Video game retailer GameStop Corp has been looking for new ways to stay relevant in a time when digital game downloads are becoming increasingly more popular than physical discs, and now the company has announced that it will be forming its own game publishing label, GameTrust.

“The idea of GameTrust has been cooking for quite some time,” Mark Stanley, VP of Internal Development & Diversification at GameStop, said in a recent interview with GameSpot. “We are always thinking about how we can diversify and strengthen our business in areas where we have deep competency, where we can further excite and engage even more gamers, and where we can deliver greater shareholder value.”

The new publisher will focus its efforts on on indie games, at least initially, and GameStop has already partnered with several independent game studios, including Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank, Song of the Deep), Frozenbyte (Trine), Tequila Works (Rime, Deadlight), and Ready at Dawn (The Order: 1886).

“More and more discussions with game developers shed light on some of the challenges that they face with publishing small-to-medium, AAA-quality independent games,” Stanley explained. “We saw this as a great opportunity to leverage our video game, retail, and digital expertise to help launch games that might otherwise struggle to find the global audience they truly deserve.”

Stanley said that GameTrust will have no direct control over the development process of the games it publishes, and will instead offer indie studios complete creative freedom in designing their games.  The publisher’s library will include games for a wide variety of platforms, including console, PC, and even virtual reality.

According to GameStop, the titles released by its new publishing arm will be available in stores, as well as through digital channels such as Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Steam. The company says it has no plans to make its games exclusive to its retail stores.

Aside from its partnership with Insomniac Games to provide a retail distributor for Song of the Deep, GameStop has yet to announce what it plans for its indie studio partnerships, but Stanley said that the company will reveal more details in the near future.

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