Techland, makers of the popular zombie action game Dying Light, took the bold step of launching its own digital store in July.
Gemly, which is named so because the company treats all its games as gems, competes with digital platforms such as Steam, GOG (which it shares many similarities with), and others but with the benefit of offering exclusive content for Techland-developed games. For example, the store launched alongside Dying Light’s 10-in-12 program, which promises to release 10 free DLC updates across 12 months. Techland will be taking suggestions from the community for its content expansions, demonstrating Gemly’s value as a platform where developers may communicate directly with their audiences.
“We want to be an exclusive content hub for Techland games, a source of legitimate digital games from our third-party friends and partners and a community platform,” Jarosław Grabowski, head of digital distribution at Techland, said to AListDaily.
“The exclusive content is already here,” he continued. “We had the Harran Military Rifle, a part of teaser DLC from Dying Light’s 10-in-12 program available exclusively on Gemly, and recently we’ve launched Pure Farming 2018 pre-orders with Gemly Digital Deluxe Edition being the most complete edition available with all regular bonus content plus additional Gemly exclusives. There’s more to come in forthcoming months in terms of new functionalities of the site such as dedicated statistic service for Dying Light. As for the community part, we want to create a friendly environment for both gamers and game creators, making Gemly a throughout digital community and distribution platform.”
Grabowski said that Techland decided to create its own digital storefront because the company valued its community and fans above all else. Gemly serves as a platform where developer can engage with its players, personalize communication and offer exclusive content.
“It was something we’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” said Grabowski. “With Gemly we want to make ourselves more accessible to our players, both as a developer and as a publisher. We want to enhance their experience with our games, give them exclusive content, the best offers possible and an opportunity to have influence on both. We want to be a bridge between developers and players, constantly listening to their opinions and adjusting our plans accordingly based on what our community and our partners wish us to do.”
Grabowski explained that purchasing games through Gemly means supporting those games and their creators. All the games listed come directly from the developers or trusted partners. Another benefit Gemly offers is guaranteed payment security without hidden fees in addition to the aforementioned exclusive content and closer relationship with the community.
Techland holds its ties with the community in exceptionally high regard, as it continues to release exclusive content for Dying Light.
“With Gemly we can reach our gamers more directly to personalize the communication and offers we bring them,” said Grabowski. “We’re always all ears to their feedback, so we can and will provide exclusive content that they actually want to play. [Gemly] also helps us highlight our own titles better. Having control over selling your own product in a store is always better.”
Techland is using social media, PR and online advertising to get the word out about Gemly, but it’s also relying on word-of-mouth.
“We value every user, and we believe that the mantra of treating all of our gamers as ‘gems’ is the right thing to do,” said Grabowski. “As a brand, we want to be frank, listening to our players in every matter. We believe that this together with the exclusive in-game content and a user and developer friendly policy are good enough reasons to join the club.”
