People Can Fly Acquires Cooldown Games, Launches New Publishing Division

People Can Fly has announced the acquisition of the Cooldown Games brand and its publishing rights, marking a significant shift in the studio’s long-term strategy.

The deal will see the company establish a dedicated publishing vertical within its operating structure, expanding beyond development into full-scale game publishing.

According to the announcement, the move is part of a broader push toward self-publishing, allowing People Can Fly to take greater control over its projects and increase revenue share from its own IP.

A Strategic Shift

Cooldown Games a publishing-focused outfit will now operate under the People Can Fly umbrella, with its existing publishing rights transferring over as part of the acquisition.

Importantly, leadership continuity appears to be part of the plan, with Cooldown Games CEO Steve Gibson expected to remain involved in running the new division.

For a company best known for its work on titles like Outriders and contributions to major AAA projects, this represents a significant evolution. Up until now, People Can Fly has largely partnered with external publishers. Creating its own publishing division suggests a desire to own more of the pipeline from development through to release and distribution.

The acquisition of Cooldown Games isn’t just about branding, either. It provides an immediate framework for this transition, giving People Can Fly a foundation to scale its publishing ambitions rather than starting from scratch. Whether that means focusing purely on internal projects or expanding into publishing external developers’ games remains to be seen.