Skybound launches dedicated games publishing division
Skybound Games is led by 505 founder Ian Howe, will give retail launches to The Long Dark and Slime Rancher this year
Skybound Entertainment has launched a dedicated publishing division, with Hinterland's The Long Dark and Monomi Park's Slime Rancher the first games up for release.
Skybound Games marks the multimedia company's entry into games publishing, with the new division to be led by Ian Howe, the co-founder of 505 Games.
"It has been our goal to expand Skybound's gaming presence into the publishing space, and Ian Howe is the ideal partner to lead this venture," said Skybound managing partner Jon Goldman and Skybound Interactive president Dan Murray in a joint statement.
"His accomplishments at 505 Games speak to his eye for high quality content, and align with our own goals of championing the creator while having the in-house ability to publish their work for a wider audience."
Previously, Skybound's activities in the games business have been through Skybound Interactive, which was mainly focused on using the company's IP in mobile and console games - through both licensing deals and production partnerships with developers.
The company has said that Skybound Interactive will continue to operate separately from Skybound Games. In a statement, Howe said that the new division would offer "a full range of publishing services", while also giving developers the opportunity to expand their IPs into other media.
The first products to be published by Skybound Games are Hinterland's The Long Dark and Monomi Park's Slime Rancher. Both will receive retail releases in September 2018.