A Publisher with a Human Face: How Hooded Horse's Business is Structured and Why the Cost Recovery Model is Harmful for Indie Games

The success of 9 Kings has only solidified Hooded Horse's status as one of the leading indie publishers on the market. It's the perfect time to discuss in detail the reasons behind the company's success, explore how it selects projects, how much it spends on game marketing, and why it considers the model of full reimbursement of publishing expenses to be harmful and outdated.

This story began more than ten years ago with a meeting between two Harvard students, Tim Bender and Snow Xue Rui. They were bonded by a mutual love for XCOM, Elder Scrolls: Morrowind, and Baldur’s Gate. Quite quickly, they went from being friends to becoming a married couple and began building careers in the legal field.

Yet, the gaming industry always remained within their sphere of interest. Bender, for instance, worked on his own mod for Mount & Blade, and at some point, a friend suggested he start a gaming company. Despite having no experience in the industry, he decided to establish the publishing company Hooded Horse with his wife in 2019.