Developer-Friendly Publisher Null Games Announces First Title

One of the most annoying things about human society is the disconnect between those who make games and those who supply the money for those games to be made. The developer has one goal in life: to make a good game, something they can be proud of. The publisher also has one singular goal: to make money, and in the pursuit of that goal, doesn’t care whether the games are good. Unfortunately the developer very rarely has the cash to produce their dream game themselves and must rely on someone who does — the publisher. But when the publisher gets in the way, the games aren’t very good and the production process isn’t very fun. Like we said: annoying.

Chris Wanstrath, one of the founders of the software development platform GitHub, thinks he can make a difference here. “In the world of indie games, the publishers have all the power and they know it. Contracts are often one-sided, as is the risk. We think there’s a better way.”

So…introducing Null Games, a new kind of publishing house. Their policies are anti-crunch, their profit-sharing is more developer-friendly. “By partnering with developers and offering great terms, we believe they’ll make better games in a more sustainable way. At the end of the day, this is really all about the games. We’ve seen what the developer-unfriendly, crunch culture produces. It’s time to see what happens when you treat developers and gamers with respect.”

Assuming he means it, amen! But we’ve been burned before. There’s no way to know yet if Null Games can deliver on its promise, or if they intend to. The real proof will come in the next five years. If we don’t see any news reports about scandals or mistreated workers or sexual harassment incidents by 2028, then we’ll truly applaud.

The first game to published by Null will be Tape to Tape, a roguelite hockey game where you’re in charge of a small unknown team of pucksters. Your goal: get them to the Stanley Cup through beating opponents, upgrading gear and building a reputation. Tape to Tape works on “a unique battle system in the form of a balanced simcade hockey experience.” The game will be published later in 2023.