After helping form independent-oriented publisher Gathering of Developers (g.o.d.), sold to Take-Two in 2000, and then helping create independent-focused publisher Gamecock, sold to SouthPeak in 2008, co-founders Harry Miller and Mike Wilson have returned once again with another new publishing outfit.

Dubbed Devolver Digital, it's described as a "production and publishing company based in Austin, Texas, specializing in delivering top quality entertainment to gamers worldwide at affordable prices by any and all means available."

"A few other old friends" are also involved in Devolver, Wilson told Big Download.

Word of Devolver first emerged via this morning's announcement of Serious Sam: The First Encounter HD, with the company assisting developer Croteam in producing and publishing its forthcoming Xbox Live Arcade and PC shooter.

"We're basically acting as the production company for the XBLA game, since we are not an official MSFT publisher yet, and will be publishing the PC version... Read more

Myst developer Cyan Worlds has laid off the majority of its for-hire QA testing division after its number-one customer Gamecock was acquired by publisher SouthPeak.

Seven workers remain, doing "testing for a few other smaller game companies," according to CEO Tony Fryman in the Spokesman Review of Spokane, WA, whose report was picked up by Gamasutra. Fryman explained that the testing division began as an in-house testing division but was grew into its own business to keep profits coming in.

Cyan has a troubled history, as its ambitious Myst Online: Uru Live was killed by GameTap earlier this year. In 2005, the studio nearly died after Uru Live was shut down by original publisher Ubisoft the year before.

The Review writes that "at this point Fryman is not certain it can renew a deal for testing with SouthPeak," so the CEO is contacting individual developers to try to secure deals.

In addition, Cyan Worlds is pitching publishers on a new game, which may prove to be the studio's saving grace. But, Fryman admits, "for the upstart ... firms trying to get funding, this is a terrible market."

Publisher SouthPeak Interactive paid nothing up front for the privilege of swallowing Gamecock, the independent-oriented publishing house started by gaming entrepreneur Mike Wilson (pictured at left).

The Cut Scene, looking at a recent SEC filing by SouthPeak, found that the publisher is making two payouts: a 7% royalty on future Gamecock releases (with the rest of revenues going to SouthPeak) and "a warrant to purchase 700,000 shares of SouthPeak stock."

In essence, SouthPeak got a great deal for the independent publisher of Red Fly's Mushroom Men (Wii, DS) and Spark Unlimited's Legendary (PC, 360, PS3). Gamecock's ownership, on the other hand, got a stake in a rather small publisher.

SouthPeak has committed to publishing the two aforementioned Gamecock titles as well as Replay Studios' Velvet Assassin (PC, 360) next year, but after that the future of the Gamecock brand and the role of CEO Mike Wilson--who once before sold off an independent-oriented publisher he helped found--is unknown.

Publisher SouthPeak Interactive today announced that it has acquired independent game publisher Gamecock Media Group for an undisclosed sum.

Gamecock will retain its focus on independent games, according to comments from each company's CEO. It marks Gamecock CEO Mike Wilson's second sell-off of an independent-oriented game publisher he helped create, the first being Gathering of Developers, which was sold to Take-Two in 2000.

SouthPeak CEO Melanie Mroz stated that the acquisition "supports our strategy of working with independent developers" and gives "Gamecock titles a bigger platform to succeed."

Gamecock's holiday lineup, which includes Red Fly's Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars (Wii) and Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi (DS) and Spark Unlimited's Legendary (PC, PS3, 360), appears to be unchanged, with SouthPeak claiming they are still expected to ship this quarter, followed by Replay Studios'Velvet Assassin (PC, 360) next year.

"We are thrilled to be joining forces with SouthPeak to continue to bring great original titles from independent developers to market with a stronger sales and distribution reach," explained Gamecock CEO Wilson. "We have followed each other's progress closely over the last two years, and combining our team with theirs results in a very strong and well-rounded force in the market."

