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Versus Evil LLC

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video games
Founded	September 2013; 11 years ago (2013-09)
Founder	Steve Escalante
Defunct	December 22, 2023 (2023-12-22)
Headquarters	Baltimore, Maryland, US
Key people	Steve Escalante Lance James Francis Fincke
Products	The Banner Saga series Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Parent	tinyBuild (2021–2023)
Subsidiaries	Red Cerberus
Website	versusevil.com

Versus Evil LLC was an American video game publisher founded by former ZeniMax Online Studios marketing director Steve Escalante to focus on the independent video game market. Versus Evil was bought by another publisher, tinyBuild, in November 2021. On December 22, 2023, all Versus Evil staff were laid off and the company was shut down.

History

Versus Evil was founded in September 2013. On January 14, 2014, Versus Evil launched Stoic's role-playing strategy game, The Banner Saga, which received praise as one of the top indie titles of 2014. Versus Evil continued to spread its distribution throughout the globe by launching Dragons and Titans, a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena game, and the Steam Early Access version of Habitat, which it expected to launch at retail in 2015. In August 2014 at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, Versus Evil announced several key developer partnerships including Tangrin Studios, based in the Netherlands, who were working on an action role-playing title, Kyn, and SwordTales, a Brazilian indie developer, who were working on their first video game, Toren, a puzzle platform adventure game. Also part of this announcement was the sequel to the third-person action game Afro Samurai, called Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma, being developed by indie developer Redacted Studios. In September 2014, Versus Evil launched their first mobile title by bringing The Banner Saga to the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

On February 8, 2021, the Nintendo Switch port of Pillars of Eternity was abandoned by Versus Evil while still containing significant bugs, with no refunds offered.

In November 2021, tinyBuild acquired Versus Evil and Red Cerberus. In December 2023, tinyBuild reported that it had settled a legal dispute with Versus Evil general manager Steve Escalante, head of production James Lance, and previous owner Stall Proof LLC, who had filed a claim that tinyBuild had failed to make "timely capital contributions" to the studio. Escalante had also separately claimed that $3 million in shares and options had not been paid. TinyBuild settled the matter for $3.5 million plus legal costs. Escalante subsequently left the company. On December 22, the entire Versus Evil staff was laid off. All Versus Evil releases, including upcoming titles, were moved over to tinyBuild.

In August 2024, Steve Escalante and Lance James announced the formation of Digital Bandidos, a new publisher aimed at funding indie games and acquiring new and established intellectual property.

Games published

References

1. Brendan Sinclair (3 March 2014). "Banner Saga publisher Versus Evil sets up shop". GI Biz. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
2. Craig Chapple (13 March 2014). "Versus Evil: Publishers are still relevant to indies". Develop. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
3. ^ "Versus Evil to shut down [Update]". Gematsu. 2023-12-22. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
4. Cassandra Shaw (14 January 2014). "The Banner Saga PC Review: Game of Thrones Meets Vikings Meets Disney". US Gamer. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
5. "The Banner Saga PC Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
6. Suzie Ford (13 March 2014). "Dragons & Titans: F2P MOBA Launches for PC & Mac". MMORPG.com. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
7. Blaine Humphries. "Indie Stash Cast: Charles Cox of 4Gency Talks Habitat and the Benefits of ID@Xbox". Two Dash Stash. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
8. John Ledford. "Versus Evil Announces Afro Samurai Sequel, Kyn and More". Arcade Sushi. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
9. Alex Co (5 August 2014). "Dark Fantasy Adventure Game "Toren" to Launch on PS4 in 2015". PlayStation Lifestyle. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
10. Tracey Lien (25 June 2014). "Afro Samurai 2 currently in development". Polygon. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
11. Danny Cowan. "Afro Samurai Sequel Announced for PC and Consoles". Joystiq. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
12. Mike Futter. "The Banner Saga waves it flag on iOS". Game Informer. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
13. Gray, Kate (2021-02-09). "Pillars Of Eternity Will Get No More Patches On Switch, Despite Unresolved Issues". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
14. Hall, Charlie (2021-02-09). "Pillars of Eternity's Switch port won't be getting any better". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
15. "TinyBuild acquires Versus Evil and Red Cerberus in $31.3m deal". GamesIndustry.biz. November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
16. Batchelor, James (2023-12-05). "TinyBuild lowers revenue forecasts, settles legal dispute with Versus Evil". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
17. Carter, Justin (December 22, 2023). "Indie publisher Versus Evil has shut down". Game Developer. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
18. Stedman, Alex (December 22, 2023). "Indie Publisher Versus Evil Is Shutting Down, Entire Staff Laid Off". IGN. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
19. Kerr, Chris (August 7, 2024). "Versus Evil veterans establish indie publisher Digital Bandidos". www.gamedeveloper.com. Retrieved 2024-08-08.

External links

• Official website

• 2013 establishments in Texas
• 2023 disestablishments in Texas
• Companies based in Austin, Texas
• Video game companies based in Texas
• Video game publishers
• Video game companies established in 2013
• Video game companies disestablished in 2023
• 2021 mergers and acquisitions