SECOND QUARTER UPDATE, 2022
Each quarter our parent company publishes a report specifically aimed at their investor base, to recap the activities of the past three months. The report is published in Polish, as our parent is listed on the Polish New Connect Stock Exchange, but we thought we would publish the English version here for the international community to help understand our progress.
The last quarter specifically was extremely productive for Feardemic as we continued to build the product pipeline and develop our catalogue of games.
From a pure sales perspective, Feardemic continued to deliver steady sales of its catalogue items throughout the course of the quarter. Whilst participating in all available sales and promotional events available across all the platforms, the company continued to build a community of users across all platforms.
New Signings
During the quarter the company executed a publishing agreement with Krakow based developer Koval Games to publish their game Dark Minute: Kira's Adventure on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5. In Dark Minute: Kira's Adventure you must platform your way through a shadowy dungeon, grab the cells to unlock the exit, and rush out before the clock hits 1 minute and the lights go out. Welcome to the darkest minute of your life, Kira!. The company released the game on Switch on June 30th, 2022. Dark Minute: Kira's Adventure was the first game ported by the company’s internal porting team. Other platforms are expected to follow over the course of 2022,2023.
Also, in the quarter the company executed a publishing agreement with Wroclaw based developer Stowarzyszenie Badania i Rozwoju Gier GameUP (the company administratively responsible for Astrolabe Stories), to publish their visual novel Last Threshold on Switch and other current generation consoles. The game allows you to immerse yourself in a world based on the works of HP Lovecraft where the object is to learn the secret of the temple and find out the truth about your companions and your father's past! The game is the first part of a series of three adventures that Feardemic expects to publish based on the game world. Feardemic expects to publish the Switch version Last Threshold in Quarter 3 of 2022, with other formats to follow.
Also, in the quarter the company executed a publishing agreement with Hungarian based developer Ashkandi (represented by individual Péter Ifju) to publish their game Remorse: The List on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5. Remorse: The List is a classic survival horror game where the player must figure out what is happening in the town of Hidegpuszta, and your only clue is a list that doesn't make much sense. Remorse the list has a "very positive" Steam rating and Feardemic expects to release the Switch version of the game in Quarter 3 with other platforms to follow.
Also, in the quarter the company executed a publishing agreement with Polish based individual developer Maciej Radwański, otherwise known on steam as Pleasant Friendly Games, to publish his game No Son of Mine on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5. No Son Of Mine is a survival horror game focused on combat, stealth, exploration, puzzle solving and uncovering a gruesome mystery. Feardemic expects that the game will simultaneously release on PC, Switch and Xbox Series X in the second half of 2022.
At the end of the quarter Feardemic closed a significant publishing deal with Canada based developer Blazing Bit Games Inc, to publish their game Nightmare Reaper on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5. Nightmare Reaper currently enjoys a 94,1% positive rating based upon 2236 reviews of the game on Steam at time of the announcement. The company believes that the inclusion of Nightmare Reaper to their growing catalogue of horror games is a significant positive event for the company. Feardemic expects to start releasing the console versions of Nightmare Reaper within the current fiscal year. Tyler Cooper, Business Development Executive at Epic Games Store commented on the signing when advised," Awesome, love that game!". Nightmare Reaper is expected to be a significant net contributor to Feardemics financial results. The company expects to start releasing the console versions at the earliest in December 2022.
Current Pipeline Announcements
The company completed certification on the physical edition of DARQ Ultimate Editions for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5. The games release in EUMEA and American territories is scheduled for November 11th, 2022, through Feardemic's distribution partner KOCH GMBH. The game is launching with the inclusion of physical collectables such as Art Book, Sticker Pack, Soundtrack download card and a digitally presented, as a new menu option, the DARQ: Dream Journal graphic novel that explains the back story of DARQ and the purpose of the games main character Lloyd. DARQ Ultimate Edition will be a physical only release for at least the final quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023.
The confirmation of the release date and release of DARQ Ultimate Edition is also accompanied by the news that DARQ Complete Edition won a Webby Award. DARQ Complete Edition was victorious the Peoples Voice Award in the category of Games: Independent Creator. DARQ was featured alongside NASA, Star Wars, Billie Eilish, Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert. The award was presented after the votes from the public overwhelmingly selected DARQ Complete Edition as the winner in the category.
