Numskull Designs, known for designing merchandise for games and other media, are branching out into the game publishing industry. As a publisher, Numskull Games will focus on bringing new games to the retail and digital marketplace, as well as bring existing digital titles to retail.
Numskull Design’s mother company, Rubber Road Group, which partners with leading brands such as Activision, PlayStation, and Bethesda, providing distribution, licensing and more, will be lending their reach and infrastructure to Numskull Games’ publishing ventures.
Bringing his own experience and contacts to this venture is Martin Defries, who is heading the company. Mr. Defries spoke optimistically about this new venture.
“Starting a new games publisher that integrates with the infrastructure and vast reach of the Rubber Road group is a compelling opportunity. Their resources and know-how mean that Numskull (Games) has the ability to promote, market, and sell games that take us beyond start-up immediately.”
Mr. Defries was a founder and the Managing Director for Rising Star Games for 15 years, from 2004 to 2019. Also serving as President of Rising Star Games, he has no shortage of experience, publishing over 100 games from companies such as Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. Making use of Japanese knowledge and partnerships, Mr. Defries brought titles such as Harvest Moon, No More Heroes, and perhaps most notably, Deadly Premonition, to the western gaming market.
Fans of strange Japanese games involving long car drives where characters discuss movies you’ve never heard of will be ecstatic - as will players looking for interesting gaming experiences which do not conform to Western gaming conventions.
There is no word yet as to the projects Numskull Games will publish. However, as Mr. Defries notes, “By collaborating with Numskull Designs and their expertise, Numskull Games can offer a unique proposition to game studio partners. We already have a range of exciting projects that will be announced in the coming weeks. The team here are keen to recruit further game content and expand our plans rapidly.”
Have you enjoyed Numskull Designs merchandise in the past? Are you excited to see what Numskull Games will bring to the industry? Let us know in the comments below!