What Midwest Games does

Midwest Games is a Green Bay, Wisconsin-based game publishing services company founded in 2023 by Ben Kvalo (formerly of Netflix Games, 2K and Blizzard). The company operates a work-for-hire "Shadow Publishing" model that delivers the full stack of publishing capabilities — business strategy, platform management, production management, marketing/PR, and developer services (porting, co-development, QA, localization) — on a fee basis, allowing client studios to retain IP rights and revenue rather than surrendering them in a traditional revenue-share deal. The target customers are indie and mid-market game developers and publishers in North America and, increasingly, Europe, with public case studies spanning titles such as RA RA BOOM, The Lullaby of Life (82 Metacritic), Hive Jump 2: Survivors, Duck Paradox, Dark Sky, Tombwater, Twinkleby, Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny, and The Legend of Baboo.

The company is not a technology platform; it provides human-expert publishing services. Underlying distribution is built on standard digital storefronts (Steam, GOG, Epic, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop) and supporting marketing tools (Google Analytics, UberStrategist PR, streamer partnerships). It maintains an ancillary branded merchandise store operated via Shark Robot. There are no disclosed proprietary technology products, no patents, and no AI/ML systems.

Commercially, Midwest Games monetizes primarily through upfront publishing fees for services rendered, with pricing quoted per engagement and flexible structures that can also include revenue share, long-term partnership, or equity in the studio. Go-to-market is sales-led via direct outreach to studios and publishers, reinforced by presence at GDC, PAX East, Xbox Partner Preview and GamesBeat. The company has raised $5M in disclosed funding ($3M seed from TitletownTech in 2023; $2M strategic from Prevail Private Capital in Sept 2025, plus a separate $1.29M raise in Aug 2025), operates with 11-50 employees, and announced a European expansion beginning March 2026 in partnership with Chimera Entertainment and Mindscape.

Name

Midwest Games

Legal name

Midwest Games

Website

https://midwestgames.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Midwest Games is a Green Bay-based game publishing services firm offering fee-based, work-for-hire "Shadow Publishing" support — strategy, production, marketing, and distribution — that lets indie and mid-market game studios retain full IP rights and revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Video Game Publishing Services

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)

akta.pro primary industry

Publishing Services Providers (Ratings, Compliance, Certification, Release Ops) (MPAFABAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Full-Service Game Publishers (1st/2nd/3rd-Party Publishing) (MPAFABAA), Outsourcing Studios (Art/Animation/Audio/Engineering Support) (MPAFAAAN)

Keywords

• Game publishing services
• Shadow publishing
• Video game marketing
• Indie game publishing
• Console porting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Green Bay

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Publishing Services (Work-for-Hire): Midwest Games charges upfront fees for publishing services rather than taking revenue share or IP rights. They offer flexible payment models including fees, revenue share, long-term partnership, or equity in game studios. This allows developers to retain ownership while paying for professional publishing support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Midwest Games provides for-hire game publishing services through its flagship Shadow Publishing model, offering comprehensive support across business strategy, platform management, production, marketing & PR, and developer services. Studios contract Midwest Games on a work-for-hire basis to access full publishing power while retaining IP rights, revenue, and creative control. The company serves game studios and publishers needing flexible, à la carte or full-service publishing support for PC and console game launches.

Product overview

Midwest Games operates as a game publishing services company with Shadow Publishing as its core service model—a flexible, for-hire publishing support offering that allows studios to retain IP ownership and full revenue. The company provides an integrated suite of publishing modules spanning Business Strategy, Platform Management, Production Management, Marketing & PR, and Developer Services. Their model differs from traditional publishers by charging upfront fees rather than taking revenue share or IP rights, enabling studios to maintain creative control while accessing professional publishing expertise. The company also maintains an ancillary merchandise store selling branded apparel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shadow Publishing: Midwest Games' for-hire support model for video game publishing, offering comprehensive publishing services before, during, and after launch for PC and console games while allowing developers to retain ownership and IP rights.

