Defense Grid 2 recently polished off a successful Kickstarter campaign with nearly $300,000 raised, but that still wasn’t enough to finish the game. After spending many months searching for a publisher or some other source of cash, Hidden Path Entertainment has revealed their key to getting Defense Grid 2 completed.
That key is Steven Dengler.
Dengler doesn’t own the rights to Defense Grid 2 and is not acting as a publisher in any way. He has no say over how the game is made. He is merely acting as an investor because he believes the game should be made and that smaller game companies should have the option to self publish.
“I did smaller financings for fun,” said Dengler. “But I see that the thing that is broken in the industry is that publishers want your soul. Self-publishing has to become a better option. Jeff [Pobst, chief executive of Hidden Path] didn’t have to twist my arm. I’m not in this to make my fortune. This gets a game out there that people want to play. I don’t want to own part of the company. I want to help make a game.”
Dengler has invested in the games industry before, being a huge contributor to projects like Torment: Tides of Numenera and companies like Double Fine.
Source: GamesIndustry