GamesMarkt

Business

G**amesMarkt: What is your market niche? How do you see Headup positioning itself for the future?**

**Dieter Schoeller**: "Of course, we are watching the market with both concern and caution. The increasing number of games and the resulting price declines create significant pressure, and the industry-wide push for "retention monsters" is also reflected in the average sales figures within the indie sector."  

"As a publisher, we have always relied on a broad portfolio, but we are noticing that this approach no longer works as well as it did a few years ago. One of our internal solutions is to diversify across multiple pillars: in addition to traditional publishing with financial participation, we are expanding into pure publishing-as-a-service, managing stores or portfolios as a white-label partner for some of our partners, and exploring alternative models beyond the classic €10–€20 indie game."

"Indie, by nature, remains a niche market, with thousands of companies competing for a very small share of it. However, I do not see a dedicated boutique publisher approach as the right fit for Headup —  though, of course, we regularly reevaluate this strategy in sensible cycles."

**GamesMarkt: Given that Headup has offered physical boxed editions in the past, is the retail market still relevant to you?**

**Dieter Schoeller**: "It's definitely challenging. We are currently evaluating the possibility of re-entering traditional retail, but if we do, it will likely be with very small print runs as a test. At the same time, our focused goal is to bring our third sister company - [Gamefairy GmbH](/company/gamefairy) - back from its hiatus and position it as a direct hub for discerning indie collectors and enthusiasts. Unfortunately, we had to more or less pause this company during the Thunderful era."

The second part of the [full interview](https://www.gamesmarket.global/gamesmarktplus/interview-headups-dieter-schoeller-on-the-future-of-the-company-retail-publishing-and-the-current-market-situation-dc0935a91cb47c96652bdd70c88903f8), which also covers the role of the in-house prototype programme, how publishing decisions are made, the competition in the indie publishing sector and how the CEO sees the current market situation, is available [as a Plus article](https://www.gamesmarket.global/gamesmarktplus/interview-headups-dieter-schoeller-on-the-future-of-the-company-retail-publishing-and-the-current-market-situation-dc0935a91cb47c96652bdd70c88903f8). The first part of the interview can be found [here](https://www.gamesmarket.global/gamesmarktplus/interview-headup-ceo-dieter-schoeller-on-the-thunderful-demerger-and-the-business-challenges-of-indie-publishing-9ba24d7961b4ab63eb345e81bd9fcf1a).

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Dieter Schoeller: "Indie, by Nature, Remains a Niche Market, With Thousands of Companies Competing for a Very Small Share of It."