LOST IN CULT Announces EDITIONS - "A Preservation and Design-Focused Physical Games Label" 💿 @lostincult #IndieGame #GameDev

 

Physical games designed with the care they deserve. We’re doing it differently. We’re doing it better. Lost In Cult, best known as the acclaimed video game culture and design studio behind your favourite premium quality gaming items, is exceptionally proud to finally unveil EDITIONS - our bold new vision for physical media. Launching with a trio of titles for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5, our new imprint redefines the standards of what a physical game can be. Our initial launch features three distinct acclaimed indie masterpieces, available to order now: Thank Goodness You’re Here! (PS5/Switch) - a BAFTA-winning comedy adventure (limited to 3,000 on Switch/1,500 on PS5) Immortality (PS5) - a critically acclaimed interactive experience, winner of BAFTA’s Best Narrative (limited to 1,500 on PS5) The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow (Switch) - a folk horror adventure standout, with a BAFTA-winning performance (limited to 3,000 on Switch) In the works for over a year, with Ryan Brown (formerly Super Rare Games, Numskull) having joined to head and set up our new games publishing venture in late 2023, EDITIONS is built from the ground up by a team of the world’s most talented designers, artists, writers, editors, physical producers, and more. With a powerhouse team, and time spent perfecting our offering, we’re confident we have created a genuine best-of-all-worlds approach, breathing new life into physical games for collectors and anyone with a real love for the art form. More than just a game in a box, EDITIONS are a celebration of gaming, as well as a celebration of each of the highly-curated incredible titles we have chosen for our launch line-up and beyond. Built on the core pillars of prestige, quality, preservation, curation, accessibility, consistency, and transparency - we hope collectors and newcomers to the joys of physical releases alike enjoy the complete on cart/disc pieces we have created. Our first EDITIONS titles are available to order now, exclusively at Lost In Cult, available in limited quantities. Read on for more important details on what makes EDITION different. | STORE PAGE |

Designed with the care they deserve, each EDITIONS release is a work of art, built around specially chosen titles deserving of a truly prestigious release. EDITIONS are designed to be consistent packages for collectability and display. Inside a custom mailer box with seasonally-rotated art, you’ll find an outer slipcase with debossed details and brand new, original artwork, uninterrupted by any logos or distractions. An inner slipcase pulls out, each release with a different colour theme, creating a visual delight for your shelf. Also included is a fold-out poster of original artwork for you to admire on your wall, or to keep securely within your EDITIONS. The back of the poster contains a checklist of releases to date, and a description from the artist. Inside a glassine pouch is an authenticity card, featuring a printed signature of the game’s director, a sticker, and 4 high quality art cards with images selected from the developer, adorned with descriptions on the back. The game itself features a unique game cover, created especially for its EDITIONS release. The star of the show is our 40-page essay booklets from editor Chris Schilling (formerly Edge Magazine), each with two insightful, analytical essays from esteemed writers across the video games field. An interview with the developers makes up one of the essays; together with art from the game and never-before-seen concept art, these booklets help examine the development story, preserving the history of a game alongside the game itself. EDITIONS fit easily on your shelf without looking out of place - they’re about the width of one and a half PS5 boxes. Both platform versions are identically uniform, bar our PS and SW numbering system on the spine and inner slipcase. No tat, no alterations, and a regular release schedule - EDITIONS are a uniform, consistent, premium quality collection that you can trust.

We apply a curative approach to the games we include in the EDITIONS imprint. Every title included is one we truly love, and that we believe has pushed the medium of video games as a serious art form forward in some way. It’s important that every game gets the love and attention they deserve, rather than feel like fodder, and for people to have the means to collect them all. That’s why EDITIONS initially launch on a monthly basis, with one PS5 and one Switch title per month, so you can collect for whichever platform suits you best. Switch 2 titles are also coming in the future (full releases only, never Game-Key Cards). At £59.99 each, we hope we’ve created something as affordable as it is beautiful - and yes, we ship worldwide! Due to launching three killer titles to give a taste of what to expect, we’re skipping June so as not to overwhelm collectors. Our next release will be in July with another must-have, artful game for the PS5 + Switch. We already have an incredible line-up for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026. And don't worry, the quality persists through our entire line-up - we can’t wait to talk more about some titles in the near future. Hopefully, some collectors will trust in our curation process, which is why we’re providing early bird bundle options. For a discounted price, our tri-monthly PlayStation and Switch bundles help you to never worry about missing out. These first bundles will include our unannounced July game.

