Lofty Sky & NAGA Partner for Hope in the City Co-publishing
Toronto's Lofty Sky Entertainment and Paris-based co-publisher NAGA today announced a worldwide co-publishing partnership for Hope in the City, the studio's stylized narrative mystery about a teenage artist searching for her missing parents.
The deal has NAGA financing and executing the game's global go-to-market plan while IP ownership stays with the developer. Under the terms, Lofty Sky and NAGA are continuing to seek regional publishing and distribution partners - a search the studio is actively pursuing at gamescom dev this week, with particular interest in Asia, where Simplified Chinese and Korean localizations are already in production.
The deal comes as Hope in the City heads into gamescom dev with three nominations at the 2026 gamescom dev Awards - “Most Innovative Game”, “Best Sound Design”, and “Most Promising Game” - to be presented later today,
"Hope in the City is a truly unique project that our team is deeply passionate about, so it was essential that we found a partner who shares our vision. We're thrilled to be partnering with NAGA; their commitment to the game-in resources, expertise, and energy-makes them a perfect fit,” said Jason Loftus, founder and CEO of Lofty Sky Entertainment. “This collaboration gives us the global reach we need while allowing us to maintain the creative control and IP ownership that are central to such a personal story. As we move forward with this co-publishing model, we’re also excited to be actively seeking the right regional partners here at gamescom dev."
"Hope in the City instantly surprised us with the storytelling, the visuals, and the level of quality that matches the top games in the genre,” stated Ewan Charlot, NAGA co-founder and CEO. “We’re convinced that the talented team at Lofty Sky Entertainment is crafting an unforgettable experience, and it’s our duty as both marketers and passionate indie gamers to bring it to as many players as possible."
Momentum heading into Cologne
The partnership follows a run of festival placements for the game:
Telltale's Choices Matter Festival - Hope in the City was a Spotlight game at the Steam festival held August 10–13, featured on Steam's homepage alongside a 20-minute developer deep-dive livestream. This event launched the Hope in the City demo on Steam.
Busan Indie Connect Festival (BIC Fest ‘26) - official selection and finalist for both Excellence in Narrative and Excellence in Social Impact awards at the South Korean event that received well over 800 entries;
Games4Diversity showcase, hosted by Courage Cologne - one of seven titles featured Sunday, August 23;
gamescom dev indie expo - one of 24 games featured August 24-25 (today & Tuesday);
The Mix Cologne - featured Monday, August 24 (today).
The playable demo for Hope in the City launched on Monday, August 10, and is now available on Steam.