Redemption Games, the studio behind Sweet Escape, will break its ties with Applovin - the company that acquired it - as the studio considers pursuing new Web3 design philosophies.

Redemption Games first made headlines back in 2018 when it received a significant investment from games giant Supercell, before releasing its first game Sweet Escape in 2019. The $5m stake was also notable for being Supercell’s first such investment outside of their home turf of Europe.

As first reported by Gamesbeat, the studio, which was acquired by Applovin after an initial investment, will now be returning to operating as an independent once more. Founder Michael Witz said in an interview, “Some might say that being a small, independent studio trying to build and publish mobile puzzle games in the teeth of a highly competitive market might seem a bit crazy. But emerging new technologies are going to unlock some fun new player experiences and we couldn’t resist going after them.”

Redemption Games will be focusing primarily on their free-to-play titles, as well as exploring the option of producing Web3 and blockchain-enhanced mechanics. The studio will also be going remote-first, and although their initial games were fairly casual and stylised puzzle games they are also planning to explore more serious titles too.

Going indie

Redemption Games’ decision to spin-out from Applovin and begin exploring new technologies such as blockchain and Web3 indicates that there is still a great deal of industry faith in these concepts. Although they admitted to Gamesbeat that securing funding would have been easier before the crypto market took a severe downturn which also impacted this tech.

Aside from this factor, it’s clear that despite a period of consolidation, going independent is not only impossible but also desirable. Outside of developers and publishers, independent game stores have become an increasingly noticed part of the mobile gaming ecosystem, with predictions they will form a major part of the monetisation model in 2023.