Devolver Digital has always been an incredible partner to us, even before Vagabond Dog was officially a company.
That’s why, with tremendous deliberance and appreciation, we announce that the publishing partnership between Vagabond Dog and Devolver Digital is being dissolved.
Sometimes Always Monsters will be entirely self-published by Vagabond Dog when it releases on April 2nd, this year.
— History Lesson —
One fateful encounter in a small Texan bar first brought the spirit of our companies together. Vagabond Dog was barely a notion in the mind of a nomad-journalist, and Devolver Digital had only just begun to experience their meteoric rise as a publisher of independent video games.
By the spring of 2013, we pitched them the game that’d eventually become Always Sometimes Monsters. None of us had any idea what the relationship would become, but it felt monumental as we charted the waters of our first release with more support than we’d ever dreamt of.
Through countless events and milestones we’ve been able to rely on the support of Devolver to help us with just about anything we’ve asked for (and plenty we didn’t).
However, as we step into a new era, Vagabond Dog will be changing significantly in the times to come.
— What It Means —
We won’t bore y’all with the details of the arrangement, but going forward, Vagabond Dog will operate without any further ties to the industry’s best indie game publisher.
Going forward, our games will be distributed on platforms across PC, Mobile, and Console under our own heading.
All of our press announcements, marketing materials, and other such game promotion nonsense will be self-managed.
Lastly, all requests for review copies, interviews, tech support, or similar can only be directed to Vagabond Dog.
Don’t bother Devolver Digital folk with our shit anymore.
Apart from that, players and fans probably won’t notice much of a difference. It will make very little difference to the actual game experience, regardless of platform.
— Why Now? —
The games industry has changed a lot in the years since we first signed with Devolver Digital. Success in this turbulent market is harder to acheive than ever before.
After years of delay for Sometimes Always Monsters, the idea was suggested by Devolver as a means of reducing our overhead and giving us a chance of surviving launch.
The market for the kind of games we produce is small, and even with the awareness a team like Devolver could bring our title, it doesn’t guarantee anything to our release.
After much deliberation, we came to a similar conclusion.
Thus, we accepted their offer, and over the past months have been figuring out the appropriate transition steps.
It becomes official now, as we prepare our final push to the release on April 2nd, to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible for everyone involved.
— So Long, Farewell —
So many thanks to Nigel, Mike, Harry, Graeme, Andrew, Kate, Stephanie, JM, and everyone else at Devolver who helped our journey. You have been incredible partners, good friends, and exemplary human beings.
It may be time for us to pack our bags and keep walking down the road we started, but we’ll always love you all.
Keep your eyes peeled. I’m sure we’ll be somewhere.
