Gamer Network moves into physical games publishing

The parent company of Eurogamer and EGX are offering indie devs the opportunity to turn their games into physical special edition sets.

Gamer Network’s new project – entitled Gamer’s Edition – kicks off with special editions for Papers, Please and the Hotline Miami and Hotline Miami 2 Double Pack.

The firm says these collector’s editions will feature ‘one-of-a-kind’ collectibles that are developed in conjunction with the developer and its fanbase. These products are funded via a crowdfunded pre-order system, which means these special editions will not be created unless enough gamers pre-order them to cover the manufacturing costs.

The funded method is designed to protect smaller businesses from the issues that arise from spending too much money on pricey physical product.

The collectibles are created in collaboration with Idea Planet.

In the Papers, Please Gamers Edition, it includes an Inspector’s Case, a Steam Key, Arstotkan Stamps, Inkpad, Poster, Passport, Immigration Rule Book, Paperwork Set, Labour Lottery Keyring and a Pin-badge. It has a price of $70.

Meanwhile, The Hotline Miami collection includes special edition packaging, a DVD for both games, Steam Keys for both titles, a C90 Soundtrack Mixtape, Comic, Trading Cards and an Art Card. It has a retail price of $60.

Gamer’s Edition was set up to create awesome collector’s editions for games that previously couldn’t deliver them”, said head of Gamer’s Edition Jon Hicks.

We realised that digitally-distributed indie games were taking up almost as much of our gaming time as the megabucks triple-A stuff, but they didn’t have much in the way of cooler toys or accessories because the developers don’t have the time or the resources to create them.

By partnering with Idea Planet, we’ve been able to deliver the quality of blockbuster collectibles for our favourite indie games, and by making them to order we ensure that we only create things that the community really wants. Our goal is to work with both developers and players to come up with high-quality special editions that are as unique as the games themselves”.