Runic Forge rebrands as Pythia Games under publisher Rune
Rune drops its agency work to publish full-time, with Carnholt and Dragon's Tear in Pythia Games' first slate.
Runic Forge has rebranded as Pythia Games, and parent company Rune is moving to operate exclusively as an indie publisher, dropping its agency work. The rebrand was reported by gamesindustry.biz on October 28, 2026.
Pythia Games' first wave of titles includes Carnholt, a roguelike deckbuilder from Magic: The Gathering artist Maxime Minard, and Dragon's Tear, an idle dungeon-crawler RPG inspired by classic JRPGs from LilChill Games.
The studio says it is looking to partner with more indie developers. Aidan McGrath is founder and marketing director at Pythia Games.
Background
Before the rebrand, Rune was a UK-based data-driven indie marketing agency. Its title Hearth and Hamlet launched on Steam on August 19, selling nearly 50,000 units in its first 24 hours and 100,000 in its first week, and has since passed 1,800 Steam reviews. Ahead of launch, more than 100,000 unique players tried the free demo and wishlists passed 125,000.
Quick answers
What is Pythia Games?
Pythia Games is the new name of Runic Forge, an indie label whose parent company Rune now works exclusively as a publisher.
Which games are in Pythia Games' first lineup?
Carnholt, a roguelike deckbuilder from Magic: The Gathering artist Maxime Minard, and Dragon's Tear, an idle dungeon-crawler RPG from LilChill Games.