Super Rare Gamesis Europe’s most prolific publisher of physical indie titles released on the Nintendo Switch, with more than 90 games released. Some of the most beloved and successfulindie games on Nintendo Switchsupported by Super Rare Games includeCassette Beasts,Cavern of Dreams, andA Short Hike,to name just a few examples. In addition, the company’s impressive portfolio includes PlayStation and digital releases, along with all kinds of collectible memorabilia ranging from mixtapes to merch.Super Rare Games is also a company that proudly wears its heart on its sleeve with its passion for supporting indie developers of all levels, preserving physical copies of video games, and ultimately, being an indie developer’s best friend.
Game Rant recently had the opportunity to sit down withSuper Rare Games' CEO a.k.a. ‘Head of Doing Things’, George Perkins, to learn more about the company’s work in supporting indie game developers and preserving physical copies of video games. Perkins also revealed more about the various factors that have been critical to the company’s success, offered advice to aspiring indie game developers, and much more.The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: Could you tell us a bit more about your role at Super Rare Games and what you do?
Definitely saying that back, it sounds like quite a lot of what it used to be. Now it’s kind of changed quite a lot as well. I think it’s become way more focused. Over the years, we brought in people who were way better than I was at these different things. Not that I was bad at it, but I think bringing people that are specialized in each area just improves what you’re doing. Now my role is - I can describe it in two to three different ways, which is basically making sure we’ve got really interesting projects, and working on games that we really believe in and want to be part of. I think that’s the first thing. The second thing is the company culture. I think the company culture and making sure thatSuper Rare Gamesis a nice place to work, and that everyone enjoys it. I’d say that’s the second part. And then the third part is deciding on our direction as a company. What do we want to do next? How do we want to expand? How do we want to build and grow off against what we’ve created so far? So, I guess that’s the three different parts.
The term CEO I’ve always found a little bit intense of a word. I think, as a company, the way I describe us is we don’t take ourselves seriously. But we’re incredibly good at what we do. I think there’s a distinction between that. And I think we’re a company that we strive for perfection, and we want to be amazing at what we do. And I think we are that. But at the same time, we’re working withindie gamedevelopers - we’re not wanting to be super corporate and professional. And actually, professional, I guess, is a slightly different thing. But for me, not taking ourselves seriously is really important. The term CEO I often find a bit too intense. But I guess CEO, Co-founder, Director - that could work. I often go by Head of Doing Things instead.
I was just about to say, I really like that title Head of Doing Things – it’s great.
Thank you.
What Super Rare Games Looks For In Indie Games
Q: What doesSuper Rare Gamestypically look for and how can indie developers help their games stand out from the crowd?
A: With our games, there’s always been an element of being a game that I really like. And that’s obviously harder to quantify. I think the fortunate position has meant that I’ve got to work on projects that I really am obsessed with. I think over the years, it’s changed a lot. And it’s been way more diverse and the people that we’re working with. We have more people working atSuper Rare Gamesthan we have naturally working on different stuff. But for us, our signing policy is we have to really care about the projects. Because we want to be able to match the developer’s enthusiasm for a project. If we’re working on a game that we weren’t passionate about - not that I think that would be the case, because I love games. But if it was a game that we weren’t super behind and super into and wanted to see the game kind of growing, I guess the value we bring as a publisher is way less. But if it’s a product that we’re just absolutely excited and buzzing to work on, I think it kind of works for everyone.
To break down what it is we’re looking for in a game. Obviously, as I said, there’s a lot of personal preference that goes into that. But I think for me, I’ve always been obsessed with branding, which kind of links into the second part of the question. And when it comes to branding, it’s having ways to stand out in a very crowded market. How do you stand out? I think there are a few different angles. I think things that I’ve always been obsessed with in certain different genres. It’s often about having personality and life to the game. We work on a lot of very fan-service-driven games. It’s not the biggest market in comparison to other genres. But for me, it’s a genre that I find the most enjoyable to be working in, but also engaging with on a personal level as well.
Having games that have a personality and a charm to it where you want to spend ages playing the game. But then also, you want to spend ages talking about it afterward. I often think about the amount of time you are in a game, but there’s the amount of time that you think about it afterward. For me, working on games that actually have reallymemorable characters, really memorable storylines, maybe a color palette for the game which is different or unique. Maybe it’s a mechanic that is different and hasn’t been seen before. I guess it’s kind of a long way of putting it’s a game with personality and games that maybe don’t fit into a box is probably the easiest way to put it. Obviously, that becomes incredibly nuanced when you start to break it down. I guess those things are fairly generic to apply to someone else’s project. But it’s, generally speaking, what we look for.
Super Rare Games' Memorable Moments
Q: Looking over the past year, what would you say have been your biggest success or standout moments? Anything that was particularly memorable?