Products and services

• Shadow Publishing A for-hire game publishing support model offering comprehensive publishing services on a work-for-hire basis. Studios retain IP rights and full revenue while receiving full publishing support including strategy, production, marketing, and developer services before, during, and after launch for PC and console games.
• Midwest Games Merchandise Store An e-commerce merchandise store selling branded Midwest Games apparel and merchandise, including items representing Midwest pride. Operated through a third-party retail platform (Shark Robot).

Quantifiable outcome

• 400% increase in Steam wishlists for Twinkleby during Steam Next Fest
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Chimera EntertainmentmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2026Midwest Games has partnered with Chimera Entertainment as part of its international expansion efforts to provide publishers with flexible support across global territories. Chimera is listed as a studio/publisher partner in Midwest Games' portfolio.
• MindscapemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2026Midwest Games partnered with Mindscape to support publishers navigating global markets as part of their European expansion. Mindscape is listed as a studio/publisher partner in Midwest Games' portfolio.
• Gina Joseph (Board Member)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026Gina Joseph serves on Midwest Games' Board of Directors. She is Chief Strategy Officer of VentureBeat, a Harvard Business School and UC Berkeley alum, and brings expertise in strategic partnerships, business development, and diversity advocacy.
• Elizabeth Howard (Chief Advisor - Services)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 January 2025Elizabeth Howard joined as Chief Advisor - Services, formerly Vice President of Production at Bungie with 20 years of experience in business development, publishing, production, and portfolio management. She leads the shadow publishing initiative.
• Gothalion (Cory Michael)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 5 September 2024Streamer partnership where Gothalion's knowledge of indie games benefits Midwest Games' growing roster of titles. He advises on game development, player expectations, and trends. Additionally, he provides marketing channel to his audience of 1.6M+ followers across Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube.
• Larry Hryb 'Major Nelson' (Advisor)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 December 2023Larry Hryb serves as advisor for communications. He spent two decades at Microsoft and Xbox, helped create and launch Xbox Live, and worked on titles including Halo 2, Halo 3, Sea of Thieves, and Kinect Sports.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Raw Fury: Independent game publisher focused on indie and mid-market titles that retains a creator-friendly ethos. Operates at a similar scale and client profile to Midwest Games, making it one of the closest pure-publishing comparables despite differences in revenue-share vs fee-based models.
• Humble Games: Publishing label for mid-sized indie developers, originally spun out of Humble Bundle. Comparable in focus on indie/mid-market titles, similar publisher-services offering, and operates at a similar headcount scale.
• Fellow Traveller: Niche indie publisher focused on narrative and experimental titles. Closely comparable as an indie-focused publisher that supplies marketing, distribution, and platform support similar to MWG's Shadow Publishing modules.
• GameMill Entertainment: Mid-market publisher of licensed and third-party games. Direct comparable in both scale and client model; notably, GameMill is also an MWG client, illustrating the bidirectional nature of their overlapping positioning.
• Mindscape: European publisher/distributor of games and software. Direct peer across both publishing services and publisher-of-publishers positioning; notably an MWG European expansion partner, indicating close strategic alignment.

Broad incumbents

• Devolver Digital: Established large-cap indie publisher with a portfolio-first approach. Same indie-publishing market but at materially greater scale and capital access; serves as a benchmark for where a successful indie-focused publisher can grow.
• Annapurna Interactive: Premium indie publisher known for auteur-driven titles. Operates in the same indie-publishing space at greater scale and with stronger marketing reach per title; benchmarks the premium-tier indie vision MWG aspires toward.
• Team17: Long-standing UK-based publisher with a broad indie and mid-market portfolio. Highly relevant given that MWG executive advisor Charlotte Cook is ex-Team17 Global Commercial Director; comparable in the breadth of publishing services offered.
• Keywords Studios: Largest gaming-services platform spanning localization, QA, art, and publishing support. The dominant comparable for the 'services for hire' dimension of MWG's Shadow Publishing model at vastly greater scale.
• Nacon: Mid-to-large publisher and distributor with a portfolio spanning AA and indie titles. Comparable in offering multi-tier publisher services (development funding, distribution, marketing) that compete for the same indie-developer demand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/midwestgamesco
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Midwest_Games
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/midwestgames
• Instagraminstagram.com/midwestgames_co
• TikToktiktok.com/@midwest_games

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Midwest Games