Back in 2024, Humble Games was restructured, with all staff laid off. Later that year, a newly formed company called Good Games Group (GGG) – headed by former Humble Games head honchos Alan Patmore (CEO) and Mark Nash (COO) – was brought in to help manage the publisher’s back catalogue and in-development titles via a sub-licensing agreement backed by MEP Capital.
Now, almost 18 months later, GGG has acquired the entire Humble Games back catalogue – over 50 titles including the likes of Slay the Spire, A Hat in Time, and Forager – in addition to the back catalogue of PC and console publisher Firestoke, which closed last year, and the publishing rights to Fights in Tight Spaces. That’s on top of signing new projects, such as co-op horror tactical shooter SCP: 5K from Affray Interactive, which has been in Early Access since 2022.
Alan Patmore
Due to confidentiality agreements, no figure has been put on the deal between GGG and Humble owner Ziff Davis (which also owns GamesIndustry.biz parent IGN Entertainment), but Patmore says that “both parties are happy with the outcome.”
“It was a natural fit,” he tells GamesIndustry.biz. “We had built the business, we had worked with both the developers in the catalogue and the developers that were working on new titles. It was a great fit and it allows us to continue our journey and build an amazing developer-first indie publisher.”
Alongside this comes the news that GGG is rebranding to Balor Games, with dreams of becoming a top triple-I publisher; the name is inspired by a Celtic creature with three eyes (get it?).
With the acquisition of Humble Games’ back catalogue, as well as that of Firestoke, Patmore and Nash view this as a new chapter for their company. “It really is the next evolution,” Patmore says. “We’re building beyond what we did at Humble Games with the Firestoke acquisition and then also investment in new titles. Balor really is creating an identity around quality. We want to be cultural curators. We want people to identify triple-I gaming – which we use to mean high-quality, impactful games – with Balor.”
Broad offering
The term “publisher,” especially in the indie space, comes with a varied definition; it can mean anything from a company that provides marketing support for a completed game to a company that funds projects from the very start. Balor’s offering is also broad, and is intended to meet the varied needs of projects.
Mark Nash
“We felt that what’s becoming more and more critical is that as game development becomes more diverse, more complicated, and expectations continue to rise, we feel it’s important that a publisher can match the needs of each individual project,” Nash explains. “We are spending a considerable amount of time with anyone we are partnering with, figuring out what they need specifically.”
He continues: “Our role there is to ensure that the development process goes as smoothly as possible, that the games come out at the highest quality possible. Every game is going to look a little bit different; every collaboration is going to look a little bit different.”
Beyond the broad umbrella of triple-I, Balor is looking for projects with a social aspect, although this doesn’t necessarily mean multiplayer. “We want games that are able to build communities,” Nash explains. “We want to better foster those communities in a positive way and ensure that those communities build along with a game’s development so that when it ultimately launches, there is a vibrant community that can support the game and build awareness.”
Much like “indie,” triple-I has a different definition depending on who you’re speaking to. Balor is open to working on projects that have budgets of “a couple hundred thousand dollars” to ones that would require “tens of millions of dollars.”
Slay The Spire was published by Humble on consoles and mobile. | Image credit: Mega Crit
“It really depends on what the vision of the title is,” Patmore says. “The question is whether it fits into what we are looking to do and whether we can add a tremendous amount of value as well. We look at a lot of titles, and if we don’t feel like we’re going to be able to help the developer, then it’s not necessarily the best fit.
“We look at a wide range of titles, and I would argue that in today’s market, triple-I is less about a game’s budget and more about the craft and content and what the people are delivering. I’ve seen projects created by small teams that almost look AAA; I’ve also seen the opposite as well.”
Having the Humble Games and Firestoke back catalogues in its portfolio also means that Balor has slightly more stability than it would have if it were beginning from a standing start. This means that the company has the option of taking bigger swings much earlier in its lifetime.
“It definitely affords us the opportunity to grow relatively quickly,” Patmore says. “We’re a relatively new company, but we’re pretty much at the scale that Humble Games was three or four years in. It’s also a more predictable revenue stream, so it does give you a bit more cushion, which allows you to invest in new titles.”
Opportunities
Over the past few years, it has become harder for games companies of almost any scale to secure funding. The relatively small pool of funding available has largely been given to either small projects or larger projects with a pedigree or IP that diminishes the risk. Larger indie titles and mid-tier games, meanwhile, have often fallen between the cracks, despite arguably having a high potential for being lucrative.
“We’re hearing a lot of the same feedback from our development and industry partners,” Nash explains. “Ultimately, that’s why we’re engaged in this space. Our thesis is that there’s a lot of opportunity in triple-I. We don’t try and get too constrained on the budget levels. I think you still have to have the right creative vision with the great audience in mind, and there’s a lot of decision-making that goes into that from the studio to be successful there.”
Patmore adds: “It’s no secret that it has been a challenging time in the market, but I think there are a tremendous amount of opportunities, especially in this space. With our success so far, we are proving that there’s a lot there. There’s some very visible successes in the triple-I space in the last year. We see a transmittent opportunity, and we want that level of flexibility to be able to support developers all along the range in terms of budget and need and support.”
Balor Games has signed SCP: 5K from Affray Interactive. | Image credit: Affray Interactive
The Balor team isn’t oblivious to the seismic changes the games industry has experienced in the past two or three years. As mentioned above, funding has been tight, and the company says that it is up to publishers to be “agile and adaptive” to the market. This includes coming up with some “creative mechanisms” for funding.
“We’re looking at different ways to support development teams and studios, particularly in the capital aspect,” Nash says. “Being able to partner potentially with the studio, and if they have an existing couple of games or back catalogue, we can acquire the publishing rights for those games for a lump sum, and then they can use that money outside of a traditional publishing deal. They can use that money to finance their next project. We’re looking at options such as that, as well as the traditional kind of royalty advance models. What’s been great about working with MEP and doing what we’re doing at Balor is having that flexibility.”
With the talent that helmed Humble Games, and now with that label’s back catalogue too, Balor Games is certainly off to a good start for a publisher. When it comes to the firm’s five-year plan, the leadership team says that it’s less about the usual metrics and more about making sure it is stewarding good games.
“We want Balor to be synonymous with quality,” Patmore explains. “We’re not going to say we want this many games in our catalogue or launch this many games a year. It’s really about finding the right teams to work with and support. Ultimately, we want Balor to be that kind of cultural curator; you come to us for a great triple-I gaming experience. If we can achieve that in five years, we’ll be fulfilling our mission.”