Kepler Interactive is a publisher that values risks and takes into account the interests of indie studios. What sets the company apart from its competitors is a unique operational approach that involves co-owning the business with partner developers. Let's delve into how this model operates and the success Kepler has achieved over three years.
A pivotal figure in Kepler Interactive is Alexis Garavaryan, a French gaming investor residing in Singapore. Since 2006, he has worked at Apple, Ubisoft, Microsoft (on the indie ID@Xbox program), and Tencent (helping western indie studios publish games in China).
A turning point in his career came in 2017 when Garavaryan launched the Kowloon Nights fund. During its operation, the team supported dozens of indie games, including Spiritfarer, Scorn, and Sea of Stars. Investment sizes ranged from $500,000 to $10 million, with the total volume of the fund eventually surpassing $100 million.
Garavaryan aimed to change what he perceived as the unequal relationship between developers and publishers. This is reflected in the democratic conditions under which Kowloon collaborates with studios:
- short and transparent contracts (maximum two to three pages);
- no mandatory period for 100% return on investment—the developers earn from the first copy sold;
- all revenue goes directly to the game’s creators, who then simply pay the fund a percentage (this eliminates situations where teams sometimes have to wait months for payments);
- developers retain full rights to IP, including future games and any related products;
- no strict deadlines or milestones—studios are free to work at their own pace;
- developers make final decisions on all matters related to the game: release dates, target platforms, exclusivity, discounts, etc.
“Writing checks is much easier than creating games, but that’s not always reflected in deal terms or the amount of control publishers gain over creators,” concludes Garavaryan.
Scorn
These principles largely carried over to Garavaryan's next venture, the publishing house Kepler Interactive, founded in September 2020. The company is registered in the UK but also has an office in Singapore.
Along with Garavaryan, who became CEO, the founders included his partners from Kawloon: Chief Commercial Officer Richie Zu and Chief Operating Officer Samuel Sun-Yiu Lee. Later, former Director of Publishing at Frontier Developments Zac Antonaci joined the leadership team as Vice President of Publishing and Marketing.
The key distinction of Kepler Interactive from other publishers is its unique management model. Besides the company's directors, shares are owned by the founders of partner studios. Initially, there were seven, but currently, the board of Kepler includes 10 independent companies:
- A44* — New Zealand studio known for Ashen and Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn;
- Alpha Channel* — Canadian team known for the roguelike TankHead (temporarily exclusive to Epic Games Store);
- Awaceb* — Franco-Canadian studio famous for the adventure sandbox Tchia;
- Ebb Software* — Serbian team whose debut project was the horror game Scorn;
- The Gentlebros — Singaporean developer known for the action RPG series Cat Quest;
- IOI Gamer — Singaporean marketing agency responsible for promoting games in China and other Asian countries;
- Shapefarm* — Swedish outsourcing company based in Tokyo (currently working on its project)
- Sloclap* — French studio known for the action game Sifu (currently preparing the release of Rematch);
- Timberline* — American team recognized for the narrative adventure The Red Lantern (working on a new IP);
- Tactical Adventures — French studio known for the RPG Solasta: Crown of Magister (currently preparing a sequel for release).
*Studios that became initial co-owners of Kepler Interactive
The founders of partner studios own equal shares (the exact percentage is unknown) and have voting rights. They are part of a special Kepler committee that meets weekly to make decisions about the company's publishing activities. Simultaneously, all studios maintain full legal and creative independence.
Years of connections in the video game business also helped Kepler secure significant investments. In 2021, the Chinese giant NetEase became a minority shareholder, investing $120 million in the company.
Such generous funding for a relatively small company laid the foundation for a successful start. In its first year of operation, Kepler Interactive's revenue exceeded $50 million thanks to successful releases of Sifu and Scorn.
Since 2022, the company has published over a dozen indie games. Below are some of the most successful titles in the publisher’s current portfolio (official data only):
- Sifu — 1 million copies sold in the first three weeks (total sales to date — over 4 million copies);
- Scorn — over 2 million players in eight months (including users who tried the game via Game Pass);
- Tchia — 1 million players in the first six weeks (including users who tried the game via PS Plus);
- Pacific Drive — 600,000 copies sold in five months (total sales for the year — over 1 million copies);
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — 1 million copies in the first three days (total sales for the month — 3.3 million copies).
Kepler also secured publishing rights to the older games of partner studios, including The Red Lantern and the first two installments of Cat Quest. Additionally, the company actively collaborates with companies that are not co-owners and invests in their projects, as was the case with Sandfall Interactive (Expedition 33).
