Reviving the Legacy of Versus Evil with Digital Bandidos

In December 2023, the indie publisher Versus Evil shut down after a decade in operation, following its $31.3 million acquisition by TinyBuild two years prior. The news came shortly after founder Steve Escalante announced his departure from the company, which was later revealed to be involved in a legal dispute with TinyBuild over the terms of the acquisition deal. This dispute was settled in December, with TinyBuild paying $3.5 million and covering legal costs. Escalante and former head of production Lance James have since launched a new indie-centric venture, Digital Bandidos, where they aim to leverage their experience from running Versus Evil to support game developers. When reflecting on the closure of Versus Evil, Escalante expresses pride in the company's accomplishments and its team, highlighting the great reputation it had built with developers and the successes it achieved in game releases. He notes that the company had a good track record, with over 70% of its investments resulting in returns and royalty payments. This experience positions Digital Bandidos to make a strong start, with its founders bringing decades of experience and a deeper understanding of market data to the table. Furthermore, the new company has the advantage of starting with a lean structure, allowing it to be more agile in responding to industry needs. Despite the current challenges in the industry, including widespread layoffs and company closures, Escalante believes there is still a need for the kind of expertise he and James can offer, particularly in providing publishing support to teams in need. The landscape of the gaming industry has significantly changed since Escalante first started Versus Evil in 2013. At that time, Steam had not yet launched Greenlight, and consoles were more difficult to access without a publisher. Crowdfunding through platforms like Kickstarter had just begun to emerge as a means of financing projects, influencing the formation of Versus Evil as it sought to support studios that were self-funding or crowdfunding their games. However, the economic realities have shifted, with Kickstarter campaigns now more focused on community building rather than serving as primary funding sources. All teams now require financial support, and few are able to bootstrap their projects as they once did. In response, Digital Bandidos is approaching its role as a publisher with a lean mindset, prioritizing the allocation of resources to developers who need them most. Escalante is also keen to learn from past experiences, particularly in areas such as community building and management, where he aims to create a stronger, more consumer-facing brand for Digital Bandidos. Additionally, he is working on establishing an alternative financing model through an investor group, designed to assist indie teams with established IP or a history of solid sales. This model will allow Digital Bandidos to take over publishing and potentially ongoing development for existing titles, providing developers with the financial freedom to pursue new projects or take a break. Lastly, Digital Bandidos will focus on publishing games with crossover appeal, targeting genres that share a common audience, such as action roguelites, social deduction games, cosy simulation games, strategy games, RPGs, and shooters. While the genres may seem diverse, Escalante notes that there are relationships between them, with some fans of strategy games also enjoying RPGs, and vice versa.