Renegade Kid, developer of DS horror title Dementium: The Ward, announced today that it is working on a secret project based on "one of the biggest horror icons of all time."

Few details were released by the studio or publisher Gamecock, but the announcement and accompanying teaser image are in line with rumors on Gamasutra and GameSetWatch suggesting that the studio is working on a Vlad the Impaler game for the Wii.

According to GameSetWatch, Renegade Kid was already at work on a game entitled "Son of the Dragon," which Gamasutra noted translates to "Dracula" in Romanian. That, combined with the teaser image, can certainly be a reference to Vlad the Impaler, often cited as the inspiration for Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula."

Only a teaser image is available today, but Renegade Kid has promised that more details will come this year.

If you thought that the eternal struggle would end after Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball arrives on Xbox 360 as an Xbox Live Arcade download next week, think again.

Developer Blazing Lizard and publisher Gamecock today announced that they'll be bringing the fight to Wii this winter, complete with new story and challenge modes.

Though the Xbox 360 release will be downloadable, a Gamecock representative has confirmed to Shacknews that the Wii version will be a full-fledged retail release.

Valve Software and publisher Gamecock Media Group today announced a partnership to bring Gamecock titles to Valve's PC gaming digital distribution platform Steam.

The first Gamecock-published titles on the platform are Firefly Studios' Stronghold Crusader Extreme and the first installment of Crackpot Entertainment's episodic action-adventure title Insecticide.

"No RTS fan can ignore Stronghold Crusader Extreme as the pinnacle of hardcore warfare," Valve stated in a press release.

Additional Gamecock-published PC titles, including Replay Studios' World War II stealth title Velvet Assassin, Spark Unlimited's fantasy shooter Legendary and the second episode of Insecticide, are slated to hit Steam later this year.

The Gamecock Media Group hosted the second annual E.I.E.I.O. event in Austin, TX last week, showing various games they'll be publishing over the next few quarters. We have rounded up new screenshots for the games (Dungeon Hero, Hail to the Chimp, Insecticide, Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball, Legendary, Mushroom Men, Stronghold Crusader Extreme, Velvet Assassin) for your viewing pleasure.

Dungeon Hero (PC, X360) Hail to the Chimp (PS3, X360) ... Read more

The Nintendo DS version of Crackpot Entertainment's action adventure game Insecticide has gone gold and will ship to stores March 11, publisher GameCock has announced. The game was previously scheduled for a February release.

A PC version of the game is expected as well, albeit in episodic form, with the first episode showing up online shortly after the release of the game on the DS.

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Registered users can use the HD stream for this trailer, which contains cutscene footage.

Firefly Studios has announced Stronghold Crusader Extreme, an update of their 2002 castle-sieging RTS Stronghold: Crusader packaged with new content and cranked to eleven.

Stronghold Crusader Extreme, as the name implies, is an extreme edition of the original 2002 Stronghold expansion, featuring extreme 10,000-plus unit battles, new tactical powers and outposts, and a new extreme campaign for veteran players. Those new to the series will also be able to play an updated version Firefly's Stronghold: Crusader, accompanied by the original game and all previously released add-on content.

Stronghold Crusader Extreme will be published by GameCock and is aimed for a spring 2008 release.

Despite cable TV host and 2008 presidential hopeful Stephen Colbert being refused admission into the South Carolina Democratic primary election, Austin-based publisher Gamecock Media Group has announced its official endorsement of Colbert--and invited the candidate to reestablish his campaign headquarters in Texas after Colbert was turned away from his own home state.

Colbert has officially withdrawn his candidacy following the setback, but Gamecock has refused to acknowledge the withdrawal. "We came to the conclusion that Stephen Colbert has shown strong leadership and best represents the interests of the videogame playing community," said Gamecock CEO Mike Wilson. "Politicians have long demonized videogames for short term gain. This has, of course, been hilarious to watch. But Stephen Colbert will definitely be funnier than anything Hillary Clinton or Mitt Romney can come up with."

