Thunderful Group’s self-publishing support agency Robot Teddy has seen a leadership shakeup and partnerships with GSC World – of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fame – and Poncle, creators of Vampire Survivors, the highly-regarded roguelike previously in seach of a publisher.

Amanda Farough and Mike Futter join the company as co-directors of strategic partnerships, while Alessandro Bovenzi, Hans van Brakel and Naaila Mohammed will be joining as directors of business development, sales & monetisation and business operations respectively.

COO of Thunderful Games, and the managing director of Robot Teddy, Kathrin Strangfeld commented on the shake-up “I’m very excited to have Amanda, Mike, Alessandro, Hans and Naaila join as directors at Robot Teddy. Robot Teddy is already highly regarded in the industry thanks to our work with partners on globally recognised brands like Gang Beasts and many more.

“The new leadership team will bring the support and services we are able to provide to our partners to new heights, as we continue to work with them on creating and achieving their goals, as well as adding sensational new projects like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl and Vampire Survivors to our portfolio”.

Endorsement of self-publishing

The shake-up of leadership at Robot Teddy is an important step in the agency’s evolution. But more than that, it has also demonstrated two key acquisitions in terms of partners. GSC Game World is a studio with an immense pedigree, having worked on the cult-classic S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, while developer Poncle’s Vampire Survivors has spawned many imitators and games inspired by it’s success such as Survivor.io.

Poncle had previously told players on their Steam community page how their search for a publisher had been fruitless. The developer had not found a publisher that fit their vision as a company, and thus chose the option to self-publish. Their decision to partner with Robot Teddy is therefore a ringing endorsement of the agency’s potency in helping developers to self-publish their games.