G.O.D. Returns In New Form News

Former executives of defunct publisher Gathering of Developers (G.O.D) have today unveiled a brand new outfit - Gamecock Media Group - with the aim of filling the gap between publishing giants, and smaller labels. Mike Wilson (former CEO of G.O.D. and self-professed rooster enthusiast) and Harry Miller (former president of G.O.D.) aim to "build a well-funded, independent, artist-driven game publishing company" that will "favor [sic] only the most innovative and original video game developers in the industry."

G.O.D was behind a number of titles published by Take Two Interactive (which acquired the label in 1999), including Max Payne, Mafia, Serious Sam, and Railroad Tycoon, and was originally made up of developing studios such as Epic Games, 3D Realms, Ritual Entertainment, and Terminal Reality. Both Miller and Wilson seem to have an axe to grind against some of the bigger publishers, especially Take-Two Interactive; stating in a section on the GameCock website:

"If only Max Payne had shipped a year sooner, we wouldn't be in this mess... GodGames would still be rockin' as the biggest and brashest Indie publisher in the business.

But maybe it was for the best, since our deal with the dark masters in NYC had our hands tied to PC games, having to hand over every franchise to the likes of Rockstar Games for console. Where's Max Payne now? Now that this industry is tied to the proverbial tracks. Dead. Dead like Serious Sam and Mafia and even Railroad Tycoon. Like every franchise brought in by a great Indie team and then bought, coddled, and quietly smothered to death by a bloated public company."

GameCock has already unveiled five titles from developers including FireFly Studios (CivCity: Rome), and Wideload Games (Stubbs the Zombie), with release dates beginning the end of 2007 through to spring 2009.

Announcing the new outfit, CEO of Gamecock Mike Wilson commented: "The major publishers have been focusing on safe bets - large budget games often attached to major licenses or sequels...This insufficient emphasis on the creation of original game properties has created major dissatisfaction among the industry's most talented game designers and has made the current system unpalatable. In other words, things are getting stale. We aim to change that."

Alex Seropian, founder and CEO of Bungie (creator of the best-selling Xbox franchise, Halo) and Wideload Games, currently working on Hail to the Chimp, added: "These guys have a stellar track record and a reputation for producing innovative titles...Their ability to identify and develop new hit properties from new teams and then market them successfully worldwide is virtually unmatched."

The five titles in development are:

• Fury (PC) Holiday 2007
• Insecticide (Handheld / PC) Holiday 2007
• Mushroom Men (Next-Gen / Handheld) Spring 2008
• Hail to the Chimp (Next-Gen)Spring 2008
• Hero (Next-Gen / PC) Spring 2009