CI Games, the team behind the popular Sniper Ghost Warrior and Lords of the Fallen franchises has recently announced that they have created United Label, a new publishing label that is dedicated to independent developers.
Those who don’t know about CI Games may be interested to learn that the company was created back in 2002 and has since become a highly recognized independent player, thanks to its worldwide operations and key franchises. Sniper Ghost Warrior has sold over 7 million units across its franchise, while Lords of the Fallen has successfully sold over 2 million units.
Marek Tyminski, CEO of CI Games, commented on the decision, stating, “We are bringing our existing publishing capabilities to talented developers. We started this process with one of our own IPs, by giving the entire project of Lords of the Fallen 2 to Defiant in New York. We are now delighted to start United Label, announcing the first 4 highly-promising games: Röki from Polygon Treehouse, Eldest Souls from Fallen Flag Studios, Tails of Iron from Odd Bug Studios and Horae from Lunaris Iris. United Label will pursue its expansion by gathering creative talents, offering a structure to success and building long-term relationships with developers.”
The first title, Röki, is created by Polygon Treehouse. The studio was co-founded by two ex-Guerilla Games Art Directors, and they aim to bring a bright new approach to the popular Point & Click Adventure game genre with this new title. “We created a dark and contemporary fairytale with deep narrative and puzzles,” said Tom Jones & Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou, the co-founders of Polygon Treehouse. “Working with United Label enables us to be part of a creative and dedicated team.”
Next up is the pixel art role-playing adventure game, Eldest Souls. Francesco Barsotti, co-founder of the development team behind this game, Fallen Flag Studios, spoke on the partnership, commenting, “This is our first game but United Label believed in the game and the team from day-one, they are supporting us to reach our ambitions.”
Odd Bug Studios has previously created The Lost Bear and are now working on Tails of Iron. Daniel Robinson, the studio’s team leader, spoke about the project and the decision to join United Label, stating, “Tails of Iron is a 2D cinematic combat adventure with hand-crafted combat encounters. Joining United Label allows us to accelerate our development as a studio, and to plan for a large reach at release.”
The fourth title mentioned is a roguelike role-playing game that features an original combat system. This title, known as Horae, is being developed by Lunaris Iris. ”Our goal is to offer a new take on the genre by deeply combining stories, beauty of graphics, and treasures through intense gameplay. Working with United Label came naturally, as they are looking, as we do, at bringing a new approach to existing genres,” said Victor le Fay, co-founder at Lunaris Iris.
Of the four titles, Röki and Eldest Souls are scheduled to release later this year while Tails of Iron and Horae are currently set to arrive in 2020.
