Deep Rock Galactic dev launches publishing label to get games on Steam

Ghost Ship Games is the creator of Deep Rock Galactic, On Thursday, the studio was announced. Publishing is an area that Ghost Ship plans to expand into. Ghost Ship will start publishing titles from Danish studios. The studio currently has just one game, but the success of the dwarven coop sci-fi shooter has allowed for the creation of many more.

“Deep Rock Galactic is still the main thing for Ghost Ship Games,” said Søren Lundgaard, CEO of Ghost Ship Games, in a call with Polygon. “Because we are game developers, we continue to pour our heart and soul into this game. But when we’ve been out at conferences and events where we meet other developers, we got approached for advice on how to safely go through Steam Early Access and how to build the game with the community.”

Ghost Ship Games originally worked with Coffee Stain publishing, but have since transitioned to self-publishing “90%” of Deep Rock Galactic. “We were looking for developers that want to go the open development route and want to engage with the community,” said Lundgaard.

Five years later, Deep Rock Galactic reviews are “overwhelmingly positive”, with nearly 150,000 players weighing in on Steam. This community has a reputation for spreading the game by positive word of mouth. It’s supported by generous microtransactions and clear communication from developers. “It takes a lot of time to build that trust,” says Lundaard. Lundaard is hopeful that this journey will lead to publishing tips for other developers. “We actually haven’t had a traditional game publisher in Denmark — some for mobile, but not for Steam. We see a big opportunity for us to go in and help Danish game developers get published with Steam friendly games.”

Ghost Ship Games will provide more information on publishing and some initial titles during its five-year anniversary stream. Deep Rock GalacticMärz