About Us

In 2010, IndieCade and Psychic Bunny’s founders came together with a common vision: Create a label missioned to help produce and promote independent games. The label would not only discover, fund, and build the brands of new talent it published, it would also provide the support structure and unify the community of developers in order to expand the market for the games of its artists.

The need for Codename arose from the recognition of a severe gap in the video game ecosystem. The growth of independent games and increasing venues for publication had expanded opportunities and audiences for their creators. Yet there was a missing ingredient that Codename’s founders liken to the role of indie record labels or independent film studios. These intermediaries fill a vital role outsourcing innovation and risk by: locating and cultivating new talent; getting new projects funded and produced; and interfacing with publishers and distributers. While both the music and film industries have long-established roles filling this function, until now, the video game industry had no equivalent mechanism.

Codename’s strategy, as well as its relationships in the indie game community, are built on the foundation of the extensive experience of its founders in new media production and curation.  Codename received the top award at the 2010 USC Stevens Institute Innovation Showcase and successfully self-funded its first original game project through Kickstarter. In 2010, Codename began working with Sony to help bring the creative innovation of indie developers to PlayStation Home.