A: I think one of the things that I struggle with is - because if we’ve been going now for about six and a half years - I think I find it really difficult to celebrate the moments. Which is a real shame, because I think everything we do, I love it to bits. But I think the nature of my job is always thinking about what’s next. What’s next, what’s next? So, I think it’s always very difficult to celebrate the moments. I think I’m giving myself a lot more time and almost freedom but giving myself the room to enjoy the moment.
With that said, for me, we launchedCassette Beastsas a physical version and that was really exciting. It’s a game that I’m really passionate about. The developers are lovely. It’s one publisher we’ve worked with loads before, and I have some really good friends there as well, or people that I really get on with. And I think the other one would beTiny Terry’s Turbo Trip, which was a game that we funded, again we published digitally on Steam. And then we’ll be looking at doing other things going forward.
That game, what I saw work for the first time, I pitched and said, “Look, if we don’t sign this, I’m stepping away, I’m leaving.” This is how much I care about this game. I then went around everyone’s office, and I showed them the videos that I’ve been sent about the game over and over again. But luckily, I think everyone saw what I saw in the game, even though it was very, very early at that point. So, I think the release of that this year was really cool. To have that full circle moment of me being like, “Hey, we got to work together.” You know, based on one video that the developer put together to then having a fully-fledged game which is now on Steam. It’s overwhelmingly positive. People love it, people loveTerry. I think that’s a pretty special moment to be involved in. I feel amazing for the developer as well.
Q: It must feel incredibly rewarding to help nurture these games into fruition, and the ones that go on to become really popular or successful must be quite personally gratifying as well?
A: 100%! And I think that’s why I wanted to start this digital answer to business and help be more involved in games. It’s because of that. It’s because of the feeling you get when you release a product and know that you’ve really helped steer this, really been involved with it. It’s a really nice feeling.
Super Rare Games Working With Physical Copies of Games
Q: What’s it like working with physical media in an increasingly digital-dominated space?
A: I think it’s always interesting. I think often declining markets kind of provide more opportunities, or more opportunities to be different and unique. And I think whilst we are becoming an ever-digital space, that almost works in tandem with what we’re doing, because it means that there’s more reliance on people to have physical media for the people that are really passionate. People that are really passionate about physical versions. Fan service isn’t going away. People feel this attachment to games. They want to almost place significance on the fact that they love the game so much. And obviously, that’s going to be often through physical media. So, we’ve been very steady. We haven’t seen a decline in what we were doing when we first started.
I think the big question mark is always, will consoles continue to provide support for physical versions? That’s kind of the question mark that we have on a more longer term or mid to long time kind of level. So, we’ve obviously got a new generation ofNintendo consolesthat will be coming out soon. Obviously, you have very little information on that so far, but my assumption would be to provide a physical option. If, for example, it didn’t, then that does change things a lot for us. And it becomes a case of maybe pivoting to other physical spaces outside just the actual game itself. But that’s also why we are largely funding games as well. It kind of helps us diversify what we’re doing and not be boxed in.
Q: You talked about diversifying your portfolio supporting these physical copies of great games. Would you say that’s the main reason, and why is it important to preserve these physical copies as well?
A: There are a handful of reasons. I think the first thing is, for me, I’m a big collector of things. I like to own things. I’m kind of like the target market. As an example, I bought every single Taylor Swift vinyl. I really like owning media that I’m passionate about. There’s the first element, which is, I love physical media. Often I reach out to developers, and I’m like, “Hey, I love this game. I need a physical for myself.” So that’s often the motivation with things. I think that really gets through to developers, and they think they see how genuinely passionate I am about things, which I think is always a nice moment.
Other reasons? Yeah, kind of preservation of games. We see an increasing amount of digital storefronts going down years after the consoles being in the limelight. But we also see games often taken down for maybe licensing issues. Maybe it’s a case of the license between the developer and publisher has expired. Or maybe there’s a song in the game that the license expired. So, having a physical copy means that the game is immortalized. And at any point, you can just grab it and put it in your Switch. I find myself going back toolder generations of consolesall the time. It’s definitely a thing that will happen with the Switch, I think. If you’ve got a library of your favorite games or games you’re interested in, then I think there’s a real benefit to that. Even from a logistical kind of angle.
A third one is it’s really amazing for the developer. Developers love to see their game in a physical format. The amount of times I spoke to a developer, and it’s like, “Oh, my God.” They’re not even thinking about any of the logistics involved in a physical version. Whether that’s a financial element, whether that’s the amount of work it takes, or whatever. They’re just like, “I need a physical game.” I often feel that’s a cool thing. And ultimately, we’re a company built on fan service. We’re working with people that we’re passionate to work with to create things that their fans are passionate about.
