It appears that a group of indie studios have decided to join forces for a mysterious collaboration. The so-called Triple-i Initiative brings together studios behind games like Vampire Survivors, Darkest Dungeon, Slay the Spire, and more.
What is the Triple-i Initiative?
- Vampire Survivors creator Poncle was one of the first to tease the Triple-i Initiative on social media (spotted by GamingOnLinux). The post included an eyes emoji and a link to the initiative’s official website.
- There is not much information on the page other than a timer teasing the next announcement, which is due on March 28.
- “In the works for months, coming to you in days,” the Triple-i Initiative wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
In the works for months, coming to you in days.
Hold on to your butts.https://t.co/jRIiKxsdWL pic.twitter.com/jQKMLYUzhs
— The Triple-i Initiative (@iii_initiative) March 12, 2024
- “Triple-i” obviously stands for “triple indie,” an informal term that applies to high-quality independent games, sometimes with bigger budgets and more experienced devs on their teams.
- It may also serve as an opposition to the AAA segment of the industry, which typically includes $100+ million projects from large corporations and major publishers such as EA, Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, etc.
- Without much detail, it is hard to say what the Triple-i Initiative will be about. It basically could be anything: a publishing label, a fund helping indie devs receive investment, a consultancy agency, an association of like-minded developers, an accelerator for aspiring creators, or all of the above.
- It could even be a large-scale initiative/organization whose members will seek better conditions for indie devs in turbulent times for the games market, trying to help them make truly independent projects. In any case, we hope to find the right answer in less than two weeks.
Who is part of the Triple-i Initiative?
In addition to Poncle, the Triple-i Initiative involves other notable indie developers and publishers, who also shared their own messages or reposted the official announcement:
- Stunlock Studios (V Rising) — “It’s all coming together,” the devs’ post reads;
- Mega Crit (Slay the Spire) — “Something’s coming… keep your eyes out”;
- Evil Empire (Dead Cells, describes itself as a “triple I development studio) — “We told you we were cooking up some crazy things, here’s one of them”;
- The Gentlebros (Cat Quest);
- Red Hook Studios (Darkest Dungeon) — “You can feel it — a change in the air”;
- Matt Dabrowski (Streets of Rogue);
- Pathea Games (My Time at Sandrock);
- Thunder Lotus (33 Immortals);
- Awaceb (Tchia);
- Digital Sun (Moonlighter) — “Brick by brick, something exciting is being built…”;
- Passtech Games (Curse of the Dead Gods, Ravenswatch);
- Assemble Entertainment (publisher of Endzone, Lacuna, Roadwarden) — “A strom is coming” + the key art for the upcoming Endzone 2;
- Hooded Horse (publisher of Manor Lords, Against the Storm, Xenonauts 2);
- Ghost Ship Publishing (publishing label by Deep Rock Galactic maker Ghost Ship Games).
As you can see, the list includes studios of different sizes and experience levels. It is also worth noting that some of the companies there are not indie. For example, Ghost Ship Games is part of Coffee Stain, which is owned by Embracer Group. The Triple-i Initiative was also teased on the official account of Risk of Rain, a roguelike platformer originally developed by Hopoo Games but currently fully owned by Gearbox/Embracer.