– Disney Mobile Games exec Chris Heatherly
Disney won’t be releasing a new edition of its prominent Disney Infinity “toys to life” cross-platform game this year, which means its presence on consoles will be sparse.
But if you look at the mobile storefronts, Disney’s branding is on a number of high-profile games, including Disney Crossy Road (pictured) Disney Tsum Tsum, and Disney-owned brands like Marvel Contest of Champions and Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes.
According to Disney Mobile Games exec Chris Heatherly, this is a direct result of investors being less willing to invest in mobile game studios.
As developers struggle to get the funding they need to pay for marketing they hope will get their games noticed on ever-more-crowded storefronts, Disney swoops in to pitch co-development deals that see it putting its brands on games in exchange for flexing its marketing muscle.
“We don’t do particularly well when the market rewards start-ups to spend a lot of cash to grow top line [sales] and market share without growing profit,” Heatherly said at the recent L.A. Games Conference, according to the L.A. Times. “When the market starts to mature, that’s where it becomes much more interesting for us. They need someone like a Disney to amplify what they are good at and to bring an audience to their products.”
This sheds a bit more light on Heatherly’s comments at GDC last month about how Disney sees “great opportunity” in today’s overcrowded mobile market.
It’s also an interesting reflection of how publishers are coming back in style in the game industry at large as markets become flooded with games, driving developers to seek outside help to get their work noticed.