GitHub Co-Founder Launches New Publisher Null Games

This morning, GitHub co-founder Chris Wanstrath announced the formation of an all-new video game publisher with Null Games. The company is looking to be a different kind of publisher that thinks of the developer’s first, and they started with their first game as they have signed on to publish Canadian developer Excellent Rectangle’s hockey title Tape To Tape. We have the official statement for the company launch below from Wanstrath himself as we now wait to see what else they got in the pipeline.

“Null is part of a new wave of indie game publishers that put developers first. So many of us grew up exploring amazing digital worlds. But as we got older, we learned that the games industry isn’t always fun. The creative people directly responsible for making a great game are often treated the worst. In the world of indie games, the publishers have all the power, and they know it. Contracts are often one-sided, as is the risk. We think there’s a better way.

When I co-founded GitHub in 2007, the story wasn’t so different. App and web developers were treated as disposable. The tools they used weren’t always built for them. But GitHub and companies like Heroku changed that by focusing exclusively on the developer experience. Today, app and web developers have fantastic tools and much better working conditions than they did even a decade ago.

Null is just one publisher. We can’t change the industry. But we’re part of a growing movement that can. By partnering with developers and giving them great terms, we want to help them make better games in a more sustainable manner. Because at the end of the day, this is really all about the games. We’ve seen what the developer-unfriendly, crunch culture produces. It’s time to see what happens when you treat developers and gamers with respect.” – Chris Wanstrath