E3 2016: New EA Originals initiative gives 100% of profits to indie devs

The biggest news for devs during EA's E3 2016 press conference was a new indie publishing arm that will give all profits back to the developers.

The initiative, dubbed EA Originals, was introduced by EA Studios EVP Patrick Soderlund and follows the success of Unravel, an indie title developed by Coldwood Interactive and published by Electronic Arts.

Soderlund said there are three core pillars to EA Originals: first time experiences that are innovative and memorable, supporting small studios, and funding and offering a level of security. As such, the publisher has pledged to give 100 per cent of the profits to the developers behind these games.

"We want all the profit to go back into the hands of the developers so they can keep innovating and developing into the future," said Soderlund.

It is worth noting that EA said profits not revenues, meaning games will most likely need to recoup their costs before developers receive payment (presumably aside from any exchanged in the initial publishing agreement). This may mean more than development costs as well, as the firm said it will be partnering with studios on everything from development to marketing.

Soderlund said the aim is to sign "a few projects each year" for EA Originals, and showed off the first one on stage: Fe, a new IP by Swedish 20-person studio Zoink.

Fe is a 3D adventure with a dark but distinct art style that the studio describes as "a personal narrative about our relationship with nature". You can check out the trailer below.