Experimental RPG studio Summer Eternal is implementing a novel governance structure that will grant players a 5% stake in the company. The move is intended to rebuild trust within the gaming industry, according to operations director Aleksandar Gavrilović.
"As opposed to shareholding structures we're all used to, the Summer Eternal governance model is slightly different, and based on the FairShares idea that the structure of the studio should reflect all the stakeholders of the studio," Gavrilović explained. "This includes the managing cooperative, our contributor cooperative with employees and freelancers, the investors, but also, most radically, players as well."
Summer Eternal, co-founded by former ZA/UM designers Argo Tuulik and Dora Klindžić, alongside Gavrilović, aims to create a system where players are not just consumers but active stakeholders. The studio's approach centers on a non-profit organization for players, allowing them to direct where the organization's income is invested rather than extracting profit for themselves.
This initiative is described by Gavrilović as a step toward "mending the trust broken in this industry a thousand times over," with the goal of shifting the mentality where developer accountability to players typically ends after a purchase. The studio's model echoes elements seen in communities like EVE Online's Council of Stellar Management or Old School RuneScape's player voting, but with the direct incorporation of profit sharing.
Summer Eternal's first product is the "Summer Eternal Anthology Vol. 1." This publication includes essays on the state of the games industry, featuring contributions from notable figures like Dragon Age writer David Gaider and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. It also contains a design document for the studio's inaugural game, tentatively titled Project Red Rooster.
The Anthology is currently available for preorder, with the offer concluding soon.