[dropcap]C[/dropcap]asual gaming giant, Big Fish, has agreed to publish Boss Fight Entertainment’s first game in a joint effort to explore new territory.
The goal is to introduce casual gamers to a somewhat more “hardcore” format and the gameplay depth it provides, while still retaining the “pick up and play” spirit Big Fish is known for. With Boss Fight’s employee background in Castleville, Age of Empires and Halo Wars, the partnership could be a potent one.
The free-to-play gaming genre has been growing significantly in the past year or so, and this pooling of resources with Boss Fight displays Big Fish’s desire to embrace it. They’re aiming to be at the forefront of casual, free-to-play experimentation, pushing the genre into places it has yet to take root.
“Big Fish is growing and changing … fast. It is not the company it was even a year ago,” said Chris Williams, General Manager and Vice President of Studios at Big Fish. “Successfully transitioning its PC legacy business to mobile, Big Fish launched 5 free-to-play games in 2013, and more than half of its 2013 mobile revenue stemmed from those products. In 2014 the company will be focused on launching hit free-to-play games – some in genres that may be unexpected. The game with Boss Fight is one of those surprises, and represents a strategy of moving beyond the conventional casual genres and mechanics, investing deeply to build hits and grow our audience.”
Although Big Fish has sold over 2 billion games and amassed a catalogue of 3,000+ PC games and 400+ mobile games in its 12 years since being founded in 2002, it was also their impressive, yet modest, array of free-to-play titles that caught Boss Fight’s eye.
“We were impressed with Big Fish’s ability to take Big Fish Casino and scale it worldwide to the #1 grossing app in the casino genre, and the only casino game to make it into the top ten of both of Apple’s 2013 top-grossing lists,” said David Rippy, President and Chief Executive of Boss Fight Entertainment. “We are confident that with our game and Big Fish’s distribution and audience-building acumen, we have a winning combination.”
Boss Fight Entertainment may be viewed as a fledgling development company only having been created recently in 2013, but the team within is composed of veteran, free-to-play enthusiasts.
The company claims the game will be a surprising departure from past Big Fish titles and is set to announce details later this year.
