Natsume Inc., a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games such as Harvest Moon: Mad Dash, Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure, and Wild Guns Reloaded, is now accepting submissions for 2020 and beyond for its Natsume Indie Program.
The Natsume Indie Program partners Natsume Inc. with up-and-coming indie game developers for publishing their family-friendly and inclusive titles to a wider audience.
Having kicked off the program in 2019, the first partnered studio in the program - Fiery Squirrel - is slated to release its title, Cosmic Defenders, on Nintendo Switch sometime this month, having been delayed from its originally planned release in April. Cosmic Defenders features fast-paced, co-op 2D revolving shooting action with a group of unsuspecting heroes using nature to stop a hostile alien takeover of the entire universe.
Hiro Maekawa, President & CEO of Natsume, had this to say regarding the program:
“Natsume has been developing and publishing family-friendly games for over two decades, and it’s our joy to now partner with aspiring indie developers who are creating the next generation of video games that share our mission to make everyone happy. We are honored to support and partner with developers around the world creating authentic experiences that are Serious Fun for gamers of all ages.”
The application process isn’t especially involved, but does require developers to give as many details as possible about their game when submitting their applications. The big thing for studios to keep in mind is the overarching theme of Natsume’s catalog, which focuses on titles being family-friendly and welcoming enough for any gamer (or non-gamer) to pick up and play. Natsume’s mantra is “Make Everyone Happy…”, after all.
Interested parties can find out more information about the application process here, along with gaining more insight about Natsume itself. There’s no indication as to when submissions may be closed, but it would likely be in studios’ best interest to get their applications in sooner rather than later.
The publisher recently put on a “#StayAtHome” sale which included every title from its catalog on every available platform. Given the overall focus of Natsume, indie game developers could do far worse than partnering with such an inclusive publisher.
