Instinct3, the Berlin-based creative agency, has launched Sidekick Publishing.
Announced earlier today, the full-service provider will focus on bolstering indie and both A to AA studios. The first game under the Sidekick label, Deadly Days: Roadtrip, will be showcased at Gamescom.
Sidekick Publishing is spearheaded by industry veterans Jasmin Oestreicher and Melvin Frank, who are acting as co-CEOs and co-founders. In terms of previous experience, Oestreicher had tenures as marketing manager at Koch Media / Deep Silver and senior communications specialist DACH at Activision Blizzard for around three years in each. Meanwhile, Frank joined Instinct3 around three years ago, taking the product lead publishing role at the start of 2025.
Instinct3 wants to offer more options for indie publishing
As a creative agency, Instinct3’s primary focus has led the team to work primarily in influencer marketing and community building. In 2024, the team expanded its operations to include a new business area in indie game publishing, collaborating with multiple studios for the launch of 9 Kings, Asgard’s Fall—Viking Survivors, and TerraScape. The agency also created the I3 Indie Expo showcase.
“Over the past year, we’ve worked on a variety of releases—each one teaching us something new about what works, what connects, and what lasts for our concept,” Frank said in the announcement. “Sidekick is our way of taking all those lessons, combining them with our unique creator and community expertise, and raising the bar for how we support indie developers.”
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“After ten years in publishing and marketing and the past four years at our agency, serving as Managing Director since 2024, I know how valuable experience can be,” Oestreicher said. “But I also know how quickly you can lose touch if you rely too much on the past. Especially with a gaming audience that is highly sensitive to inauthentic or overly commercial content, what matters are bold ideas, local sensitivity, and creators who work for lasting impact, not just quick profit.”
Sidekick joins a steadily growing presence of indie publishers. Veterans from Private Division, Humble Games, and Devolver Digital announced Lyrical Games early this month. In April, Twin Sails Interactive split from Asmodee and Embracer to become its own publishing label. A month prior, Secret Mode pulled a similar move when it split from Sumo, albeit also laying off a “small number” of staff in the process.