Farming Simulator firm Giants Software has opened a brand new publishing arm and will be releasing its titles on its own from now on.

In an article on GamesIndustry.biz, the firm said that it had hired Konami vet Boris Stefan (pictured) to head up this new self-publishing venture. Historically, its Farming Simulator titles have been released by Focus Home Interactive.

"The main goal is to give the product even more visibility all over the world and to grow and make use of the brand potential more efficiently," Stefan said.

"Having this in our hands, in Giants' hands, makes it a lot easier to achieve. Don't get me wrong, Focus did a really great job for us. They did a great job of helping us evolve the product in most regions of the world, in 165 countries. Taking this back into our hands will give us a more direct approach to every single market without having a third party in-between."

PR and marketing boss Martin Rabl added: "When we started doing the marketing department a few years ago, one of the main jobs was being in-between the developer and the publishers and distributors. We realised that it would be faster and easier to do more and more things in-house. First, we started with a graphics design team, and then added the video editing department, and now we will handle everything in-house. Of course we know the product in and out, and we can give feedback much faster to internal teams, for example regarding trailer production. Farming Simulator is a special product and it's not like any other shooter or mobile game. It's not really similar to any game, you have to learn a lot about farming. We have to ask our experts here very often to understand all the features and it's even harder for external parties."