ANNOUNCEMENT: MOEBIUS PUBLISHING DEAL AND OFFICAL RELEASE DATE
Dear Pinkerton Road CSG!
Today a press release is going out about Phoenix Online’s new publishing branch, Phoenix Online Publishing, and as part of that press release they will announce that they will be publishing Moebius and that it will be releasing APRIL 15, 2014.
I wanted to let my CSG know about this before the news became public and pre-answer some potential questions.
Why use Phoenix Online Publishing?
Since running our Kickstarter campaign in spring 2012, which funded Moebius, fledging indie studio Pinkerton Road has basically been Jane and Robert along with some contract help here and there. There are a lot of hats that have to be worn that neither of us are used to (or necessarily proficient at) like business, finance, sales, PR, marketing, etc, on top of creative. It reached a point with our first game launch, Moebius, where we had to decide to either hire a full-time business person or work with an external business partner. We decided to do the latter until we can see how these first two games go and what resources we have to grow.
It’s very different, however, going to a publisher with a finished game rather than just an idea. Because Kickstarter funded Moebius, and the game is done (and beautiful—IMHO), we are able to keep creative control and IP on the game. That was our primarily goal going into Kickstarter. So in a business partner we were really just looking for someone who could do the business, distribution, and sales end of the game as well as possible and with as much of our own input as possible.
We looked at various options and in the end it made the most sense for us to work with Phoenix Online Publishing on this. First, they were the developers on Moebius and so they know the game, they love the game, and they have a lot at stake in its success. Second, we have a tight relationship with Phoenix after working with them for the past 2 years, and we know our input and concerns will be heard and we’ll have some say on decisions. Third, Phoenix is just kicking off an aggressive new publishing effort headed by a very smart guy, Scott Steinberg, and their mission is all about story-based games and indie games. So they are a great fit for us.
What will Phoenix Online Publishing be doing for Moebius exactly?
Handling all the digital and retail distribution channels, getting the foreign language editions and other ports done, getting Moebius into as many markets as possible, dealing with contracts and banner assets and ads and all of that stuff. Basically, taking the business end off Jane’s plate so she and Pinkerton Road can focus on making more games.
The official release date is WHAT?
April 15, 2014. Yes, we thought Moebius would ship sooner and honestly, the game could have shipped this month in terms of it being ‘done’. However, since we only signed with Phoenix in January, we needed to give them time to set up the launch properly, have some lead time to get into print publications, set up the main markets, etc. so we can have the most successful game launch possible. In today’s market you get just a few days of really being the new, hot thing before you’re ‘old news’. You need to be ready to exploit that initial launch to the fullest. So I’m sorry—it took me longer than it should have to figure out what publisher we would use and get it arranged, partially because of some family stuff we’ve had going on.
The good news is, we HAVE an official ‘written on stone tablets’ launch date, and we have a partner which can help us come out with a bang. I really, really appreciate the patience the CSG has had with us. We really haven’t gotten any complaints from people angry that we haven’t shipped on time AND I THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES FOR THAT! I look forward to our group playthru in April and having a real party to celebrate our first launch.
When with the CSG get the PC and Mac builds? What about Linux?
The English PC/Mac builds will go out to the CSG just before the official launch – like probably the day before or a few days before. The Linux build will follow probably 1-3 months later, once we have upgraded the Unity engine to a version that supports Linux and can test it properly. We’ll let you know the dates for the foreign language editions as soon as we have them.
All the best,
Jane
Moebius
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