Introducing Firestoke Games: Scotland’s New Publisher

Firestoke Games, the new publishing company, founded by Paul Farley, has finally been announced, with the a mission of reshaping the developer/publisher relationship and a focus on games that bring ‘joy’.

Firestoke is a full-service PC and console publisher, which has a goal of releasing games that have fun and accessibility at their core, and a focus upon creating deeper, more positive relationships with developers worldwide.

The company has been co-founded by games industry veteran Paul Farley, who worked with pioneering Scottish games companies such as DMA Design and I-Play, before launching Tag Games and Chilli Connect, which was acquired by Unity Technologies in 2019.

With Firestoke, Paul’s aim is to partner with studios that have a focus on delivering compact, accessible, and – most importantly – joyful games for console and PC. The ambition is to form closer, more balanced relationships with the developers for the ‘betterment of the games those partnerships deliver’.

Paul told the Scottish Games Network:

I’ve been on both sides of the developer-publisher relationship throughout my time in the industry, which is one of the key reasons why I moved to start Firestoke. There’s an opportunity to move away from the misalignment and miscommunication that has existed in these relationships and do better. With better listening and understanding we can align on our goals and expectations, and break down some of the preconceptions and barriers to mutual success.”

Firestoke Games’ focus will be upon ‘games that have a positive impact on their players’ – or, in other words, titles that put the spotlight on rewarding and social experiences, rather than just guns, guts and violence. 

It’s important to us to build a consistent and trusted brand and, as such, there are definitely genres and themes we want to publish, and genres and themes we don’t. To ensure cross-generational appeal we’re not going to target hardcore gamers and the 14 to 25-year-old audience – so shooters, deep RPGs, heavy strategy and sims aren’t going to be our specialty, nor are games that utilise violence, gore, or deal with adult subject matter. We’re all about delivering accessible fun and making sure everyone is invited to the party!”

Developers Wanted

Firestoke is now on the hunt for developers to partner with on the ambitious first wave of games the company publishes. Though founded in Scotland, Firestoke will be looking to work with developers worldwide.

The company is planning further announcements on its first partnerships and its broader objectives in the near future.

Find Firestoke Games

You can find Firestoke Games website here and follow the company’s progress on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.