// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Kepler say to Interactive? You orbit my heart.
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2 April 2020 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Key people | Alexis Garavaryan (CEO) Sun Yiu Samuel Lee (COO) |
| Divisions | Kepler Ghost |
| Website | kepler-interactive |
Kepler Interactive Limited is a video game publisher headquartered in London, with an additional office in Singapore.[1] Founded in April 2020 at the initiative of Alexis Garavaryan,[2][3] the company was formed via an alliance with seven[1] indie game developers. They are New Zealand-based A44, Canada-based Alpha Channel, France-based Awaceb and Sloclap, Serbia-based Ebb Software, Japan-based Swedish developer Shapefarm and US-based Timberline Studio.
In September 2021, Garavaryan announced Kepler had received funding from NetEase and that the latter would be a minority investor, with plans for the company's game studio founders to become co-owners, share resources and financial gains, while remaining in charge of their own studios.[1] In 2023 and 2025 respectively, The Gentlebros and Tactical Adventures became the eighth and ninth studios to join Kepler's ownership structure.
Employing around 50 people, Kepler also publishes titles from studios outside the group.[4] Its most notable published games include Sifu (2022), Tchia (2023), Pacific Drive (2024) and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (2025).
History
[edit]Kepler Interactive was founded on 2 April 2020 at the initiative of former Ubisoft employee and French entrepreneur Alexis Garavaryan,[3] 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 studios to “pool their resources and knowledge”.[6] The company has stated that every studio head that enters the fold gets an equal say on how Kepler operates, and an equal share of the benefits. Beyond Garavaryan himself, this included the heads of 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.[7][8] Garavaryan declared that they had a studio committee, which meets on a weekly basis, as to major decisions relating to Kepler, but that this did not involve the heads deliberating on decisions pertaining to the individual studios themselves, which remain functionally independent.[1]
In September 2021, Kepler announced it had raised $120 million from Chinese gaming company NetEase.[1]
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.[9] The Gentlebros, the developer behind the Cat Quest series, became the eighth studio to join Kepler's ownership structure; meanwhile a partnership with the new studio Sandfall Interactive for the latter's debut title, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, was officially announced in March 2023.[10] It also partnered with Ironwood Studios for the publishing and release of Pacific Drive.[11]
In April 2025, Kepler published Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, whose development it had funded as a result of its partnership with Sandfall, to universal acclaim.[12] The same year, Tactical Adventures, the studio who made Solasta: Crown of the Magister, became the ninth independent studio integrated into the Kepler Interactive brand.[13][14]
Alexis Garavaryan claims Kepler to be highly selective as to the titles it publishes. 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]
Kepler generated a gross revenue of $50 million in FY2022 in the wake of Sloclap's Sifu and Ebb Software's Scorn, the first titles published by the company.[10] It was not a profitable year however, as the company operated at a loss; as was the case in the following two fiscal years.[17] In 2025, with the release of Sloclap's Rematch and most notably Sandfall's commercial smash Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the young publisher generated a record gross revenue of $305m (a 522% increase from the $49m generated in FY2024) and gross profit of $193m (a 565% increase from $29m in FY2024). With an operating profit of $128m and profit after tax of $108m (up from an operating loss of $16m and a loss after tax of $38m the previous year), FY2025 marked Kepler's first profitable year since its foundation.[18][19]
Games published
[edit]Games published via Kepler Ghost
[edit]| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Developer | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Eternights | Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 | Studio Sai | |
| En Garde! | Windows | Fireplace Games | ||
| Apocalypse Party | Breaker Games | |||
| Battle Shapers | Metric Empire | |||
| 2024 | Windblown | Motion Twin | [26] | |
| Unrailed 2: Back on Track | Windows, macOS | Indoor Astronaut | [27] | |
| Dark Hours | Windows | Piece of Cake Studios | ||
| 2026 | Blightstone | Windows | Unfinished Pixel | |
| Beastro | Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | Timberline Studio | ||
| Neon Abyss 2 | Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | Veewo Games |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 Mukherjee, Supantha (28 September 2023). "Gaming company Kepler raises $120 mln from China's NetEase". Reuters. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ↑ "KEPLER INTERACTIVE LIMITED". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- 1 2 "KEPLER INTERACTIVE LIMITED people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ "Gamescom: l'éditeur Kepler sur orbite avec les succès de "Expedition 33" et "Rematch"". Challenges. 20 August 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ Partis, Danielle (29 September 2021). "Publisher Kepler Interactive launches, raises $120m". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ↑ "Gamescom: l'éditeur Kepler sur orbite avec les succès de "Expedition 33" et "Rematch"". Challenges. 20 August 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ Partis, Danielle (14 October 2021). "Introducing Kepler Interactive, a publisher run by independent developers". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ↑ Denzer, TJ (28 September 2021). "Kepler Interactive 'super developer' publisher group formed with $120m in funding". Shacknews. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ↑ Rousseau, Jeffery (17 March 2023). "Kepler Interactive hits $50m in 2022 and unveils new partnerships". Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- 1 2 Kaser, Rachel (17 March 2023). "Kepler Interactive begins 2023 with new partnerships". VentureBeat. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (10 June 2023). "Pacific Drive to be published by Kepler Interactive". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ↑ "Clair Obscur: How a passion project became 2025's most talked-about game". BBC. 4 May 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ↑ Weber, Rachel (22 February 2025). "How Kepler Interactive balances artistic vision with gaming innovation". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
- ↑ "Gamescom: l'éditeur Kepler sur orbite avec les succès de "Expedition 33" et "Rematch"". Challenges. 20 August 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ "Gamescom: l'éditeur Kepler sur orbite avec les succès de "Expedition 33" et "Rematch"". Challenges. 20 August 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ "Gamescom: l'éditeur Kepler sur orbite avec les succès de "Expedition 33" et "Rematch"". Challenges. 20 August 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ "Kepler Interactive Limited: Filing history - Accounts Category". Companies House. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
- ↑ "Kepler Interactive Limited: Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended - 31 December 2025". Companies House. 26 August 2026. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
- ↑ "Kepler Interactive Limited: Filing history - Accounts Category". Companies House. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
- ↑ Donnelly, Joe (12 February 2024). "Ultros review: 'A drop-dead gorgeous head trip of a Metroidvania game set in a cosmic uterus sarcophagus'". GamesRadar. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ↑ Reuben, Nic (6 August 2024). "Cinematic platformer Bionic Bay is incredibly impressive even beyond its 250,000 pixel trees". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ↑ Valentine, Rebekah (10 June 2024). "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 From Sandfall Interactive Announced for 2025". IGN. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (12 December 2024). "The Next Game From the Developer of Sifu Is an Online Multiplayer Soccer Game - The Game Awards 2024". IGN. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ↑ Garrido, Alberto (11 December 2025). "Orbitals presents a Toriyama-esque co-operative space adventure exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2". Game Reactor. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ↑ "PVKK Release Date Update". 7 May 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ↑ Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (8 December 2023). "Dead Cells creators Motion Twin reveal cute and gory new roguelike Windblown". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (30 November 2023). "Unrailed! 2: Back on Track announced for PC". Gematsu. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
External links
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