Channel 4's games publishing arm breaks out, goes independent
All 4 Games will be spun out as an independent publisher, although still retain ties with UK broadcaster
The games publishing business set up by Channel 4 is branching out on its own, GamesIndustry.biz can reveal.
All 4 Games was originally set up in 2015, in part to seek and publish new mobile games but also to explore opportunities for Channel 4's various properties in the video games space.
Now the company is spinning out from Channel 4 and setting itself up as an independent publisher, continuing to seek out promising new releases for mobile platforms. It will continue to be based in Scotland, although the team will have access to Channel 4's offices in London and elsewhere around the UK to host meetings with developers.
"Spinning out All 4 Games gives everyone the best of both worlds," company head Colin Macdonald tells GamesIndustry.biz. "All 4 Games retains the support of Channel 4 but without necessarily having to only engage in activities that make sense to C4, developers retain the route to have their games advertised by Channel 4, and Channel 4 itself retains a vested interest in an ambitious new company."
He continues: "The market is now well served by an array of indie publishers, so it's time for us to transition, and going forward we want to help developers that are looking for the control and freedom that self-publishing brings, but don't have the budget to pay for marketing or hire consultants and so on.
"We'll still offer the majority of the benefits developers came to us previously for; we'll still be called All 4 Games, we'll still be running trailers for great indie games in Channel 4 programming, and we'll still be providing as much in the way of recommendations and feedback as developers want to hear."
Channel 4 sales director Jonathan Allan adds: "Colin has done a great job of building All 4 Games into a reputable brand and we're delighted to be able to support him in this new venture where he will continue to work with games developers across the UK to help them to independently grow their businesses."
All 4 Games has released several games over the past two years. In addition to Channel 4-owned brands such as Googlebox, Eden and Made in Chelsea, it has also released new IP such as Super Arc Light, Fire Fu and Pathos.
The publisher is one of many looking for games to sign at this month's GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit. You can order your tickets online right here.