With numerous high-budget games receiving expensive collector’s editions, the Brighton, England based company Gamer’s Edition has decided that beloved independent games deserve the same treatment.
Partnering with Idea Planet Collectibles, who have developed special edition releases for game such as BioShock Infinite and Destiny, Gamer’s Edition works very closely with developers and fans to create unique and personal physical releases of games that have otherwise only been available online.
“We’re trying to build things that the community wants,” said John Hicks, Game Edition’s founder, who first had the idea for the company a little over a year ago during a conversation with Eurogamer’s former editor-in-chief, Tom Bramwell.
“We were talking about how we both spent a huge amount of time on indie games, specifically Spelunky, at that point, but we didn’t have the opportunity to buy the sort of cool things that are routinely offered for the big console release.” Hick said.
Crowdfunding the idea was the way to go to make his project a reality and Hicks says that pretty much everyone that has been told about Gamer’s Edition has loved it. Each project begins with a 30-day funding initiative, asking fans of the game to pledge the amount of money needed to begin production. If the project meets its financial needs, Gamer’s Edition begins work.
If a project does not meet the amount of orders needed, “Then we pour one out, take a moment to mourn, and then get on to the next Gamer’s Edition. Your card will not be charged, and we’ll send you an email to confirm that,” according to the Gamer’s Edition website.
Gamer’s Edition is currently accepting orders for a physical release of Dennaton Games’ Hotline Miami series and a high-quality poster for Lucas Pope’s 2013 game Papers, Please, which did not meet its start-up quota.
The Hotline Miami release is sure to be a crowd pleaser for fans of the series. At only $60 USD, the Gamer’s Edition includes a Steam code for both games in the series, a cassette featuring the game’s soundtrack, the Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number comic book, and many other items. Hick’s and company are offering a large amount of content with their first Gamer’s Edition for the same amount of money as most standard game releases. 
When figuring out what will go into each collector’s edition, Hicks jokes that he has nearly magical insight but assures that developers have a great idea of what they would like to include with a physical copy of their game. “So far it’s been a case of finding out what’s possible and then what fans want to buy,” Hicks explains, “Now that we’ve properly launched we’ll be asking our community in a bit more detail what we should include for each game.”
Similarly, Gamer’s Edition will soon look to the fans to help decide which games get their own unique release and what that should entail. The company is still looking for the best ways to get player feedback and Hicks explains that there is no shortage of games that Gamer’s Edition would like to work with as well as no shortage of developers that are interested.
“We’ve got lots of ideas, and so have the developers we’re talking to,” says Hicks, “But ultimately this is about creating things for the fans so I really want to hear what they’re interested in and what we should be including.” Hicks goes on to encourage people to make suggestions for the company on Gamer’s Edition’s website or even email him directly (jon@gamersedition.com).
As for what’s next for Gamer’s Edition, Hicks claims that the company has a lot of interesting things in the works, but doesn’t want to jinx anything by announcing too soon. The present plan is to announce the next Gamer’s Edition campaign at the end of the current one.
Fans of Hotline Miami and Papers, Please need to act fast if they would like their own unique, one-of-a-kind content from Gamer’s Edition. Once the order window closes, it’s closed for good and Gamer’s Edition won’t make anymore copies than were ordered.
The Papers, Please poster costs $16 USD. Orders end on May 24.
The Hotline Miami series collector’s edition is available for $60 USD. Orders end May 22.
For more information on Gamer’s Edition and to keep an eye on upcoming announcements, make sure to check out the company’s official website.