Video games | “First step” towards an entirely Quebec publisher

Prolific in the creation of video games thanks to its some 300 studios, Quebec pales in comparison when it comes to marketing them.

Karim Benessaieh
The Press

This observation, which mainly affects the 269 small studios in the province according to the last count in 2021 of the Canadian Video Game Association, prompted two industry veterans, Christopher Chancey and Pascal Nataf, to lay the foundations of what could become the first Quebec publisher, Indie Asylum. This group of ten studios created in 2019 will launch the first game of its stable on March 29, Forward: Escape the Fold. Designed by the independent studio Two Tiny Dice, the game has benefited from the resources provided by Indie Asylum for the artistic component, and counts on the support of the group for marketing and public relations.

In total, 150 professionals from the video game industry, from developers to event organizers and marketing or virtual reality specialists, are made available to Indie Asylum studios.

“It’s a first step towards a first Quebec publisher, explains Pascal Nataf, co-founder of Indie Asylum and president of the independent studio Affordance. Many people agreed on the need to have one. We are really involved in the entire value chain except this one, which is potentially the most important: it is the last step between the studio and the consumer. »

Change the business model

The publishing and distribution of video games are rather mysterious stages for ordinary players, and rarely well mastered by small studios. These generally use large firms, all abroad, such as Private Division, Devolver Digital, Team17 or Tencent. These publishers will sometimes fund the games at their final design stage and then distribute and promote them.

“They have the best role, they arrive when the project no longer presents a risk, explains Mr. Nataf. Developers, we find ourselves in a vicious circle: we go looking for money internationally because it’s so difficult to find funding for video games, and when we finalize a project, 50 to 60% revenue goes to the publisher. »

Since 2017, Pascal Nataf and Christopher Chancey have invested in several small studios, including Trebuchet, which is making its mark in virtual reality, and Chasing Rats Games, which enjoyed great success with its first game, Struggling. Most of their protégés had one thing in common: “We are talking about 25-year-olds coming out of university with very little experience, explains Mr. Chancey, founder of the ManaVoid studio and president of the Guilde du jeu vidéo du Québec. . Often, the last point that is missing are managerial skills. People enter this field out of passion, they are artists, they have sometimes worked in large studios, but they lack management knowledge. »

Creativity and kindness

This is another aspect that Indie Asylum wants to take care of, by offering mentorship and training to these artisans. By keeping the profits in Quebec, Mr. Chancey hopes to be able to fuel a more robust industry.

“To have a strong ecosystem, there must be people who have succeeded in business and who reinvest. […] We think this is the next vector of growth for Quebec. »

Eighty-seven percent of jobs in the field of video games are linked to companies whose headquarters are abroad, he recalls.

In an industry that has seen its share of controversies in recent years, where craftsmen and women have spoken out against harassment and the toxic climate in several studios, the two founders of Indie Asylum insist that humanist values ​​are essential. These are not empty words for Mr. Chancey, whose studio, ManaVoid, launched last fall rainbow billy, an adorable game featuring a small, shy and non-binary character. “At the heart of what we do, there is creativity, benevolence, innovation and solidarity. »