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Surviving Mars developer Haemimont Games has signed up to be the first partner of the newly christened Frontier Publishing – making a reality of the company’s previously discussed ambitions to enter third-party publishing.
Haemimont published Surviving Mars in March last year with strategy powerhouse Paradox Interactive – we talked to the studio at the time about the renaissance of the city builder genre. The 60-strong studio, based in Sofia in Bulgaria, is best known for its work on the Tropico series, producing the third, fourth and fifth outings of the strategy title. It also recently dabbled in action RPGs with Victor Vran, which was notable for its Motorhead DLC.
We’d expect the upcoming title to be squarely back in the strategy vein though, what with Frontier having great experience in the space, having created and self-published Jurassic World: Evolution and Planet Coaster, with Planet Zoo upcoming.
Frontier and Haemimont will work together on the new project, which is scheduled for release in two to three years’ time, with Frontier providing development funding as well as marketing and distribution services. The company also informed us that is in discussions with other developers and hopes to be able to announce further publishing partnerships in the future.
With Surviving Mars being published by Paradox Interactive, which has made a number of acquisitions in recent years, it’s easy to see how this could have worked out differently, that said, Frontier is a great choice of partner for the studio, which retains its independence.
Frontier CEO David Braben said: “This is a strong start for Frontier Publishing – we’re delighted to partner with a studio of the quality of Haemimont. Our Frontier Publishing initiative helps us to further expand our game portfolio through external development partnerships that supplement our own internal development roadmap. We are in discussions with other developers and hope to be able to announce further publishing partnerships in the future.”
Gabriel Dobrev, CEO at Haemimont Games said: “Partnering with Frontier, who have a long history with great, innovative titles, is the perfect fit for us at Haemimont Games. We’re proud to be the first partner for Frontier Publishing and can’t wait to reveal details on our brand new project in the future.”
Frontier CCO Jonny Watts said: “Haemimont has a great reputation within the industry and we’re excited to start this working relationship. From the beginning of discussions it was clear both companies have a strong passion for the management and strategy genre that makes this an ideal match.”
