New indie publisher Gambit Digital to be led by former Kepler Interactive VP

A former VP of publishing and marketing at Kepler Interactive is now the head of Gambit Digital, a new indie publisher based in Montreal.

Zac Antonaci left Kepler in February after around three and a half years at the London-based publisher, which was behind the recent hits Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Rematch.

Previously, Antonaci was director of publishing at Frontier Developments in Cambridge, UK, the maker of Planet Coaster and Jurassic World Evolution.

Gambit Digital is part of Indie Asylum, an indie ecosystem in Montreal that brings together over 200 developers across 18 studios. The firm will be helping to publish a number of games produced by the collective.

The founding team of Gambit Digital includes a range of studio heads and industry veterans. Commercial director Chad Young was previously senior director of publishing at Frontier, while publishing director Kevin Chancey is general manager at the video game marketing agency Purple is Royal.

Chief operating officer Chris Chancey is president of the indie studio ManaVoid Entertainment, which was behind the non-violent RPG Rainbow Billy: The Curse of The Leviathan, and which recently released the rogue-like city builder Roots of Yggdrasil.

Similarly, Gambit’s chief commercial officer Kim Berthiaume is interactive creative director at ManaVoid, while chief strategy officer Pascal Nataf co-founded Affordance Studio, which was a previous finalist in the Canadian Best Places to Work Awards, along with Purple is Royal.

Chris Chancey emphasised the close links between the publisher and the indie studios it represents. “Gambit Digital exists to tilt the playing field in favour of developers,” he said.

“We’re builders ourselves. We know what it means to take risks, to scale up, and to find the right partners. Gambit is here to give studios the choice, flexibility, and firepower to succeed – without losing sight of why we make games in the first place.”

Gambit is aiming to provide a range of services to suit the needs of different indie studios. Among the services offered is shadow publishing, where Gambit will provide publishing muscle behind the scenes, while allowing studios to remain the publisher of record.

Gambit will also provide more traditional investment and publishing, as well as console porting and publishing via an in-house team. In addition, Gambit offers ‘post-launch growth’, driving sales of already released titles by expanding to new regions and seeking new commercial opportunities.

“Publishing today has to be more than a transaction – it has to be a long-term partnership,” says Antonaci.

“At Gambit Digital, we’re focused on helping and working hand in hand with developers not just to launch their games, but to build sustainable long-term momentum.

“From porting to post-launch growth, our mission is to expand possibilities and give studios the tools and opportunities to thrive in an ever-changing global market.”