matter. We’re all about delivering accessible fun and making sure everyone is invited to the party!”
Though founded in the UK, Firestoke will be looking to work with developers the world over, placing the alignment of values far higher up the priority list than the geography of the studio in question.
Firestoke is now on the hunt for those developers to partner with on the ambitious first wave of games the company publishes, with further announcements on both those and its broader objectives to come in the months ahead.
For more information, please contact:
Stefano Petrullo, CEO, Renaissance PR
Telephone: +44 7828 692 315
E-mail: stefano@renaissancepr.biz
Keith Andrew, Senior Account Manager, Renaissance PR
Telephone: +44 7834 237 322
E-mail: keith@renaissancepr.biz
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About Firestoke
Firestoke is a full service publisher of indie PC and Console games. Founded in 2021 our titles aim to spark joy, surprise and delight in a global audience of players.