Kepler Interactive

Kepler Interactive was founded in September 2021 at the initiative of former Ubisoft employee and French entrepreneur Alexis Garavayan,^[4] who had previously co-founded the video game investment fund Kowloon Nights.^[5] Self-described as a "super developer" publishing group, Kepler was born out of an alliance between seven independent studios to “pool their resources and knowledge”:^[6] A44 (known for developing Ashen), Alpha Channel, Awaceb (known for Tchia), Ebb Software (known for Scorn), Shapefarm, Sloclap (known for developing Absolver and Sifu) and Timberline Studio. Each participating studio had "equal say" on the publishing label's decision-making process and were able to share resources and financial gains, but Kepler itself will not interefere with the operations of each studio, allowing them to stay independent.^[7][8] Although initially solely co-owned by the seven founding studios, Kepler received $120 million in funding from Chinese gaming company NetEase, which then became a minority shareholder.^[2] The company's gross revenue peaked at $50 million in 2022, boosted by the release of Sloclap's Sifu and Ebb Software's Scorn.^[9]

In 2023, Kepler also launched Kepler Ghost, a white-label publishing service, providing marketing and publishing for game developers. Eternights from Studio Sai was the first video game project to benefit from this program.^[10] The Gentlebros, the developer behind the Cat Quest series, became the eighth studio to join Kepler's ownership structure; meanwile a partnership with the new studio Sandfall Interactive for the latter's debut title, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, was officially announced in March 2023.^[9] It also partnered with Ironwood Studios for the publishing and release of Pacific Drive.^[11] In April 2025, Kepler published the critically acclaimed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by Sandfall, a game whose development it had also funded.^[12]

In 2025, Tactical Adventures, the studio who made Solasta: Crown of the Magister, became the ninth independent studio to join the collective of studios that co-own Kepler Interactive.^[13][14]

Alexis Garavaryan claims Kepler to be highly selective. It evaluates an average of 1,400 projects per year and signs “only two or three”. He also states the firm sets itself apart by financing projects with modest budgets but with high-quality visuals and innovative game mechanics.^[15] Unlike most publishers, who finance a title in exchange for varying degrees of control over its development, Garavaryan asserts Kepler never imposes decisions on the development studios it partners with. François Meurisse, COO and co-founder of Sandfall Interactive, highlighted it was this promise of creative freedom on Expedition 33 that prompted the team, which had received offers from more prominent publishers in the industry, to sign with Kepler instead.^[16]