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In an interview with DualShockers, Quantic Dream founder David Cage revealed that the developer intends to release multiplatform games in the future and become a ‘boutique publisher’.
Quantic Dream released Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls on the Epic Games store, and Detroit: Become Human will join them soon. These titles were exclusive to PlayStation, but Quantic Dream was never a first-party studio. Its partnership with NetEase would allow the developer to ‘expand our creative vision and develop the company to its fullest potential’, and multiplatform releases appear to be on this agenda.
Quantic Dream had worked with Sony for more than a decade before splitting away. ‘We always had a great relationship with Sony PlayStation. They have always been very supportive of my work,’ Cage clarified. ‘And we have always been very loyal to them in return. So we had a very open talk about all this, and they allowed us to release our catalog of titles on PC.’
Now, its independence will allow the developer to shake it up with multiplatform launches for its current portfolio and future projects. ‘Unless there are some specific exclusivity deals on a title-by-title basis, all our games will be released on all platforms at launch,’ Cage said.
Cage also stated some of the reasons why Quantic Dream will pivot to developing multiplatform games going forward. One of these was greater control over its existing IPs and the projects in the pipeline, understandably, and he cited the ‘emergence of new platforms, 5G and Cloud Play’ as other motivating factors to independence.
‘As developers ourselves, we also believe that we understand developers,’ he added, and revealed that Quantic Dream intends to become a ’boutique publisher’ in a few years time. Once that aspiration is realised, it would aim to be ‘backing few titles and championing originality and high quality, while providing tech and industrial support.’ Cage added that there is ‘room for a new publisher that would have an “ethical” approach, offering fair deals and not taking ownership of IP.’
Last year, Quantic Dream lost a court case against former employee who sued for unlawful dismissal resulting from a toxic workplace culture. It remains to be seen whether its reputation will precede itself regarding future partnerships as an independent publisher.
