Back in June, video game publisher My.Games announced the launch of its premium publishing label Knights Peak Interactive, to be led by veterans Eugenio Vitale, Mario Gerhold, and Jan-Eric Lauble. The goal? To focus on premium PC and console titles across several genres no matter their size.
My.Games has already built a reputation in the free-to-play arena, so it only made sense to eventually move into the premium territory, especially as the modern video game market continues to shift and the habits of players slightly change in the face of an increasingly crowded F2P space. With games like Starship Troopers: Extermination, Nikoderiko: The Magical World, and Mandragora locked down with initial publishing deals, we had the chance to ask Knights Peak’s Vice-President of Publishing Eugenio Vitale about the venture and past experiences.
“Years ago, the premium model was in question, and F2P was at its peak. Now, players are gravitating back to titles where they can assess whether the game and its associated costs provide good value for money. I don’t think the F2P model is dead; it’s just a phase where there’s a lot of choice, and players have limited time to invest,” Vitale explained when asked about the change of tide when it comes to live-service titles. With behemoths like Fortnite, League of Legends, and Call of Duty: Warzone (to name a few) controlling so much of the online gaming market, the ‘green pastures’ aren’t as green anymore, and in 2024 alone we’ve seen so many live-service projects (premium or F2P) fall flat as soon as they launched. “The search to balance low entry fees with substantial GaaS content has made some players feel exploited, causing a shift back toward premium. But there is never only one colour, as a publisher you need to go where your players are and hear what they want,” he added.
When it came to locking down Knights Peak’s launch lineup, which is quite varied and strong, with most of the titles already carrying a significant amount of buzz, it sounds like the team always intended to “cater to multiple audiences” over specializing in just one or two genres: “If, as a publisher, you come from a background rooted in a specific genre and grow your community over time, there are many advantages to specializing. A deep understanding of your audience becomes a key competitive advantage in that space. However, this approach can also present challenges, as the number of games you can release in a particular genre each year is limited.”
Starship Troopers: Extermination is yet another major 2024 release that focuses on delivering thrilling online co-op action against hordes of alien enemies. With games such as Helldivers 2 and Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 finding tons of success in that space, the 1.0 October launch of Starship Troopers might prove tricky, yet Knights Peak believes in the flavour the IP brings to the core experience: “We love Helldivers 2! Fun fact — we sent a cake to Arrowhead to congratulate them on their success and release. They’ve made a fantastic game… Starship Troopers: Extermination offers a very different experience. Our goal was to recreate the intense combat from the original movies and give players the chance to experience the teamwork required to survive. It has solid shooting mechanics, great references to the IP, and a unique multiplayer experience.”
Meanwhile, Nikoderiko exists on the opposite side of the tone and genre spectrum; it truly looks like a lovely throwback to the platformers of the 1990s, and VEA Games seems to have nailed that spirit and energy while also polishing the visual presentation quite a bit. “The love the studio put into crafting this beautiful homage to the platformer genre will resonate with those who grew up playing many classic titles, while also attracting a new generation of younger players. It’s the kind of game you’ll want to play with your children and friends,” Vitale told us while keeping a potential release window for it secret.
As for Mandragora, which had already captured the attention of dark fantasy enjoyers and action-RPG players, the visual quality and ‘punchiness’ of the combat instantly pops out of the screen in the previews, and it seems like Knights Peak was instantly attracted to it as well: “I’m very impressed by the quality and attention to detail that Primal Games has put into it. I believe players will also be amazed by the overall scale and depth of the experience,” Vitale teased. No release window for this one either, sadly.
The initial Knights Peak press release also made a big deal out of the attention paid to back catalogue games, which has been a concern among the most dedicated gamers and collectors as of late. So many publishers aren’t doing enough to keep older video games legally available, instead relying maybe too much on remasters and remakes to keep a handful of successful releases alive. Knights Peak believes there’s a lot of value in older releases, and we can expect efforts in that space from them beyond the original announcement: “Our back-catalog is very important to us. These titles not only showcase the quality we’ve delivered over time but also help build trust with players. They hold significant value for those who want to revisit nostalgic experiences and serve as a great way to introduce new players to a franchise. In an industry as young as ours, these games also have cultural significance, marking milestones in genre evolution, trends, and player preferences.”
Past this first stage of the Knights Peak label, we should expect another juicy roster of varied releases. While Vitale kept his lips sealed regarding most of the 2025 lineup, he teased his excitement about Windup Games’ Hela, which was recently announced at Gamescom 2024. That certainly looks like another off-beat project we should keep an eye on.
To wrap things up, we also wanted to congratulate Eugenio on past achievements, as his career is nothing short of impressive across projects, studios, and publishers of all sizes. Most recently, he helped guide Dead Island 2’s troubled development to the finish line at Dambuster Studios, who simply did a great job with it after so many ups and downs, turning it into one of 2023’s biggest surprises. Here’s what he said about the experience: “With a highly anticipated game that’s publicly delayed by a few years, there’s a lot of pressure from both the community and the media, which brings up all sorts of concerns on the publishing and development sides… New games are released, players move on, and you start to wonder whether what you’re doing will still be relevant. But we believed in the project and persevered, and when the game finally came out, the players loved it. My biggest takeaway is that while you might be late, if you stay focused and deliver the experience players were hoping for, they’ll forgive the delay.” Indeed, that’s a creative vision-driven approach we think the industry needs more of, which is why we’re excited to see what Knights Peak can achieve in the future.
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