Good Games Group (GGG) has launched its Balor Games, a new publishing label focused on long-term stewardship and high-quality “Triple I” publishing—where Triple I represents memorable, high-quality indie games that make an impact.
Good Games Group is also announcing that it has acquired Ziff Davis’s game publishing
business, including the back catalog of titles previously published under the Humble
Games label, separate from the Humble Bundle storefront.
In addition, Good Games Group has acquired the complete Firestoke Games catalog and the publishing rights for Fights in Tight Spaces. This acquisition reunites more than 50 indie games with their original publishing leadership under the new Balor Games label.
It’s a pretty big coming-out party for the new triple-I games publisher, which will focus on mobile, PC and console games.
Los Angeles-based Balor Games, led by former Humble Games leaders Alan Patmore and Mark Nash, now oversees a broad catalog that includes indie standouts such as Slay the Spire, A Hat in Time, Signalis, Forager, Coral Island, Monaco, and Wizard of Legend. In total, more than sixty titles are now part of the Balor Games portfolio.
“It’s been a challenging several years for the industry, and we received that feedback as well and obviously we’ve lived it. But there’s a lot of opportunity to support developers, and that’s where we’re building this business. Balor Games is all about supporting developers. We want to be a champion of developers,” said Nash, cofounder of Balor Games, in an interview with GamesBeat. “Publishing often gets described as a process or picking winners. We see it differently. We’re not just picking winners, sitting on the sidelines. We see it as a collaboration and we want to help them become winners and fulfill their potential.”
Thoughtful and impactful
They want to focus on games that are thoughtful and impactful.
Alan Patmore, cofounder of Balor Games, said in an interview with GamesBeat, “Balor Games is a continuation of the work we did at Humble Games. Core to our ethos is long-term stewardship of games. We really value cultivating the games over time. We work with the developers to continue the communities.”
The launch of this new label marks an evolution for the company as it positions Balor
Games as what it calls a “Cultural Curator” for Triple I titles, delivering the resources
and expertise of an experienced publisher while preserving the creative independence
that defines great indie games. It is the company’s vision for the Balor Games “eye”
logo to become a symbol representing quality, creative integrity, and a commitment to
publishing stewardship.
The company has its origins in Ziff Davis’ decision to shut down Humble Games in July 2024. That was tough for Patmore and Nash, who had worked for Humble Bundle since 1999. When the shutdown happened, Nash and Patmore quickly spun up Good Games Group and worked with Ziff Davis to do a sublicense agreement for a large percentage of the catalog. That allowed Good Games Group to build its foundation starting in October, 2024.
Then they subsequently worked with Ziff Davis to acquire the remainder of the games business — about 45 altogether from Ziff Davis alone — which was a positive outcome, for both parties, Patmore said.
“Ultimately, we landed in a good spot. What Mark and I are happy with is we are continuing and we’re being reunited with the developers,” Patmore said. “We’re going to continue to provide stewardship for those games and then also the titles that are in development. Balor Games is the unification of the continued stewardship of those titles and those developers.”
The company will also launch its own new titles as well. It is already working on a tactical horror shooter in the triple-I space, and there are more things in the works.
Patmore said, “The same leadership and the same commitment to thoughtful publishing remain in place. What changes is our scale and our focus. Balor Games is built for inventors and backed by believers. To that end, it exists to be a seal of quality for independent games.”
Their backers include Mep Capital, which enabled the financing behind the sublicensing agreement that Good Games Group did with Ziff Davis.
They’re lucky to find that financing, as a number of developers have said they are struggling with that and layoffs continue. Amir Satvat, the game jobs champion, said this week that 48 layoffs have already happened in 2026, eliminating 2,579 jobs. And 17 of the last 20 layoffs have been in North America.
But Balor Games believes that the triple-I games are growing and represent tremendous opportunities, Nash said, especially with creative financing.
“We’re trying to lean in when others are not,” Nash said. “Some of the past ways of acquiring capital have dried up, but we’re starting to see some green shoots and new kinds of financing vehicles. If we’re passionate about a game, we’re going to find a way to make it work.”
Acquiring catalogs and new games
Balor Games’ acquisition strategy is designed to provide stability and continuity for partner studios while unlocking new growth opportunities across back catalog titles.
With full publishing rights consolidated under one banner, teams can benefit from renewed lifecycle support, coordinated community building opportunities, and expanded
commercial strategy across platforms and regions.
Balor Games is also investing in the next generation of independent creators. The company is actively signing new projects, such as co-op tactical horror first-person shooter SCP: 5K. Backed by investment from MEP Capital, the company plans to expand its publishing operations while maintaining a selective approach centered on creative alignment and long-term partnership.
Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, Balor Games intends to deepen support for its portfolio studios while continuing to evaluate new publishing opportunities. The company remains open to pitches from developers seeking publishing and financing support, particularly teams building ambitious independent games that align with its “Triple I” vision.
The team has around 15 people and it’s growing.
“We’re now getting some additional titles and development. So we’re continuing to scale. We’re definitely going to be looking for more people to help join us on our mission,” said Patmore. “We’ve always been a very collaborative publisher and that is the kind of core we will try to achieve as Balor Games as well.”
A new kind of publisher
As they left Humble Games, they also saw the need to change and evolve, just as the game industry is evolving.
“We’re really trying to build a bespoke publisher as triple-I games and their needs a different,” Patmore said. “Studio needs are different. There are different sizes, different genres. What works for one type of gaming studio doesn’t necessarily work for another and we want to embrace that.”
The company is working with collaborators and signing developers and building programs around game production and go-to-market tasks.
“That allows us to work and collaborate with other partners in the industry,” Patmore said. There are a lot of services now that exist as vendors, as contractors, and we’re able to collaborate with those people and scale the production up and down as required for that particular game.”
They want the developers to have no ambiguity about the support from their publisher, Patmore said. Balor Games is assuming the publishing rights for all of the games with the same contract.
“It’s all of the developers we signed when we were at Humble Games. There’s a lot of continuity there,” Patmore said. “We’re reuniting with our developers.”
There’s also the added benefit of having the Firestoke Games catalog and new developers.
Having worked as a developer for a long time, Patmore said there was always friction with publishers, especially about whether they were making the game better. In this case, Balor Games as a publisher will allow devs to keep their intellectual property rights. Creative control also stays with the studios, Nash said.
“Ultimately, we’re investing in them as a team and as a studio. We’d love to be in a place where they come back to us for their next game and their third game and their fourth game, right?” Nash said. “Because getting funding is stressful for a developer. It takes a lot of time away from what their core competency is, which is making great games.”
While Humble Bundle is focused on charity, at Humble Games the ethos was to be a “developer first” publisher and empower developers to unlock their talent.
“That ethos is carrying forward,” Nash said. “If anything, we’re executing more on that vision. This is an evolution of publishing in the indie triple-I space.”