German influencer marketing agency Instinct3 is launching a new games publishing arm called Sidekick. 

The venture is set to be a 'full-service' publisher which will be supporting indie and mid-tier projects. Sidekick's first game is Deadly Days: Roadtrip 

The publisher is set to be led by Instinct3 CEOs Jasmin Oestreicher (pictured, right) and Melvin Frank (pictured, far right). 

This isn't Instinct 3's first foray into publishing; the company has previously helped release 9 Kings, Asgard’s Fall - Viking Survivors and TerraScape. 

“After ten years in publishing and marketing and the past four years at our agency, serving as managing director since 2024, I know how valuable experience can be," Oestreicher said. 

"But I also know how quickly you can lose touch if you rely too much on the past. Especially with a gaming audience that is highly sensitive to inauthentic or overly commercial content, what matters are bold ideas, local sensitivity, and creators who work for lasting impact, not just quick profit.” 

Melvin added: “Over the past year, we’ve worked on a variety of releases -  each one teaching us something new about what works, what connects, and what lasts for our concept. Sidekick is our way of taking all those lessons, combining them with our unique creator and community expertise, and raising the bar for how we support indie developers. The goals are simple: focus on games that resonate well with our approach and make every next launch our best one yet.”