Preservation and availability are important principles and at the core of Lost In Cult’s ethos. We are proud to be the first company to work directly with DoesItPlay?, a group that tests physical releases to determine their playability for the future. Every game is complete on disc/cart, tested thoroughly by multiple testers before we send files off the print. We test on three preservation principles - to be playable internet-free, completable start to finish without a download, and to have all primary existing content on cart/disc at time of testing. Our games will all work straight off the shelf, ensuring they’ll be playable today and into the future when servers may eventually switch off. While no company can force developers from never updating a game again, we guarantee games are currently complete, up-to-date versions with all the latest patches and content, tested thoroughly, and check with developers our releases are effectively as final as possible. We do not work on games that we know would be difficult to stick to this commitment on, no matter how amazing the game. We also do not want to lock our titles behind our limited EDITIONS versions forever and know all too well the pain of seeing a limited print title appear at retail later on. That’s why we release standard edition versions at mass retail on the same day, online and brick-and-mortar stores, in partnership with our world-class US-based distribution partner PM Studio. It was important for us to stick to our preservation message, rather than holding games back unnecessarily. We believe EDITIONS are enough of an exciting proposition to provide the best of both worlds. If all you care about is having the game in a box, we have you covered. The game remains exactly the same, albeit with a different cover and without our EDITIONS specialities. As well as preserving the game itself physically - and its history in our EDITIONS booklets - we work with multiple museums and archive groups to ensure they get copies of everything we make and, wherever possible, any other additional materials.

Of course, we also don’t want you waiting for a year to receive your games. We’ve already been working ahead and, thanks to our partnership with an established partner like PM Studio, we’re aiming to get them in your hands fast. Our launch games have all been tested, the artwork is all finished, and the final game builds are in hand. Our launch titles will ship within 6 months. We internally are working towards 3 months, but as we initiate the submission and production process, we’d rather be safe than sorry! We're already working ahead on our next releases, and aim to get to the point that the shipping window is slimmed down more and more. Please note, we will always choose to wait in the event of an upcoming patch to have it on the disc/cart, so some titles in the future could take longer than others. We hope we've created a physical games label that collectors and gamers truly deserve.

“We’re being bold. I can unashamedly say we set out to create a new standard for physical games. And this is a multi-faceted mission. Our EDITIONS are designed to preserve not just the game, but the story and artistry behind its creation. At the same time, our retail releases ensure no one is locked out of owning great games physically, giving everyone a chance to play their favourites for the decades to come, internet connection willing or not.” - Ryan Brown, Lost In Cult “Working with Lost In Cult is a match made in gaming heaven for us. We're proud to apply our knowledge and experience in quality-testing, having tested over 2600 titles, with a company that matches our vision on game preservation and also sees video games as art. “We work tirelessly to ensure these fantastic experiences remain accessible now and always. Aligning with Lost In Cult’s mission to provide the best physical games publishing to date is now the next step in our efforts to ensure quality physical releases that stand the test of time and make developers and players equally proud." - Clemens Istel, DoesItPlay? “Collaborating with Lost In Cult has been nothing short of a delight — their attention to detail and their drive to keep adding more and more to everything they put out is evident in the quality of what they release. Each new treasure they create feels like a genuine companion piece, not just a ‘nice to have.’ The most common request we’ve had since releasing IMMORTALITY has been for a physical edition, but we always knew that if we did do it, we’d need to do it right — and so, working with Lost In Cult on this amazing new series was a no brainer!” - Sam Barlow, Half-Mermaid “As the world around feels more and more impermanent, physical media seems even more essential. With that in mind, ensuring that IMMORTALITY could be assured of its own immortality was of utmost importance to the team, and we are so grateful to have worked with Lost in Cult to make that happen.” - Natalie Watson, Half Mermaid “We are beyond thrilled and honoured to be part of Lost In Cult's physical launch line-up - alongside two games we genuinely love. It had long been our dream to release a physical Switch version of The Excavation of Hob's Barrow, but every avenue we had investigated ended up coming to nothing. I decided to issue one final tweet, in the hope that someone out there might help us make it happen - and that someone was Lost In Cult. It has been an immense pleasure working closely with their team to craft something very special indeed - the end result is a beautiful physical release truly beyond our wildest dreams. The art that has been created for this release genuinely blows my mind. “In an era where games are becoming increasingly ‘digital only’, Lost In Cult is doing wonders for the future preservation of indie games - and we are so proud to be a part of this.” - Shaun Aitcheson, Cloak and Dagger Games