TAG Games gets back into the publishing game

UK-based independent developer TAG Games is to publish Reach For The Starz, a pop music themed mobile game developed by Digital Goldfish.

It's not TAG's first experience of publishing - it self-released its first game Dead Water two years ago.

However, it might be seen as a strange time to get back into publishing, given that even medium-sized publishers are being squeezed out of direct relationships with the operators.

MD Paul Farley doesn't agree, though. He says the move comes from being sent cool games from smaller developers who are struggling to get them to market.

"If they don't have a distribution network or have the contacts with the main publishers to get their game out often it can be overlooked," he tells PocketGamer.biz.

"On a small scale we can (on a case by case basis) put a little bit of support and money behind one of these games to get it to market. It doesn't get any easier to get deck placement, that's for sure, but a nice low budget game can easily make a profit from a limited release."

Meanwhile, Farley hints that TAG Games may have wider ambitions to publish in the future on other mobile platforms.

"If you look at iPhone becoming a publisher and funding a wider range of games than we can produce ourselves makes even more sense," he says.

Reach For The Starz is launching first on Vodafone Germany this month, before rolling out across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. You can read more about the game on Pocket Gamer.