Ex-Rockstar directors: Games That Matter explained

Ex-Rockstar Vienna Hannes Seifert and Niki Laber, together with partner Jurgen Goeldner, hosted a press conference today in Vienna, Austria to discuss a new independent games production model for their company, Games That Matter.

Games That Matter will be purchasing, developing and licensing game concepts internally, with plans to offer investors and publishers the ability to “participate in the actual IP without being forced to bear operative costs of a studio beyond the project,” as Managing Director Niki Laber puts it.

The team of Games That Matter will comprise of ex-Vienna staff, who will push through the initial development phase of their titles, including branding. Most of the content creation and development responsibilities will be delegated to outsourced strategic partners around the world.

The business model of Games That Matter is likened to the movie biz, having each project being given to their respective companies, so investors can choose whether to invest in the entire production or just parts of it. They can also be sure that team sizes will be relatively small as each company will perform their small part in the big picture.

Hannes Seifert said:

With our new approach to game production we bring together ideas, investors and developers and help companies of all sizes to work with us on breathtaking titles without forcing them do death. We will be able to offer publishers a finished game at a specific point in time without the risk of financing. And we offer investors a high return and long life cycle of their investment.

There have been no announcements regarding publisher partners or titles in production. They are, however, working on one project and discussions with investors and publishers are on-going.

Before establishing Games That Matter, Hannes Seifert and Niki Laber were managing directors for Rockstar Vienna, which shut down in May 2006 for cost-cutting reasons by Take Two Interactive.

Via Gamasutra

Ex-Rockstar Vienna Hannes Seifert and Niki Laber, together with partner Jurgen Goeldner, hosted a press conference today in Vienna, Austria to discuss a new independent games production model for their company, Games That Matter.

Games That Matter will be purchasing, developing and licensing game concepts internally, with plans to offer investors and publishers the ability to “participate in the actual IP without being forced to bear operative costs of a studio beyond the project,” as Managing Director Niki Laber puts it.

The team of Games That Matter will comprise of ex-Vienna staff, who will push through the initial development phase of their titles, including branding. Most of the content creation and development responsibilities will be delegated to outsourced strategic partners around the world.

The business model of Games That Matter is likened to the movie biz, having each project being given to their respective companies, so investors can choose whether to invest in the entire production or just parts of it. They can also be sure that team sizes will be relatively small as each company will perform their small part in the big picture.

Hannes Seifert said:

With our new approach to game production we bring together ideas, investors and developers and help companies of all sizes to work with us on breathtaking titles without forcing them do death. We will be able to offer publishers a finished game at a specific point in time without the risk of financing. And we offer investors a high return and long life cycle of their investment.

There have been no announcements regarding publisher partners or titles in production. They are, however, working on one project and discussions with investors and publishers are on-going.

Before establishing Games That Matter, Hannes Seifert and Niki Laber were managing directors for Rockstar Vienna, which shut down in May 2006 for cost-cutting reasons by Take Two Interactive.

Via Gamasutra