The development of the company’s current pipeline also continued to meet significant development milestones. The Kings Pleasure Development COSMIC: A Journey Among Shadows, Unseen Silences Terror Endless Night and Unfinished Games Chapel 3D all progressed to a schedule that will see have them come to market in early 2023.
Bloody Hell Hotel, the second game developed by the Los Angeles based Unfold Games, and whose console versions are being published by Feardemic, also made significant progress and the game remains on schedule for a 2023 release window.
Dark Fracture, a game by Tel Aviv based developer Twisted 2 Studios is also making progress, however due to delays in deliveries on some of the games 3D models outsourced to several studios, and the decision to ensure the game is of the highest quality, the company now expects that the 2022 release date will now move to 2023. The game is still building Wishlist’s at a significant rate and the Prequel Dark Fracture: Prologue is still being downloaded and enjoys an overwhelmingly positive rating on Steam.
Feardemic's porting studio is currently working on a reworked edition of the Perseverance Series called Perseverance: Complete Edition for Switch and Xbox XI S. The version will contain all the previously release parts (Part 1 through 3) and combine them into a single edition of the graphic novel. The console versions entered the first phase of certification at the end of June and the company expects to simultaneously release the PC and the Switch versions in Quarter 3.
Marketing
During the quarter Feardemic Announced FEARFEST, Black Summer 2022. FEARFEST summer edition will be a celebration of all game’s horror and the stream, which is scheduled for 6th of September 2022, will feature games and interviews with over forty publishers and developers from around the world. The celebration will be presented by over a dozen influencers and streamers. The company believes that a presentation that contains not only its own upcoming titles but titles from some of the worlds preeminent horror game developers and publishers, will be a way of further developing their community and contribute to building awareness of the Horror sector. The company expects that over the coming years FEARFEST Summer Editions will become crucial viewing for all fans of Horror games. Information about FEARFEST Editions can be found specifically at www.fearfest.online. The company will continue to present FEARFEST winter editions in late February of each year, where the company will focus solely on its own published content.
Internal Porting Studio
During the quarter the company started building its own internal porting studio that has the capacity to handle the porting duties across all platforms of Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5. The studio currently can port titles created on both Unity and Unreal engine. The studio’s first ported title was the Unity Developed DARK MINUTE: Kira’s adventure, which as signed by the company in early May 2022 and released to consumers on June 30th digitally on Nintendo SWITCH platform. The studios second crop of titles are currently progressing through certification, and these include LAST THRESHOLD (Unity), PERSEVERANCE: Complete Edition (Unity) and REMORSE: The List (Unreal).
The company expects that the studio will grow to approximately four persons by the end of the second quarter and be able to execute the entire companies expected pipeline of console porting over the course of the coming years. It’s also expected that the company will start working on internal first party projects over the coming twelve-month period.
Growth
Feardemic’s 2022 growth strategy is to continue building and reinforcing the company’s pipeline of premium video game content on all major hardware platforms. At the same time, the company is also actively continuing to seek out opportunities to release console versions of successful horror franchises and new types of interactive entertainment products from developers all over the world. Feardemic is constantly looking for potential partners and continues to shortlist games and expects further announcements regarding expanding its product pipeline line up over the coming months. Feardemic will continue to expand and leverage its experience porting to current generation consoles PS5 and Xbox Series X I S.
Although the company's current year contribution to the financial results of the capital group, may be consistent with 2021's contribution, the company believes that most of the pipeline releases as well as the strategic distribution deals with partners such as KOCH GMBH will mature in the next fiscal year which the company expects to be pivotal in the company’s growth plans and potential ability to list.
Company Structure
The company continues to move forward with its plans to transition from its status as Spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością (sp. z o.o.) to Spółka Akcyjna (s.a) and expects that this process will be completed by the end of quarter 3, 2022. The company has and continues to also have discussions with various advisors and investment banks regarding the company’s interest in adding strategic investors to its list of Feardemic shareholders and raising additional capital with view to undertaking potential merger and acquisition opportunities prior to its plans to take further advice on the potential public listing of the company.