Wilson also pointed to Colbert's interview with The Sims creator Will Wright, and defeat of a virtual version of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at Wii Sports as further evidence of Colbert's video game advocacy.

Don't expect to see Colbert respond to today's announcement on... Read more

Austin-based bad-boy publisher Gamecock has announced its intentions to open a new office in the U.K. The publisher of Auran's online battler Fury (PC) and Renegade Kid's upcoming Dementium the Ward (NDS), Gamecock plans to open its second office by the end of the year, Gamecock CEO Mike Wilson told Next-Gen.

"It's mostly about us trying to give our developers the best deal we can across the PAL territories too," Wilson said. "When doing a co-publishing deal, it's really hard to do that."

The new studio will make Gamecock an international publisher, and give its stable of developers an outlet in European territories. Auran's Fury and Renegade Kid's Dementium, the first two titles from the publisher, both debut in North America this month

Gamecock will be publishing Kohan developer TimeGate Studios upcoming first person shooter, Section 8. Slated for a 2009 release, the game is in development for unspecificed platforms.

First announced in 2005, Section 8 faded from view as TimeGate focused on last year's F.E.A.R. expansion pack, Extraction Point. Earlier this year, the company revealed it was working on three games--two FPS projects and an MMO--to be unveiled throughout 2007.

"Section 8 is our most ambitious project to date," said TimeGate CEO and president Adel Chaveleh, "and it's really exciting to have the full support of our publisher to deliver the absolute best game possible."

"Often times we gather in the Cockpit to discuss the ideal ... Read more

FiringSquad has a Q&A with Gamecock's Mike Wilson posted, asking the company CEO about next month's E.I.E.I.O. event, which will coincide with E3.

Publisher Gamecock has released details on its previously-announced, indie-themed E3 alternative. The company's "Expo for Interactive Entertainment, Independent and Original" will be held at Santa Monica's Hotel California on July 11-13, corresponding with this year's E3 Business & Media Summit.

Games on hand at the expo will include Fury (PC), Insecticide (PC, DS), Dementium: The Ward (DS), Mushroom Men (DS, Wii), Dungeon Hero (PC, X360), and Hail to the Chimp. Two "major" unannounced titles... Read more

Update: Gamecock Media Group has officially announced that it will be publishing a new game from Croteam for PC and "specific" consoles in North America. The game will be powered by Croteam's Serious Engine 3.

"The Gamecock team includes some of the best people we've worked with in our 14 years of game development," said Croteam CDO Roman Ribaric. "We had a great time and learned a lot when we worked together to produce the first Serious Sam and we are confident that we will achieve similar success this time around."

Gamecock sent over a few screenshots of the game, due out in 2009.

... Read more

Indie-oriented publisher Gamecock has stated its intentions to plan an independent game expo held concurrently with the upcoming E3 Business & Media Summit. The laborious full name of Gamecock's tentative event is E.I.E.I.O. - Expo for Interactive Entertainment: Independent and Original - Fun Fest 2007.

E.I.E.I.O. is a response to the E3 exhibitor list on which we reported earlier this week. The list "noticeably lacked independent developers," a Gamecock representative pointed out to Shacknews.

Gamecock is headed up by CEO Mike Wilson (pictured left), president Harry Miller, and CFO Rick Stults, reprising their executive roles held at the now- ... Read more

In case you havent had enough of the GameCock here's one more for the Mike Wilson led media blitz. This time is way way different from Gathering of Developers. Seriously. Really.

Eurogamer is the latest site with a Gamecock Q&A, asking co-founder Mike Wilson about his new game publishing company.

Gamasutra and Next Generation are two of the latest websites with Gamecock Media Q&As, asking Mike Wilson and Harry Miller about their new publishing company. Update: another Q&A can be found at FiringSquad.