EA Partners signs indie titles DeathSpank and Shank

EA Partners has announced a deal with indie studios Hothead Games and Klei Entertainment to distribute their forthcoming titles DeathSpank and Shank.

Both games are digital releases coming to Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network - and also PC in the case of Shank.

The move highlights the importance to the publisher of building relationships with the world's top indie developers, EA said today.

"Our mission at EA Partners is to work with the best talent across the game industry, and we are thrilled to extend our expertise to the leading creative developers in downloadable indie games," said Jamil Moledina, outreach director for business development at EA Partners.

Hothead Games - whose DeathSpank title was created by The Secret of Monkey Island maker Ron Gilbert - added that it was excited to be working with EA on its game.

"We are proud of our independence, but are very excited to be working with EA Partners on a title as big as DeathSpank. With EA Partners handling distribution and marketing, Hothead can continue to focus on what we do best, making great games," said the studio's CEO Ian Wilkinson.

"As an independent development studio, we always focus on creating great, authentic experiences for players," added Klei Entertainment CEO Jamie Cheng.

"Working with EA Partners expands our distribution and allows us to bring Shank to a much wider audience. They have been a fantastic partner and their understanding of the space is incredibly exciting."

The move by EA Partners into publishing smaller-scale digital titles is in contrast to its boxed product distribution deals with companies such as Harmonix and Valve.

It acts as another indicator of EA's commitment to the online space. The company's most recent Q3 financials showed that revenue from its packaged goods accounted for 85 per cent of its business for the quarter, down from 89 per cent, while digital grew from 8 to 11 per cent.