Thoughts On The Impact Of AI On Indie Game Publishing
Q: AI is having a big impact on the games' industry. How do you feel about that and has AI had any impact on your work as a publisher at all?
A: AI is a space that I find very problematic. Obviously, from an ownership perspective, right? If you’re creating some AI artwork based off other people’s work that’s previously been done. I think if AI was to ever be considered a thing, there’s so much more work that has to go into that. With that said, I feel really uncomfortable with AI. There’s a lack of personality when it comes to an AI thing, and I work from a creative space. So, to take it seriously, you basically almost would need to be sentient to some extent, which is scary. But also be like “I want to play a game that was made by a small team, and they’ve had their life experiences, and they’re almost putting it into a game.” That’s what I enjoy about games. And so I’m very not interested in that space just generally, but I think there are obviously some moral concerns that come around it, and I don’t necessarily see that being addressed.
I think we have to accept that AI is going to be a thing that’s going to be talked about a lot. And I think even when I look at other trends where I’m not particularly passionate about them, or have issues with them, often these things drop away. Whereas I don’t see this dropping away. I see it being iterated on all the time. And I think that’s an element where, again, I can’t say enough how I don’t endorse or support it as in technology, especially in its current state. But I think we do have to accept that it will be around, and we have to work out ways to work around it. But then again, I think similar to the fan service thing. If you’re playing loads ofAI-made gamesand AI-designed games, there’s going to be a lack of personality. So actually, the importance of having these games handcrafted by developers actually becomes more important. There are different angles of looking at it.
In terms of how we see that affects our work, the honest answer is not much. I think we’ll get some pitches like, “Oh hey, I made this thing using AI” and generally, we’ll just kind of put to one side and maybe just let them down gently. We haven’t really seen it. Honestly, thinking about it now, I can’t think of any effects it’s had on the business. I think it will be more long term. I think we’ll see it on a bigger studio level. I think it will be a gradual change and probably more specifically in AAA development. But so far, not really too much.
It’s nice to keep that human connection between developers and companies. And it seems like AI almost kind of gets in the way of that really – like you say, it depersonalized these things.
Definitely. I work in games because of the people. If it’s not people, then there’s not really much point.
Super Rare Games On Working With Medallion Games For Grapple Dogs And Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines
Q: You’re gearing up for the release ofGrapple Dogs: Cosmic Caninessoon. What’s it been like working with Medallion Games again as the sequel toGrapple Dog?
A:Grapple Dogwas the first game that we published in a digital capacity. I think that was a really special moment for us to be able to release it. It was really important. We had the developer come into the office, we had a little party, and it was really nice. It was a really big moment for us as a company. And I remember from the second I saw the game, there was a lot of, again, personality to the game. There’s clearly a life behind the game. It’s a very vibrant world, so much charm, some really interesting characters, some amazing level design, some great music. It has life to it.
In terms of the sequel, we joined quite at the end of the project, because the developer was kind of chugging away with things, and we started funding kind of towards the end. But in this case, we got to work on it from the start. So I think, Joe, the Lead Developer has learned a lot obviously, and had built a lot of systems for the game. I think the first game review-wise was generally about seven and a half out of 10. We want to make a nine and a half out of 10. So, I think with that extra time, that extra budget, learnings coming from the first game, I think we’ve really addressed, I hope maybe some of the things that people have qualms with. And there weren’t many for the first game. Here we’ve addressed those. There’s asecond playable character. Some really, really interesting things that kind of just will only improve people’s experiences of the game. So yeah, definitely excited for it to launch very soon.
Q: Would you say it was that kind of sense of personality and life that kind of attracted you toGrapple Dogto begin with?
A: Yeah 100%! As I mentioned, there’s a lot of personality to that game. So naturally gravitated towards it, for sure.
Super Rare Game’s Success In Europe
Q: And of course, you’re now Europe’s biggest physical Switch game publisher. What would you say has been crucial to your success?
A: I think there are a few things. The first thing is always staying true to the brand. Always understanding what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it, not really compromising from that. I think if we were approaching things in a purely business front, I think we could have burned way quicker than we have. I think we could have diversified what we were doing prea negative way. We could have increased the amount of games we were releasing. We could have sacrificed a lot of things that, for me, are really integral to the brand we have. I think we live in a world now where you need a strong brand, a strong identity to what you do, because there’s so much competition. Across every walk of life. There’s so much competition, so you need to be able to brand yourself in a certain way.
I think for us, the branding is incredibly important. I guess secondly, the quality of service. Always treating fans and customers with respect and making sure we’re always transparent with things. Whether that’s positive news, whether things have been tricky, or things are delayed.
