Gastrow has been a YouTuber for over a decade, with his channel currently amassing seven million subscribers and billions of views. In Bigmode’s announcement video, he explained that his experience as a YouTuber is what gives him a good understanding of the kind of games gamers want, with the publishing label aiming to be as developer-friendly as possible. “I’ve been on YouTube for 11 years, and one of the main themes of my channel has always been to kick lifeless cash into the trash can and lift up and praise the truly inspiring works of art in this medium,” Gustrow said. “For years and years, I’ve always sought out the best indie games out there and tried to deliver on them, turning millions of eyes on the games that really deserve attention.” He added that Bigmode, which he co-founded with his wife, YouTuber Leah ‘Leahbee’ Gastrow, will be a “harmonious continuation” of his own channel. “Me and Leah are not just the face of this company, we are the company,” he continued. “This is our vision and our No. 1 priority is to publish some of the best games out there. In today’s indie landscape, buying a game can be like buying a cage in Counter-Strike: you don’t know what you’re doing you will suffer, but you will probably be sad. “A lot of games out there figure out how to mimic the look of your favorite games, but they don’t deliver where it really counts. A lot of the real games out there are drowning in a sea of mediocrity. You need someone who can help you see.” Gastrow added that he is not seeking creative control through Bigmode, but wants to be involved in development. “I understand what kind of ideas always work, what kind of ideas never work, what kind of ideas are fresh or need to be revisited, and what plays great,” he added. “I advertise a lot in this video, but Bigmode is going to be about making the games and the developers. We’ve put a lot of effort into making contracts as developer-friendly as possible. I think we’re going to bring crazy value to table and the bottom line is: help good games succeed and help them continue to succeed in the future.” Developers can already be contacted to submit their games, with Bigmode clarifying that it does not accept “games that use NFTs, crypto or blockchain”.
