Koch Media was founded in 1994. Since then Koch Media has taken care of all software, marketing and distribution requirements for our partners and has successfully become the market leader in Germany. As an European publisher we now have offices in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. In 2002 we established our games label Deep Silver where we publish games of various genres with the idea to offer to gamers what their hearts desire.

My position is Senior PR Manager and I am responsible for the PR for Project RPB (working title) in German speaking countries (Germany, Austria).

Koch Media is well known for its strong distribution setup. Therefore partners get a strong access to the relevant market and can rely on our knowledge.

Partners for Deep Silver are e.g. Namco Bandai (Warhammer: Mark of Chaos), Ascaron (Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel), Braingame (Perry Rhodan) (each for certain territories). Koch Media as a distributor e.g. also has Square Enix (Final Fantasy XII) or D3 Publisher of Europe (Dark Sector).

To do co-publishing with other publishers is just one part of our strategy. The three pillars are our own products, co-publishing with partners or just distribution. Of course we have our own brands like Secret Files or Singles and we will push this sector even more in the future. So Project RPB is just perfect for that! ;-)

The cooperation with another publisher really depends on how the partner is set up. We are very flexible and can easily adapt to the working style of our partner. Sometimes we have more influence, sometimes not.

We were co-publisher on that, therefore our influence was limited.

One of the advantages of not being a stock company is that we can release a product (to use a well-known phrase) "when it's done". We will release the game when the Piranha Bytes team and we feel that it's ready. We will not comment about costs for a title.

The Piranha Bytes team in its various team configurations has built a reputation for a certain type of RPG. With their experience from past games we expect a RPG with a complex story in a darker, grittier world than most RPGs. Another 'trademark' is the creation of a believable world, nothing is "just there" without a purpose like in so many games.

It will be a completely new setting for this game world. It will be a chance for new approaches and of course, one of our goals and of the Piranha Bytes team is to give the player a satisfying game experience. Gothic 1 was an excellent game and the team members have gained a lot of experience since then! ;-)

We are an international company but focused on the European market. Nonetheless is the American market important to us. The idea is to create an RPG with international appeal.

Of course we will publish other language versions! The game will be localized in several languages at the time of its release. And we aim for a simultaneous release of the English and German version.

Of course we will reveal more about "Project RPB" in 2008. But we will not yet commit to a specific release date at this time. Stay tuned! ;-)

In regards to a Collector's Edition nothing has been decided yet. But Deep Silver is famous for its Special Editions and we know that gamers are aware of that. A Collector's Edition for a RPG with special goodies that draw you into the game world is sought after by fans too. So I'd say that a CE is very likely!

Martin Metzler
Senior PR Manager