Battlestate Games Publishing, the publishing arm launched this month by Escape from Tarkov developer Battlestate Games, has received more than 100 pitches since its early September announcement, with COO Niketa Buyanov telling PCGamesN that between five and ten submissions already meet the studio's criteria.

Buykov framed the venture as a way to back "hardcore" shooters and niche projects that larger publishers typically pass over. The studio has not disclosed a funding model, marketing apparatus, headcount, or release pipeline, describing the arm instead as an experiment rather than a scaled publishing business.

What kind of games is Battlestate looking for?

The pitch funnel targets small, indie, and niche teams working on hardcore FPS projects in the vein of Escape from Tarkov. Buyanov said the goal is to leverage Battlestate's existing player base and the brand equity built through Tarkov to surface unfamiliar titles inside that community.

"We will allow them to use our audience, and our legacy even, to break through—to have something new, and to [generate] some kind of interest in the hardcore community," Buyanov told PCGamesN. "We don't treat it as a big, upscaled marketing and all of that."

The framing deliberately puts community access ahead of traditional publisher services like paid user acquisition, retail distribution, or platform relations. For small studios, the offer is operational: visibility inside a captive Tarkov audience is something most indie teams cannot buy.

How does this differ from a traditional publisher?

Buykov said financial return is not the primary filter for signings. The studio screens instead for what he called "risky ideas with risky implementation"—including prototypes—over projected revenue.

"Some risky ideas with risky implementation—some prototypes even—are going to have something in there, like the scent of greatness; something special in there that can be unfolded into something new," Buyanov said. "So this is our approach: really risky, interesting ideas above potential profits and all of that."

That positions Battlestate alongside a wave of studios that have used established IP to launch publishing labels this year. thatgamecompany, the developer behind Journey, and the teams behind Peak—Aggro Crab and Landfall—have both set up vehicles to fund or shepherd external projects, paying forward their commercial success.

What changes for studios pitching in?

For developers, the pitch process is the only formal entry point so far: Battlestate has not defined what support will look like once a project is signed. Buyanov said the studio still needs to determine the support package, distribution terms, and funding structure that will accompany any deal.

"We thought: 'why not? We'll give it a shot.' It's not like we can do it in one single step—like just start publishing projects and all of that. We will need a lot of time, and it will be a new experience for us, too," Buyanov told PCGamesN.

The next concrete marker to watch is which of the five to ten shortlisted projects Battlestate signs first, and whether that signing comes paired with a defined funding or co-development structure rather than an informal support arrangement.