New UK publisher Firestoke wants to "reset" developer-publisher relations

Developers working on non-violent or non-traditional games have a new publisher to work with. Scotland-based publisher Firestoke Games has surfaced and revealed its plan for how it works with game developers--which includes a focus on games that "have a positive impact on players." 

Firestoke is headed up by CEO Paul Farley, who mobile developers might know from his time at Tag Games, and Chilliconnect (he also worked at Rockstar North when it went by the name "DMA Design"). Farley says that Firestoke is looking to "reset" the developer-publisher relationship, and to build better listening processes that help both developers and publishers get what they need.

"I’ve been on both sides of the developer-publisher relationship throughout my time in the industry, which is one of the key reasons why I moved to start Firestoke," Farley noted in a statement. "There’s an opportunity to move away from the misalignment and miscommunication that has existed in these relationships and do better."

There's also going to be a focus at Firestoke on publishing games that aren't in the conventional video game industry mold. Farley says the company wants to work with developers making "non-violent" experiences with "cross-generational" appeal. "Shooters, deep RPGs, heavy strategy, and sims aren’t going to be our specialty, nor are games that [utilize] violence, gore, or deal with adult subject matter," Farley explained. 

"We’re all about delivering accessible fun and making sure everyone is invited to the party!"

Firestoke also announced that though it's based in the UK, it does aim to work with developers all over the globe.

It'll be interesting to see what kinds of games emerge out of Firestoke in the months to come. There's obviously some easy genres for what has "cross-generational appeal" (casual games for the mobile market that run on ads and microtransactions), but if there's any meat left in the "serious games" genre (games designed with social impact in mind), it might make for good fodder for this new publisher.