How Evil Empire makes one of the most effective indie showcase events – while juggling Castlevania, live ops, and building its own IP
Evil Empire has turned the Triple-I Initiative into a tightly controlled indie showcase: 45 minutes, no host, flat $15k per minute, and a lineup chosen by a six-person team that actually plays the submissions. The goal isn’t raw view count; it’s getting the right games in front of the right audience and converting that attention into wishlists. In 2025, the studio says several games cleared 100,000 wishlists within five days, and 16 of 40 titles hit Steam’s top trending list.
For developers, the interesting part is the process. Evil Empire doesn’t just book trailers; it gives feedback on what to emphasize because it knows what lands in a live event. That same “we’ve shipped and we know the audience” mindset is also feeding its live-ops work on Brotato, where it took over day-to-day support without taking the IP. The studio is now building a dedicated live-ops unit for older games whose original teams want to move on.
“We don't care about the views that much. We care about the studio satisfaction.”
- what
- Evil Empire runs the Triple-I Initiative showcase as a 45-minute indie event with no host and a flat $15k per minute fee.
- who
- The studio is led by Benjamin Laulan and marketing director Bérenger Dupré; it also works with Ubisoft, Konami, Blobfish, and other indie teams.
- when
- The showcase runs every April; the article cites strong results from the 2025 event and notes 2026 also had a big impact.
- impact
- Evil Empire says several 2025 featured games gained 100,000+ wishlists in five days, and 16 of 40 titles hit Steam trending.
Strong results and practical value for indies
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