David Cage has confirmed that Quantic Dream are aiming towards becoming an independent publisher, a “boutique publisher” to be exact.
Earlier this year we reported on NetEase securing a minority stake in Quantic Dream, the studio’s three biggest titles being ported to Windows PC via the Epic Game Store. It seems these were the early signs of the company’s new direction.
When NetEase secured their minority stake, Cage did state the investment would be used to support the company’s “vision of becoming a global, multi-franchise entertainment company, and to develop advanced technologies and games for the future.”
In his interview with DualShockers, Cage states that they were “thinking about where we wanted to go with the company for quite some time.” In addition, working on platforms outside the PlayStation would allow them to “reach players all around the world” and become a “boutique publisher” over the next few years. “As developers ourselves, we also believe that we understand developers.”
In fact, the company had been looking to leave PlayStation exclusivity since “around two years before the release of Detroit”– that would be 2016.
“After having worked exclusively with PlayStation for 12 years, we thought it was the right time for us to put our money where our mouth is.”
Cage reportedly stated “multiple reasons” for Quantic Dream becoming more independent. “We also felt that the landscape would change in the coming years, with the emergence of new platforms, 5G and Cloud Play.” Speaking more about the publishing itself, Cage stated:
“[Quantic Dream will be] backing few titles and championing originality and high quality, while providing tech and industrial support. […] [Quantic Dream] felt there was room for a new publisher that would have an ‘ethical’ approach, offering fair deals and not taking ownership of IP.”
The studio’s earlier involvement with NetEase was revealed in the interview as part of finding partners to help move Quantic Dream in this new direction. Cage states this was due to how “They understood the ambition we had for the studio and we felt there were some very interesting strategic synergies between our companies.”
It seems there is no harsh feelings between Sony and Quantic Dream, at least according to Cage. “We always had a great relationship with Sony PlayStation. They have always been very supportive of my work and we have always been very loyal to them in return. So we had a very open talk about all this, and they allowed us to release our catalog of titles on PC.”
Cage closed off the interview, stating his commitment to being on any platform- though not ruling out exclusivity deals like the Epic Game Store.
“Quantic Dream is not exclusive to any platform anymore. So yes, unless there are some specific exclusivity deals on a title-by-title basis, all our games will be released on all platforms at launch.”
