Minecraft Console Edition developer 4J Studios is becoming a publisher

4J Studios has announced that it will become an indie publisher in 2023.

The first game 4J Studios will publish will be Skye Tales by Puny Astronaut, a sidescroller game about a friendly dragon that hopes to be a good entry point to the medium of video games for players of all ages and abilities. 4J Studios and Puny Astronaut first teamed up back in 2018, when 4J Studios made a six-figure investment in the studio and gave them time, space, and resources to complete development on Skye Tales. 

4J Studios has been investing heavily in other Scottish studios since March last year with their Chroma Ventures investment fund. Future titles are also expected to be announced by 4J Studios’ development team, Ant Workshop and StormCloud under their new publishing initiative soon.

“Skye Tales is a perfect example of our ‘games for everyone’ approach. We are particularly pleased that Skye Tales will be the first game to be published by 4J Studios, which feels like a natural progression for us, given how consumers now buy games online.” said Chris van der Kuyl, Chairman of both 4J Studios and Puny Astronaut. 

“We have more new games scheduled for release in 2023 – a mixture of original games from 4J Studios and titles from studios we are invested in through Chroma Ventures. Our ambition is to establish game brands we are close to, and believe in, and help them evolve into successful franchises.”