And then also just the diverse you work with. As I mentioned previously, I’m such a passionate indie gamer, that I reach out to people where I just want to work with them, basically. It comes from a place of passion and I think people appreciate that. Where they’re probably used to quite corporate people being quite corporate with them. With me, as I mentioned before, I don’t take myself seriously. I’m still professional about what I do and good at what I do, but definitely don’t take myself seriously, which allows me to be able to chat with a developer and be like, “You know, I’m obsessed with your game. I love it. I love this bit - I can’t wait for the sequel, whatever that might be.” And I think that allows us to stand through. And even though we’re a way smaller company than so many other companies in the world, whether they’re doing something similar or doing something maybe adjacent. Yeah – passion. So, passion and strong branding. And the quality of service. I think those are the key things. And also not growing too quickly. I think a lot of problems in games come from growing too quickly. We’ve been steady, we’ve naturally grown in terms of the size, in terms of what we’re doing, in terms of how much we’re doing - it’s been very steady. So yeah, I think they’re the reasons.
Q: You talked about how you’re always kind of thinking about what’s next. What do you think could be your biggest challenges as a publisher going forward, and what are you most looking forward to?
A: Yes, good question. I think going forward I think we’ve had so much we’ve learned from in the last six and a half years where, I think I also feel confident that we’re going to be on an upward trajectory. I feel incredibly confident about that. I think the digital game space is definitely tricky. I think the physical business is so stable, and what we do, and we know what we’re doing to such a high extent, and people know what we’re doing. So, it’s much easier to kind of keep that side going.
The digital stuff is challenging when you’re investing a lot of time, a lot of money, and just generally a lot of resources into something. If it doesn’t kind of meet certain expectations, it becomes really tricky to be sustainable in that way. We’ve been sustainable, and I’m really obsessed withsustainable publishingand work in a way that developers can continue to make games. I think maintaining the sustainability of the digital publishing we’re doing is probably the thing that I’m most thinking about when it comes to kind of the future. I remain super confident that we can continue doing it. But I think that’s the main thought process.
In terms of what I’m excited for - again, I think it becomes difficult because even I was so shocked to find that it’s only July the other day, because all my spreadsheets and all my conversations are talking about Q4 24 - is talking about Q2 25. It’s looking at what Q3 in 2026 looks like. I have such a warped view of what month it is or even what year it is. I only realized in March this year that is 2024. I have such a warped view of it because of just how I’m there with future planning. As I mentioned before, it becomes really difficult to celebrate things or look forward to things. So, I think I enjoy everything every day without sounding too cliché. I think there’s not really something that I’m particularly like, “Oh, I can’t wait for this.” But I think just generally, I enjoy my job. I come in every day, and I’m excited to work. I never dread it at all. It sounds cliché, but I guess every day I look forward to it.
Q: What advice would you give to any aspiring indie game developers out there in the current landscape?
A: I think my two biggest words I would use are sustainability and scope. When it comes to sustainability, you have to think about, right “Okay, if this doesn’t go well, what does that look like?” And also not just thinking about your current game, but thinking about, well, do I want to keep making games? So, what does the second game look like? What does the third game look like? And I guess what I say about that is very much from a more business perspective, which then leads into scope. If you try and make something really big, it requires a lot of time, a lot of money, and probably years of work.
Going for a scope that’s manageable, that you feel really confident you’re able to hit on is so much more important than going for a way bigger scope that you maybe can’t deliver on. Or when you do deliver, it’s got compromised areas to its development. I always say thatA Short Hikeis one of the most pivotal games in probably the last five to ten years because it changed the way developers thought about games. Making something which is small in scope, it works for what it is, it has a lot of personality and charm. It’s alower price point game. It’s a smaller time than a lot of games are made.
So, yeah, sustainability and scope. If you’re a first-time indie developer, maybe really try and hone your craft, do a lot of Game Jams. Try and make something really small and try and release it. Even if it’s just publishing on Steam and selling zero copies. Going through that process, I think is so important. And often when I’m chatting to a developer who has just made a game, stuck it on Steam - just that process alone, I don’t even care what the game is - that for me shows, “Oh okay, you’ve been familiar with the process”, which I think teaches you so much. Yeah, sustainability, scope. That’s my biggest advice.
Q: Is there anything else that you would like to add?
A: I guess all I can think and just sort of stressing isSuper Rareis a real company that prides itself on how passionate we are about games. It’s a company that doesn’t take ourselves seriously. It’s a company that tries to do big things with a small team. It’s a company really wanting to support indie game developers. It’s a company that really does believe in this space and wants to help as many people as it can to keep doing it. Again, looking at sustainability, making sure as many developers can keep making games as we can physically handle, I guess.
But yeah, whilst we don’t take ourselves seriously, we’re incredibly process-driven. And we’re incredibly professional about what we do, and we’ve become amazing in terms of the quality of what we produce. So yeah, I guess they’re my final words and just to explain the company and what’s important to us.
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