Reviving the Legacy of Versus Evil with Digital Bandidos

Following the shutdown of indie publisher Versus Evil in December 2023, founder Steve Escalante has embarked on a new journey with Digital Bandidos, aiming to build upon the legacy of his previous company. Alongside Lance James, the head of production at Versus Evil, Escalante is determined to leverage their collective experience to support indie game developers and publishers in a rapidly evolving industry. The story of Versus Evil's demise is complex, with a legal dispute between Escalante, James, and former owner Stall Proof LLC, and TinyBuild, the company that acquired Versus Evil in a $31.3 million deal. The dispute was settled in December, with TinyBuild paying $3.5 million and covering legal costs. Reflecting on his time at Versus Evil, Escalante expresses pride in the company's achievements, highlighting its strong reputation among developers and the successes it had in releasing great games. He notes that the company's track record was impressive, with over 70% of its investments yielding returns and royalties. Digital Bandidos is poised to capitalize on the expertise of its founders, with a deeper understanding of market data and better tools at their disposal. The new company will start lean, allowing it to be more agile and responsive to the needs of developers. In an industry marked by widespread layoffs, closures, and financing struggles, Escalante believes that Digital Bandidos can make a meaningful impact. He emphasizes the importance of providing publishing support to teams in need, allowing them to focus on game development while Digital Bandidos handles the publishing aspects. The current landscape is vastly different from when Escalante founded Versus Evil in 2013. The rise of Kickstarter and crowdfunding has given way to new economic realities, with teams now requiring more substantial funding to bring their projects to life. In response, Digital Bandidos will prioritize staying lean and allocating resources to support developers. Escalante is keen to improve upon some of the areas where Versus Evil fell short, such as community building and management. He aims to create a stronger brand identity for Digital Bandidos, one that resonates with both developers and consumers. To achieve this, Escalante is exploring alternative financing models, including an investor group that will enable Digital Bandidos to provide support to indie teams with established IP or a history of solid sales. This will involve taking over publishing and potentially ongoing development for existing titles, allowing developers to focus on new projects or take a break. Digital Bandidos will be more focused in its publishing efforts, targeting genres with crossover appeal to create a more unified consumer base. While the company won't be limited to a single genre, it will prioritize titles that share a common thread, such as action roguelites, social deduction games, cosy simulation games, strategy games, RPGs, and shooters. By concentrating on these areas and building upon the lessons learned from Versus Evil, Digital Bandidos is well-positioned to make a positive impact in the indie game development and publishing landscape.