Devolver Digital cited the lack of support for independent filmmakers at the point of distribution and financial support in production as primary reason for the opening. In the films business, Wilson had previously produced the film Austin High, while Grace had held oversight roles for film projects created at the Burning Man Festival. The partnership would be led by Devolver Digital's Wilson, alongside Andie Grace, who became vice-president of acquisitions. In March 2013, at the SXSW Film Festival, Devolver Digital announced Devolver Digital Films, a film distribution subsidiary. Growth and film distribution (2013–present) The game, released in 2012, became Devolver Digital's breakout hit it received critical praise, appeared on multiple "Best of 2012" lists, and sold over 1,700,000 copies by February 2013. One of the games they signed was Hotline Miami by the two-man studio Dennaton Games. The company signed a few new games, but also had to reject many offers due to a lack of capacities. įollowing their success with the Serious Sam Indie Series, Devolver Digital became more open to other independent studios. Between 20, these partnership produced four spin-off games based on Serious Sam, known as the Serious Sam Indie Series. The company then opted to work with smaller independent studios, such as the two-man team Vlambeer, to produces indie games based on Serious Sam. To avoid having to bring in investors or otherwise raise funding, Devolver Digital at first avoided signing titles other than Serious Sam. The partnership proved fruitful, and Croteam and Devolver Digital continued to co-operate for a high-definition remake of the second Serious Sam game, Serious Sam: The Second Encounter.
Since Croteam's deal with Gathering of Developers allowed Croteam to retain the rights to the series, they were able to work with Devolver Digital on further titles beyond the ownership of Gathering of Developers' assets. The original Serious Sam games were published by Gathering of Developers, and Croteam had continued working with Wilson and his partners while at Gamecock Media Group. Their first game, announced alongside their formation, was Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter, a high-definition remake of the 2001 game Serious Sam: The First Encounter, both developed by Croteam. As the company did not occupy any office, its mailing address was that of a bird feed shop owned by Stults until 2018. The company's establishment was announced on June 25, 2009. ĭevolver Digital started with six people, including the three founders, as well as founding partners Nigel Lowrie and Graeme Struthers, business partners from Gamecock. Devolver Digital thus aimed at not producing games in physical forms, and instead focusing publishing efforts for digital distribution platforms, such as Steam. As a result, both companies saw themselves acquired by larger companies at some point, and were dissolved shortly thereafter. However, at the time of these companies' existences, the primary distribution channel for games was retail, which was very costly. This included offering deals wherein the developers could keep all rights to their games. With both Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group, the co-founders had envisioned a publishing model wherein the publisher would handle all logistical aspects of releasing a game, so that the developer could focus on developing the game itself. The three had previously co-founded publishing companies Gathering of Developers in 1998, and Gamecock Media Group in 2007. Wilson (pictured in 2022) co-founded Devolver Digital in 2009 and led it until 2017ĭevolver Digital was founded in Austin, Texas, by Harry Miller, Rick Stults, and Mike Wilson. The company went public on the Alternative Investment Market in November 2021. As of January 2020, Devolver Digital employs 20 people.
The company also operated Devolver Digital Films for film distribution, and majority-owns publisher Good Shepherd Entertainment. After success with these remakes and spin-off games based on the series, Devolver Digital began publishing games from other, smaller independent studios, one of the first being their breakout title, Hotline Miami. To avoid this, Devolver Digital instead turned to digital distribution channels.ĭevolver Digital started by publishing high-definition remakes of games in the Serious Sam series. The company was founded in June 2009 by Nigel Lowrie, Harry Miller, Graeme Struthers, Rick Stults, and Mike Wilson, five executives who had been involved with Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group, which published games on developer-friendly terms, but due to the high cost associated with releasing retail games saw themselves acquired and dissolved by larger companies. is an American video game publisher based in Austin, Texas, specializing in the publishing of indie games.
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