I just wanted to give a shout out to Saber Interactive for actually communicating this to people before the game is released. I wish every company in the industry would be willing to share their short- and long-term DRM plans with their paying customers instead of leaving us guessing all the time.
I understand the role of a Publisher. I don’t think standout indie games, like Balatro or Vampire Survivors, really need them.
The multi-million selling Vampire Survivors, in fact, doesn’t have a publisher. Yet, it’s still involved in Bundles and even featured in an official Balatro reskin.
However, there are HUGE benefits to having a publisher:
If you have an aversion to self-promotion and advertising.
If you don’t want to do all the work vis-a-vis Steam exposure.
If you have a semi-niche mid-good game and you want to fall back on Bundles and promotions for sales boosts.
If you want someone else dealing with the press.
But, when I click on the name of a developer in Steam and a Publisher page pops up, I close the page. Yes, immediately, I close the page.
Publishers: You don’t own your developers. Nobody who clicks the developer link is looking for other games you’ve published. Get the fuck over yourselves and let us see that this is the only …