Although the Ouya Android gaming console is no more, the company was purchased by the technology company, Razer last year and was transformed into Ouya Publishing. Under the new brand, Ouya Publishing releases console quality games for Android-based consoles, including the Razer Forge TV, Amazon Fire TV and the Nvidia Shield devices.
As Jared Yeager, director of publishing at Razer, told [a]listdaily, “Ouya Publishing was born out of last year’s acquisition of Ouya assets and related IP by Razer, which has repositioned Ouya—the most successful crowd-funded business of its day and pioneer of the first console for Android-based games—as a development and distribution arm supporting Android-based game makers and platforms. The ongoing mission of Ouya Publishing leaves it focused on improving all aspects of the Android entertainment space, advocating platform inclusivity and broad-based publishing with all available Android TV partners who value curated, unique, quality content.”
Ouya Publishing’s focus is on games “that can be enjoyed together with friends in front of a big screen,” according to Yeager. Previous releases include head-to-head games such as Mimic Arena and ChargeShot, while a port of the critically acclaimed Gurgamoth is expected to come out in early October.
That doesn’t mean that single player games are left out of the picture. “We want to support unique and engaging single-player experiences, so we are excited to announce that the indie hit from Bossa Studios, I Am Bread, will be coming to Android consoles later this year,” said Yeager.
Before the transition into Ouya Publishing, the company helped Numinous Games fund That Dragon, Cancer for release on Razer Forge TV and Steam—a personal game about a boy named Joel Green (the developer’s son) and his four-year battle against cancer. All proceeds from Razer’s Cortex storefront on Forge TV are donated to the Morgan Adams Foundation, which funds cancer research, and to Family House SF, which provides free housing to families visiting hospitals in San Francisco.
The company’s most recent release is a cooperative action game called Mercenary Kings, which initially came out for PC, Mac and PlayStation 4 in 2014. The game’s Android console release is almost identical to its PC/console counterpart except that it doesn’t support online gameplay, but it’s also half the price at $9.99.
“Developed by Tribute Games, Mercenary Kings is a frantic 2D action game where you are part of the most skilled team of warriors-for-hire on Earth,” said Yeager, describing the game. “When your comrades have fallen, and the fearsome forces of CLAW have seized an island-wide top secret Laboratory Base, you must do what it takes to stop them.”
Mercenary Kings features beautiful character animation by pixel artist and animator Paul Robertson and over 100 missions that can be played either solo or with up to 4-player same-screen co-op. Yeager explains that “it’s the ideal game for Razer Forge TV and the Android platform because it’s a classic living room arcade experience that’s best enjoyed on a couch with friends in front of a big screen TV. It’s easy to pick up and play like many beloved, old-school, side-scrolling run-and-gun games, but with much more content, gameplay innovations, and robust co-op play to keep friends engaged through multiple playthroughs.”
When asked why Mercenary Kings was being released for multiple Android console platforms instead of being exclusive to Forge TV, Yeager said: “Razer has always championed being inclusive instead of exclusive, as proven by OSVR’s initiative to bring VR gaming to everyone without platform boundaries. The same goes for Ouya Publishing under Razer for Android gaming and any new platforms we may publish games on as our catalogue grows. However, Razer Forge TV owners can look forward to special deals and giveaways for future game releases, along with bundles for independently released titles on the Cortex storefront.”
When asked about how Ouya was applying its past experience to the Razer Forge TV console, Yeager said that “the Ouya team went through all of the hardware and firmware update trials before joining the Razer team, and they were key in making the OTAs for the Razer storefront as polished and optimized as possible. The most visible evolution for players is the Ouya storefront itself, now known as Cortex on the Razer Forge TV. It’s a more streamlined experience that runs super smooth on the advanced hardware, and it’s just easier to navigate and find content within the storefront.”
Yeager also explained how the Android console platform continued to grow due to affordable hardware and growing processing power that allows more current generation games to release for it.
“We believe that, with the growing quality of controller-based games coming out of Ouya Publishing along with other developers, that we will change the perspective that some have that Android consoles just have mobile ports or simple games you only play with a remote,” said Yeager. “Android console distribution continues to reach a larger worldwide audience, with Razer Forge TV now being widely available in Europe outside of the original North America release.”
So how does promoting an Android console game compare to traditional consoles and PC? “There is less dedicated gaming press covering Android console gaming, so it’s important to have great relationships with our external platform partners at Google Play, Amazon and Nvidia for feature placement outside of our own ecosystem, along with social media promotion,” said Yeager. “They have provided valuable feedback on how to optimize games to be received best by their players and we are looking forward to running new promotions with them going into the holiday season.”
