A familiar name is returning to the games industry, but this time with a new mission. More than 25 years after its brief but memorable stint in game development, Artex is stepping back into the spotlight—this time as an indie publisher. The studio that once helped lay the groundwork for Frankfurt’s now-thriving dev scene is returning as a new entity, built by veterans who helped shape it in the first place.

Based out of a newly formed games hub in Frankfurt, Germany, Artex is the brainchild of former Deck13 and Artex Software founders who now want to shift their focus from making games to supporting the people who do, according to a press release. Their goal? To identify and nurture start-up teams and independent creators in need of both industry guidance and sustainable publishing support—something that remains in short supply despite the indie boom of the past decade.

For those who remember Ankh: The Tales of Mystery—the original ‘97 version, not the 2005 remake—that DNA still runs through Artex’s veins. The original Artex Software team disbanded in 1999, eventually morphing into TriggerLab and later becoming Deck13, the Frankfurt-based studio responsible for Lords of the Fallen (2014) and The Surge. Now, with the relaunch of the Artex name, co-founder Jan Klose is coming full circle. “More than a quarter of a century later, we want to discover and support young studios and start-ups,” he says, emphasizing a renewed focus on business development and fair publishing terms.

But this isn’t just a nostalgia trip. Artex is already locking in a slate of projects that suggest they’re not interested in playing it safe. Their first round of titles—set to debut at Gamescom 2025 at the State of Hesse booth—showcases a sharp eye for genre variety and developer pedigree.

The headliner is Cralon, a dungeon-crawling RPG being developed for console release by Pithead Studio, a new outfit founded by Piranha Bytes alumni Jenny and Björn Pankratz. It’s a tight premise: players must escape a mine shaft labyrinth haunted by a demonic entity. It’s claustrophobic, tense, and dripping with gothic atmosphere—exactly the kind of mid-budget gem that thrives under the right publisher.

Alongside Cralon, Artex is also backing Blob the Klex, a quirky newcomer award-winner from Sigma Unit that’s already generated interest on the German Computer Game circuit. Then there’s American Cooking Simulator, a chaotic couch co-op title from Freedom Burger Games that feels spiritually adjacent to Overcooked—if Overcooked was run by Guy Fieri and filmed inside a speeding food truck.

Rounding out the early lineup are Venice after Dark, a noir-flavored point-and-click adventure from Weltenwandler Designagentur and director Sebastian Grünwald, and Wyrm Saga, a roguelike deckbuilder from Borb Games that takes a painterly, folklore-inspired approach to the genre’s card-slinging conventions.

For a publisher just reentering the arena, Artex’s pitch is clear: build long-term partnerships, not just product pipelines. With a hybrid strategy that blends development mentorship and fair business practices, the team seems intent on fixing some of the structural gaps indie devs still face when transitioning from passion project to published product.

Whether Artex becomes a meaningful force in indie publishing or a niche curator with regional focus remains to be seen. But what’s certain is that it’s not often a name disappears for over two decades and returns with this much purpose. Frankfurt may have changed a lot since the late ’90s—but Artex is betting that there’s still room for something new built on the old bones.