Steve Escalante, founder and former general manager of the now-closed Versus Evil, has launched a new publishing label. The company, called Digital Bandidos, will focus on small-budget indie games.
- Escalante co-founded Digital Bandidos with Lance James, former head of production at Versus Evil.
- The company offers various publishing options, including funding and buyouts of already existing IPs. Digital Bandidos’ main area is PC and console games with a development budget of up to $3 million.
- According to its official website, the publisher focuses on RPG, strategy, and action titles, but it will also work with games in other genres.
- “We’re into RPGs like Pillars of Eternity and For the King,” the company said. “We love action games like Soulstone Survivors and BattleBit. We get serious with strategy games like Northgard and Banner Saga. Soulslikes Hollow Knight and Salt & Sanctuary make us cry (in a good way). We stay on target with shooters like Dusk & Prodeus. We’re also known to get comfy on the couch with the cozy Stardew Valley and Palia, and sometimes endure bouts of megalomania with sims like Surviving Mars and Two Point Hospital!”
- Digital Bandidos has already made two partnerships: Game Smithing Limited (Early Access action roguelike / auto shooter Soulstone Survivors) and BlankMediaGames (the Town of Salem series). With the latter, the company plans Town of Salem 2 to mobile and other platforms.
Versus Evil was a game publisher founded in 2013. Its portfolio includes dozens of titles such as The Banner Saga, Tower of Guns, Afro Samurai 2, Armikrog, and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.
In 2021, tinyBuild acquired Versus Evil and its subsidiary Red Cerberus for $31.3 million. The company, however, faced financial troubles last year, with its shares plunging nearly 80% due to poor financial results in the first half of 2023. This led to layoffs and a shift in strategy, with tinyBuild closing Versus Evil last December.
According to tinyBuild, Versus Evil’s revenue fell over 60% year-over-year in 2023 due to game dealys. The company also got into a legal dispute with Escalante, eventually reaching a $3.5 million settlement.