[From the industry] CULT Games to forge ahead with acquisition of Neonhive

This is a press release posted in addition to our usual editorial content.

Today, CULT Games announces it has acquired Scottish publisher and boutique marketing agency Neonhive – levelling up the next-gen independent publishing offering under the CULT Games banner.

Founded by industry leader Korina Abbott — named one of the most influential women in the UK games industry by GamesIndustry.biz — Neonhive brings award-winning expertise across the spectrum from independent gems to AAA titles. With Korina at the helm, the team has collaborated with top-tier publishers and outstanding indie developers, contributing to some of the industry’s biggest successes, including PUBG, SFB Games’ 2024 hit Crow Country, Fireproof Games’ The Room series, and Games Workshop’s Warhammer Skulls.

With 20 years of industry experience, Korina has not only built one of Europe’s most successful games marketing agencies but has also led release rollouts for numerous No. 1 titles across AAA, indie, and multi-platform games regionally and on a global scale.

“Over the past seven years, I’ve transformed Neonhive from a solo freelancer into a powerhouse team of 14, collaborating with hundreds of exceptional games and developers to deliver impactful go-to-market strategies and connect their games with the perfect players,” Korina said. “I’m excited to bring that expertise to CULT Games to propel them to even greater heights.”

CULT Games has been releasing consistently acclaimed games with their superindie peer-partner approach. In 2024 alone, they brought two TIGA award winning releases (90%+ review rating on Steam) to market: Galacticare (Brightrock Games) and Go-Go Town! (Prideful Sloth). Next up? Tempopo, the next release from BAFTA winners Witch Beam (Unpacking) and – now with a larger team – even more ambitious to-be-announced titles.

Headed by founder and CEO Helen Burnill, CULT Games began as a boutique, releasing high-quality games from the beginning. Burnill was previously Group Vice President and Commercial Director of Mediatonic (Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout) and has been a consistently impactful figure in the games industry, holding positions on the boards of Jagex, UKIE, Film London and Chair of Games London’s Steering Group. Listed as one of GI.biz’s 100 most influential women and awarded the MCV Businesswoman of the Year accolade in 2018, Helen announced CULT Games in 2023.

“We tried playing small and it wasn’t for us,” Helen said. “CULT is signing the best independent creative development studios on the planet – they deserve the best creative independent label who will go all-out for them. This aggressive scale-up is our next move in becoming that team, meaning we are now signing even bigger and more ambitious games.

Collectively we care about games, we care about creators, we care about communities. Call it a Label, call it a Publisher – we have a lot of big plans. We’re building a CULT.”