Campo Santo Studios, the developers behind cult hit Firewatch, has been acquired by gaming giant Valve, the studio confirms. Despite having new taskmasters, progress will still continue on their new title In the Valley of Gods.
The surprise news was confirmed by Campo Santo on their blog, in which they detail that all twelve members of the development team will be making their way to Bellevue to become part of the Valve empire.
Once there, they will still be working on In the Valley of Gods, the indie (can we even call them indie anymore?) title set for 2019 that was revealed at The Game Awards in 2017. They will also be continuing to support their smash hit Firewatch, especially as April has also seen the studio announce plans for a Switch release for the game.
While outsiders may see this as a strange move and a headscratching one for an indie studio to make, for Campo Santo, it was anything but.
“In Valve we found a group of folks who, to their core, feel the same way about the work that they do,” explains the team. “In us, they found a group with unique experience and valuable, diverse perspectives. It quickly became an obvious match.”
What ramifications it could have on the gaming industry as a whole remains to be seen – are Valve gearing up for an EA-style push at publishing or simply buying up all the talent they can afford? – but it’s clear that this is aiming to be a holistic partnership that aims to shine a light on some of the industry’s most prodigious talents. And if Valve can make more money along the way, eh, that sure helps.
