When publishing games becomes an international business

When some developers release games and promote them on their own, publishers with years of international distribution experience can also do the heavy lifting on their belhalf.

Raw Fury, based in Stockholm, Sweden is one such example as it has published dozens of small indie games developed by studios from around the world.

At WASD Live 2024, the publisher showcased story-driven deckbuilder Zet Zillions, made by OTA IMON Studios in Brazil and SKALD: Against the Black Priory, a retro-style RPG set in a grim fantasy world produced by Norwegian High North Studios.

The journey to publishing a new game at Raw Fury begins with a vetting process. “People pitch titles to us so we get a steady stream on the regular,” Ray Willmott, the Brand and Marketing Manager at the publisher, says.

“We look at the games objectively and see which are good fit for Raw Fury.

“We worked with some of these developers before and we had a great relationship with them. While we look at previous partnerships, we also have developers who never even released the game at all.”

Founded in 2015, Raw Fury has published games which cover a wide variety of genres, from horror to turn-based RPGs. The rich history allows the publisher to brainstorm campaigns in different ways, depending on which game it is looking to promote.

“Because SKALD is a retro RPG, we look at RPG audiences particularly. Obviously, you can't not pay attention to the recently launched Baldur's Gate 3. We have some affinity there for that title, but we also look at its history.

“We find ways to help games resonate with people and see what appeals to players. With SKALD particularly, it has a very striking colour palette and art style.

“We did a live-action trailer recently in the theme of the 1980s, inspired by films such as Stranger Things and Jumanji, to promote the game.”

“These products are very different with unique styles but they all kind of fit under the same game banner Raw Fury promotes.”

While gaming studios the Swedish publisher have been working with are primarily based in America and Europe. Raw Fury is looking to expand into other regions, especially in Asia, which is a fastly growing market.

“Who knows? That might be what we look to do in the future as Raw Fury grows,” he adds.