As much as Suda51 loves Devolver Digital, he still wants to get paid for his Devolver Direct appearances 

Grasshopper Manufacture’s Goichi Suda (Suda51), known for his convention-breaking games like the Killer7 and No More Heroes series, often shows up in American indie game publisher Devolver Digital’s broadcasts and events. Speaking to us in a recent interview, Suda51 explains how and why he ended up doing all of this for free (and codes for all their Steam games). 

Over the years, Devolver Digital has published various artistic, unusual and downright bizarre indie titles, including the Hotline Miami series, Cult of the Lamb and Anger Foot, to name a few. Considering their penchant for unconventional games, it’s no wonder that Suda51 describes the people at Devolver Digital as being “on the same wavelength” as him.  

But how did this friendship come to be? Suda explains that it all kicked off with his fondness for Hotline Miami. “Two people from (Hotline Miami’s) studio, Dennaton Games, liked our games and we got close, and from there, I made a connection with Devolver Digital.”  

Hotline Miami
Dennaton Games’s ultraviolent top-down shooter Hotline Miami.

As for Suda’s appearances on Devolver Direct, and past appearances on Devolver’s behalf at the now-defunct E3, Suda reveals that “I’ve heard that other people get paid, but I don’t get paid anything. Oh, but I do get game codes from Devolver Digital in return (laughs).” Although Suda does seem to agree that doing these appearances with no other renumeration than Steam codes has contributed to a friendly relationship, he lightly adds “Yeah, but I would like to be paid! (laughs).” 

Elaborating on his connection with Devolver Digital more, Suda51 remarks that “It’s a fun relationship, and I think of it as friendship more than business. Of course, I would like to collaborate sometime.” So, it’s possible that we might one day get some kind of game collaboration between Devolver Digital and Suda51. 

Grasshopper Manufacture’s latest game Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered is available now for the PC (Steam), PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X❘S/Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. 

Verity Townsend
Verity Townsend

Automaton West Editor and translator. She has a soft spot for old-school Sierra adventure games and Final Fantasy VIII (yes, 8!). Can often be found hunting down weird forgotten games and finding out everything about them. Frequently muses about characters and lines from Metal Gear Solid and Disco Elysium. Aims to keep Automaton fresh and interesting with a wide variety of articles.

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