Derry games studio Black Market Games has signed a distribution deal with Big Fish Games that will take its debut title, Dead Hungry Diner, to more than 150 countries and territories.
The team at the independent games studio have been hard at work on developing their first release, and are happy to announce a partnership with the Seattle-based Big Fish Games.
“Big Fish’s knowledge and experience of the casual games market enabled us to improve Dead Hungry Diner beyond what would normally be achievable for a small developer alone,” said Eric Reinhart, CEO at Black Market Games. “We are looking forward to continuing this partnership over our forthcoming titles.”
Big Fish Games, whose Cork operation recently expanded to add 30 software engineers to its RD&I centre, has more than 2,500 titles and 1.5bn downloads to its name. Millions of customers worldwide flock to the online marketplace seeking premium casual games, and a presence there could mean a lot for the Derry-based company. “It is a fantastic show of support that the games we are creating are in demand right now,” said Lee Fallon, chief financial officer at Black Market Games.
The demo for the fast-paced puzzle and strategy game was released earlier this year, and has been warmly received to date. “With Dead Hungry Diner, our goal was to create a charming, fun game that could be enjoyed by all the family,” said lead designer Sean McCafferty. “We looked at classic movie monster imagery to make our characters as easily identifiable as possible, as well as game mechanics that would feel innovative, yet familiar, and that’s really what it is all about – the player’s experience.”
“We have a lot of fun developing fresh and fun ideas, which we plan to commercialise across a variety of media platforms,” added Fallon. “This release marks the start of our long-term strategy.”