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
It's difficult to precisely calculate the revenues from Kepler Interactive's games since they are available on various platforms and sometimes included in subscriptions like PS Plus (Tchia) and Game Pass (Flintlock). Additionally, some were temporary exclusives for Epic Games Store (Sifu). We aren't privy to the details of these deals, which, combined with the secrecy of EGS, makes accurate assessment almost impossible.
Speaking solely about Steam, VG Insights estimates Kepler Interactive's portfolio's total gross revenue at over $180 million. Of course, such impressive figures are due to the global success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, whose box office on the Valve platform exceeds $130 million.
On average, Kepler titles earn around $4.4 million, with a median gross revenue of about $1.2 million. The Gamalytic service reports a similar median of approximately $1.2 million (excluding Expedition 33), estimating the total revenue of all the publisher's titles on Steam at $154 million.
Top 10 games in Kepler Interactive's portfolio by gross revenue on Steam | Data: VG Insights
The specific terms of collaboration between Kepler and studios, whether partners or external, are undisclosed. However, in general, they are based on the ideas originally set in Kowloon and boil down to the following:
- development financing (utilizing both internal funds and the still-active Kowloon fund);
- marketing, localization, porting, and other publishing services (Kepler also has expertise in working with Chinese audiences);
- retaining full rights to the IP for developers;
- access to the extensive expertise and technologies of studios co-owning and partnering with the company.
For teams that simply need marketing services and assistance in finding partners or developing a brand, there is a separate label Kepler Ghost. In such collaborations, the company takes 15% of the revenue with no additional conditions. The developers themselves act as the game's publisher, and Kepler provides services in a stealth manner—without associating with its brand.
Windblown — a roguelike self-published by Motion Twin with support from the Kepler Ghost label
Meanwhile, Kepler Interactive's portfolio director Matt Handrahan advises developers not to rely on the publisher to do all the heavy lifting for them. The primary task of a studio is to create a unique and high-quality game. The publisher will assist with other aspects, but it's important to be able to independently handle at least basic marketing.
This is especially true for initial efforts in attracting users. According to Handrahan, if by the time of the negotiation a game doesn't have a “decent amount” of wishlists, there's a 90% chance it won't be signed.
He believes that in today's oversaturated market, it's crucial to act from day one of development as if you’re publishing the game yourself. You can't fully delegate community work and visibility of your project in stores to the publisher. You need to clearly understand your product and not be afraid to take risks.
Otherwise, you might end up in a situation where, hypothetically, a game completes a year and a half of development with only a few hundred social media followers. Expecting a contract in such a case is unrealistic.
That is why Kepler most values bold teams that actively engage with their audience and are ready to take responsibility for their decisions. “In the absence of risks, there is no special value,” notes Handrahan.
Solasta II — the upcoming sequel to a successful RPG based on Dungeons & Dragons rules, whose authors have been part of Kepler Interactive since 2025
The main principle of Kepler Interactive in working with studios is non-interference. Besides full creative control, final say on other aspects like promotion remains with the developer.
When communicating with developers—regardless of the type of cooperation—Kepler Interactive primarily focuses on the quality and uniqueness of the game. The company emphasizes that every project should have a “distinctive specificity.”
This implies not only an original concept but also the absence of overused tropes and sources of inspiration. As examples of conditional taboos, Garavaryan cites settings inspired by “Star Wars,” Greek mythology, superheroes, or zombie movies.
Many studios see this approach as safe. They hope familiar elements will help them find at least some audience. However, Kepler views clichés as a risk factor. For example, after the success of Hades, Garavaryan saw dozens of similar project pitches. Their authors didn’t realize that the trend could simply die out and the niche might lose relevance by the end of development.
Sifu — an example of a game with a “distinctive specificity,” as it combines beat ’em up mechanics with the aesthetics and settings of Hong Kong action films
Kepler Interactive does not specialize in a specific genre, unlike Hooded Horse. The company staff and members of the partner studio board rely primarily on their intuition. Garavaryan and the company regularly review hundreds of applications and also seek games independently—at exhibitions, conferences, and simply through their network.
All else being equal, preference is given to projects with a playable build. Therefore, when presenting game materials in pitches, Kepler advises prioritizing the following way:
Demo > Video > Concept Art > Just Words
Such a thorough approach to project selection works. In just a few years, Kepler Interactive has established itself in the market and built a portfolio of successful projects across various genres. The exchange of experience between teams and the founders' stable financing and investment background also contribute.
The year 2025 will undoubtedly be record-breaking for the company in terms of revenue, not only due to the success of Expedition 33. Kepler has another potential hit on its hands—the multiplayer football action game Rematch, whose open beta on Steam reached a peak online presence of nearly 160,000 concurrent users.