Popular YouTuber Jason Gastrow, better known to the masses as Dunkey, has established a new game publishing label called Bigmode.
Bigmode is described as a publisher with “a passionate voice for quality, originality, and fun” within the indie game space, and is eager to become involved with projects at any stage “from pitch to near-completion.” Notably, Bigmode will be avoiding projects that use NFTs, crypto, and blockchain technology.
Gastrow has founded Bigmode with his partner Leah, and said he wants to venture into publishing after spending over a decade on YouTube spotlighting indies while striving to “slam dunk soulless cash grabs into the garbage can.”
“I have always sought out the very best indie games out there and have tried to do them justice, putting millions of eyes on the games that actually deserve attention” said Gastrow, laying out his credentials during a YouTube announcement.
“For gamers that actually play and care about video games, my channel is where they come to find out what’s actually worth playing. Bigmode will be a harmonious continuation of my channel. Me and Leah aren’t just the face of this company. We are the company. This is our vision and our number one priority is to publish some of the very best games out there.”
Elaborating on how hands-on Bigmode will be, Gastrow said that while he isn’t looking to take creative control of projects, he hopes to become more involved in the development process, noting that he’s “sick of sitting on the sidelines waiting for great games to appear.”
Big Talk
Gastrow admitted to hyping himself up an awful lot during the announcement video, but said that Bigmode will be “all about building up the games and developers.”
“We’ve put a lot of effort into making the most developer-friendly contracts possible. I think we’re going to bring insane value to the table and, the bottom line is, help good games succeed and help them continue to succeed into the future.”
Bigmode is currently accepting project pitches through its website, noting it wants to work with developers with a “clear, strong vision” and “deep gaming experience and understanding.”
In terms of what Bigmode itself will bring to the table, the company website says it can provide funding, development support, PR and community management, QA, porting and localisation support, and help with merchandising.
At the time of writing, however, it’s unclear what that means in real terms. There’s no disputing Gastrow’s reach and popularity as a content creator, with his channel currently boasting 7.22M subscribers and a smorgasbord of videos with millions of views, but it’d be fair to say that details are thin on the ground when it comes to what precisely Bigmode will be offering developers.