Summer Eternal Gives Players 5% Ownership in Radical RPG Studio

Experimental RPG studio Summer Eternal is offering players a 5% ownership stake and a democratic say in its direction, aiming to mend broken trust in the industry.

Ever wished you had a real say in the games you love? Summer Eternal, a new RPG studio, is doing just that by giving players 5% ownership and a democratic voice in how the studio is run.

The studio was co-founded by ex-ZA/UM designers Argo Tuulik and Dora Klindžić, along with developer Aleksandar Gavrilović. Given that Tuulik and Klindžić previously worked on a canceled Disco Elysium expansion, it's no surprise they're trying something radically different with Summer Eternal's financing and governance.

Worker-owned cooperatives are rare but not unheard-of in gaming, but Summer Eternal is taking it further by offering ownership stakes and profit sharing to freelancers and customers. For players, it's not just about walking-around money—they'll get a democratic say in the studio's direction, backed by control of 5% of the profits. It's a bit like EVE Online's Council of Stellar Management or Old School RuneScape's player voting on new features, but with the added twist of literal profit sharing.

This comes at a time when traditionally governed, publicly-traded game companies are cannibalizing themselves to satisfy shareholder demands. Summer Eternal's economically and politically radical proposition might just have broader appeal than it used to. You can read Gavrilović's full posts on the studio's governance and the profit-directing player non-profit on Summer Eternal's website.

If you want to get in on the ground floor as a player-stakeholder, Summer Eternal's first product is actually a book. The Summer Eternal Anthology Vol. 1 is half a collection of essays on the state of games and the industry, featuring guest writers and interviewees like Dragon Age scribe David Gaider and former Greek finance minister and Valve economist Yanis Varoufakis. The other half is a design document previewing and formally announcing Summer Eternal's first game, Project Red Rooster. At the time of writing, the Anthology is available for preorder for one more day.

So, what do you think? Is this the future of game development, or just a bold experiment? Will you be picking up the Anthology to become a player-stakeholder? Let us know in the comments!