Long time Sony exclusive developer Insomniac announced today that they have (much like Respawn entertainment) inked a deal with Electronic Arts to distribute future titles developed by the acclaimed studio. This deal does not include Insomniac’s previous commitment to Sony’s two major on going franchises Ratchet and Clank and Resistance. They are still attached to at least one more Ratchet game and 2 more Resistance games. The EA published title(s) will be a new intellectual property whose rights will remain with Insomniac.
This is the third major partnership in the industry announced in the past two months. First Respawn (the fragments of the shattered Infinity Ward studio) signed with EA, then Bungie (acclaimed Halo developer) signed with Activision. In all of these cases the developers are retaining the intellectual property rights to their creations. This, in theory, will keep the publishers from whoring out the creations of the devs to dozens of satellite studios (I’m looking at you Activision).
It also signifies a shift in mindset in the industry. Much like movie and television directors and producer’s reputations dictate their power in negotiations and deals, proven developers are finding themselves in positions that give them more power than ever.
I my opinion this is fantastic news, with more power comes more risks being taken and with more risks comes better games. With this deal, we will finally see some Insomniac games on Xbox 360 and possibly…wait for it…the Wii! No announcements have been made about possible games, but with this deal the sky is the limit.