GameStop, Insomniac Games will duet with ‘Song of the Deep’

This image released by Insomniac Games Inc. shows a scene from the video game, "Song of the Deep." Gamestop is partnering with Insomniac Games to release the studio's upcoming underwater-set adventure "Song of the Deep." The Grapevine, Texas-based company will also sell "Song of the Deep" merchandise. (Insomniac Games Inc. via AP) This image released by Insomniac Games Inc. shows a scene from the video game, "Song of the Deep." Gamestop is partnering with Insomniac Games to release the studio's upcoming underwater-set adventure "Song of the Deep." The Grapevine, Texas-based company will also sell "Song of the Deep" merchandise. (Insomniac Games Inc. via AP)

By Associated Press January 28, 2016 3 min read

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) – GameStop is dipping a toe into the video game publishing business.

The retailer is partnering with Insomniac Games to release and sell merchandise based on the studio’s upcoming underwater-set adventure “Song of the Deep.”

“I think this will work because we’ve both been in the games industry for a long time,” said Insomniac Games President and CEO Ted Price. “There’s a lot of trust involved. They trust us to shepherd our creative vision and make the best possible game. That’s not always the case with traditional publisher-developer relationships.”

Price noted that Insomniac Games is retaining complete creative control over “Song of the Deep,” which will be available later this year.

The venture marks GameStop’s first dive into console game publishing. The Grapevine, Texas-based company operates more than 6,900 stores in 14 countries and owns the browser-based game site Kongregate.com. The disc-based version of “Song of the Deep” will only be available from GameStop.