Kinetic Games, the developer behind the hit horror game Phasmophobia, is branching out into publishing with a new division. Operating under the label Kinetic Publishing, the company will focus on supporting independent developers to offer indie teams the kind of support that Daniel Knight, the original one-man team behind Phasmophobia, would have wanted at the beginning of the game’s development.
Knight first launched Phasmophobia in late 2020, when it quickly became a multiplayer horror phenomenon. Nearly six years later, the game still boasts a large player base — in 2025, it garnered 150k new Discord members, as well as an over 700k increase in broader community growth, according to a news release. Development has grown from solely Knight to an entire team, which has provided several content updates since release, and there’s even more planned for 2026, including a 1.0 version launch.
Kinetic Publishing will be overseen by a team of five senior staff members, including Knight, who stated in a news release, “The fact we’ve grown so much as a company means we’re now in the place where we want to support studios who come under our wing.” Asim Tanvir, the director of marketing and partnerships at Kinetic Games and another member of the new publishing team, added, “We want to join the ranks of supportive indie publishers who champion and encourage creativity. We hope the guidance and support that we provide to indie teams will help in ensuring they succeed in what they do best, as well as encouraging innovation within the development space.”
Though it may seem as though attention could spread thin at Kinetic, especially with a Phasmophobia film in the works, the development team will remain entirely separate and focused on the horror title as it continues to grow. The team at Kinetic Publishing also aims to give the new titles it produces individualized support — though the company will cover a wide range of genres, it will focus on small slate projects that have a clear vision and are 12–18 months from release.
Developers looking for a publisher are encouraged to get in touch via the Kinetic Games website.
