Owlcat Games lost rights to Pathfinder: Kingmaker and stopped receiving revenue from it after going independent

Many fans wondered why Owlcat Games stopped updating Pathfinder: Kingmaker as the game still has some unfixed issues. It turned out that the studio lost the rights to its first title three years ago.

Owlcat Games recently opened up about it on its official Discord channel. Replying to one user’s complaint, community manager Starrok wrote that thes studio stopped updating Kingmaker because it “lost the ownership back in 2019 when we separated into an independent studio.”

“Rights remained with the parent company,” the message reads. “[Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous] doesn’t have that problem and here we are fully committed to [patching] it until it is in good shape.”

The studio also commented on whether it still receives royalty payments for Kingmaker, with Starrok saying, “[we] haven’t been since 2019.” So it appears that all of the game’s revenue goes to Owlcat’s former parent company MY.GAMES.

Owlcat Games’ origins and relationship with MY.GAMES

• The studio was founded in 2016 as a subsidiary of MY.GAMES, the gaming division of Russian tech giant VK, which was recently sold for $642 million.
• The Owlcat Games team included many experienced developers who have worked on games like Allods Online, Silent Storm, and Skyforge.
• In 2017, the studio raised over $900k on Kickstarter for Pathfinder: Kingmaker. At launch, the game received mixed reviews and was criticized for many technical and balancing issues. However, it eventually got a loyal fanbase and reached 1 million copies sold last year.
• In 2019, Owlcat Games separated into an independent studio, with MY.GAMES remaining its strategic partner and investor. The team called this move a “mutually beneficial step, which will allow continuing to explore new business opportunities while maintaining focus on core competencies.”
• As an independent company, Owlcat raised $1 million from GEM Capital and an undisclosed amount from MGVC, the investment arm of MY.GAMES. The studio moved to the new office to work on its second project.
• Owlcat Games raised $2 million on Kickstarter for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Launched in September 2021, the game received positive reviews and was named one of last year’s best RPGs.
• Right now, the studio is based in Nicosia, Cyprus and employs over 120 people. It is now working on Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, a turn-based RPG based on the famous Warhammer 40,000 universe.