Evil Landfall, the publishing arm of indie developer Landfall, has been quietly funding and supporting external games for the past three years. The company's CEO, Kirsten-Lee Naidoo, reveals that Evil Landfall has already made several investments, including an equity investment in Semiwork's Voidigo and REPO, which gained over 10 million monthly active users in March 2025. This move is part of a broader trend among successful indie developers to fund other indies, with examples like Innersloth's Outersloth and Kinetic Games' Kinetic Publishing. Evil Landfall's name is a playful take on its role as the business arm of Landfall, and its ambitions have expanded beyond publishing Landfall's own titles to funding external games.
The success of Landfall's titles, particularly Peak, has been a surprising factor in this expansion. Peak, developed in just a few months, has sold an estimated 17 million units, taking Landfall by surprise and inspiring developers to pitch similar short-cycle projects. Evil Landfall's approach to funding is based on this philosophy, with a focus on games that can be developed quickly and have a strong potential for success. The company is also experimenting with early audience testing, a process that has been used by mobile game developers for years and is now being applied to PC and console games.
One of the key advantages of Evil Landfall's approach is the freedom it gives developers. Unlike traditional 'all-in' publishing agreements, Evil Landfall allows developers to decide which aspects of the business they want to outsource and which they want to learn for themselves. This level of control is particularly appealing to developers who are interested in all sides of the business and want to be sustainable in the long term. However, this freedom also means that Evil Landfall is likely to receive a tsunami of submissions, and the company is aware that it will need to adapt its systems to handle this scale.
In summary, Evil Landfall's quiet funding of external games and its focus on short-cycle, audience-tested projects are part of a broader trend in the indie game industry. The company's approach to funding and its commitment to giving developers freedom and control are likely to make it a significant player in the industry, particularly for developers who are looking for a more flexible and sustainable publishing model.
