Upstart Video Game Publisher to Focus on Small Developers (registration required) announces the launch of Gamecock Media Group, a new publisher formed by Mike Wilson, formerly of id Software, ION Storm, and Gathering of Developers (thanks Paul). One of the tenets of Gamecock will be to allow developers to retain control of their intellectual property. Here's a bit:

Some video-game veterans plan to announce today the formation of a new publisher that they hope will act as the equivalent of an independent film company for small game developers.

The new company, Gamecock Media Group, has some of the same top executives as Gathering of Developers, a publisher that was founded in the late ’90s by several development companies that teamed up, like the first incarnation of United Artists in Hollywood, to gain more control over their business affairs. (It was sold in 1999 to the publisher Take-Two Interactive.)

“We want to bring some fun back to the game business,” said Mike Wilson, Gamecock’s chief executive. “We can make games that look like anything out there for less money.”

Among the titles Gamecock is financing are Hail to the Chimp, a humorous animal fighting game being developed by a new company founded by the developer Alex Seropian, and Insecticide, a futuristic action adventure from Crackpot Entertainment.

The idea is that Gamecock, based in Austin, Tex., will finance games with reasonable budgets, ask developers to share in the risk and outsource distribution to keep its costs low. The company is being financed by a single investor, who has declined to be identified.