Although Sony and Nintendo are undoubtedly rivals, but the two firms aren’t strangers to collaboration from time to time. While it’s unlikely that we will see any strange hybrid consoles again any time soon, Sony has revealed a new studio dedicated to innovative Switch games alongside its first entry.
In order to break away from solely producing exclusives, Sony Music Entertainment will now operate a brand new division dedicated to publishing multi-platform titles. To begin with, Unties is set to handle indie games for PC and, surprisingly, the Nintendo Switch, with the first title being Tiny Metal.
“The name ‘Unties' comes from the thought ‘to unleash the excellent talents of unique game creators all over the world' and ‘setting creators free from the various shackles of game publishing, named from the intention of realising publishing that is freedom of production without restraints',” explains Sony with translation via Gematsu.
Other games listed under the new label are Last Standard, Merkava Avalanche and a VR remaster of Deemo, with Tiny Metal being the only confirmed Switch release under the Unties banner. Last Standard and Merkava Avalanche do hold a listing of “PC/TBA,” however, which suggests that the Switch and possibly the Xbox One could be included in future releases.
The Switch is a fitting place for Tiny Metal, as the game is crafted as a spiritual successor and homage to older Advance Wars titles that hasn’t seen a new entry since 2008’s Days of Ruin/Dark Conflict. Despite the rough development ride that the title has had, the extra funding and boost from Sony's Unties will undoubtedly polish and expand the game in the way that the creators had always intended.
Tiny Metal released a Kickstarter campaign on September 19th, 2016 that ultimately met its cancellation a month later falling $17,130 short of its $50,000 goal. The developers remained optimistic, having secured funding for the basic vision of the game but everything fell to almost radio silence while they concentrated on building the title. Fast forward to this year and Tiny Metal managed to announce its Nintendo Switch release as well as a place at PAX West’s Indie Megabooth thanks to Epic Games’ support.
Tiny Metal will be the first title released under the Unties banner, hitting PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC on November 21st.
KitGuru Says: I was actually a backer of Tiny Metal and have followed its journey as closely as I could. I am quite happy that the game is coming to fruition and getting so much support. Advance Wars fans all over the world can finally rejoice. Will you be picking the game up, or are you more interested in one of Unties’ other titles?