adminInner Pocket Publishing is a new independent game label built around a specific audience: players who enjoy considered single-player games, mysteries, and story-rich worlds. Rather than signing games across many unrelated genres, the company plans to develop a carefully selected catalogue and recommend other titles that fit its taste.
Image credit: Inner Pocket Publishing
Inner Pocket Publishing and its focused publishing plan
The label was founded by four industry professionals with experience at Critical Reflex, Gaijin Entertainment, and Nozomu Games. CEO Artem Oleinik previously worked at Gaijin Entertainment. Yaroslav Kadyshev, formerly of Critical Reflex, leads marketing, while Nozomu Games co-founders Ivan Bushmin and Eva Manuilovich serve as head of publishing and art director.
One of the label’s first releases is Burn With Me, developed with Nozomu Games. The occult-themed deck-burner asks players to sacrifice cards to gain powers and is available on PC. Other titles in the catalogue include Hardlane Studio’s Outcast Tales, Justcamh’s Nonolith, and Jamwitch’s The Archives of Trevosa.
Inner Pocket is also working with developers on early-stage projects and has mapped out its releases for the next six months. It is particularly interested in smaller games and projects close to completion that need little or no further development funding. The founders are financing the company themselves, with the ability to invest up to $75,000 in each project.
Kadyshev says the team intends to remain small and avoid taking on too many games at once. For developers considering a publisher, this approach may mean a more selective fit: a project’s genre, audience, and readiness are likely to matter as much as its commercial potential.
A distinct taste instead of a generalist catalogue
Inner Pocket describes its model as a combination of publishing and curation. Kadyshev believes publishers can find it difficult to build a consistent identity when each release targets a different audience. A focused catalogue, by contrast, can help a team refine its marketing process and give players a clearer idea of what to expect.
The company has discussed curation practices with Pantaloon, which moved from recommending indie games through a newsletter to publishing games. Kadyshev sees value in reviewing games beyond a publisher’s own releases and in collaboration between publishers. Such recommendations can help players discover titles without requiring every game to share the same publisher.
Image credit: Nozomu Games
Burn With Me is one of Inner Pocket Publishing’s debut releases. Its occult deck-building premise reflects the label’s interest in distinctive, focused games.
The team’s goal is to serve people who like exploring fictional worlds, solving mysteries, and uncovering stories. Inner Pocket’s curated collection is intended to include both its own releases and other games the team would be interested in publishing. Including established titles alongside newer projects could give players more ways to find games that suit their interests.
Inner Pocket aims to offer a quieter space for players seeking thoughtful single-player experiences.
For players, a curator’s collection can be a useful discovery tool when new releases arrive frequently. The practical value depends on whether recommendations are clear and consistent; a recognisable point of view makes it easier to decide whether a new title is worth exploring.
Steam curation as a discovery experiment
Inner Pocket plans to build its collection through an official Steam Curator page, featuring both games it publishes and titles it recommends. Steam has tools that allow developers to send games directly to selected curators, helping ensure review keys reach their intended recipients. Kadyshev notes that the usefulness of curator recommendations has varied over time, but believes they can matter when players recognise and trust the curator behind them.
The label is testing whether publishing and recommending games can strengthen each other. A player might discover the company through one of its releases or through a recommendation; if both reflect the same editorial taste, either route could encourage them to follow the label. For developers, this strategy may also create additional visibility, although the company’s approach is still an experiment rather than a proven model.
Kadyshev says the team wants to build a substantial Steam following, while acknowledging that there is no established success story that guarantees the idea will work. The response from developers has been encouraging, but the long-term test will be whether players return to the collection and find its recommendations useful.
What Inner Pocket Publishing’s approach means for players
Inner Pocket Publishing is positioning itself as a specialist label for players drawn to thoughtful single-player games, rather than as a publisher covering every genre. Its small team, self-funded structure, selective investments, and Steam curator plans all support that focused identity.
Players can assess the approach by following the games the label releases and comparing them with its broader recommendations. If the catalogue maintains a consistent taste, Inner Pocket Publishing may become a helpful discovery point for story-led and exploratory games. The publisher’s experiment is still developing, but its central promise is clear: a curated selection for people looking for distinctive single-player experiences.
