Rebel Chums: Meet the Man on a Mission to Help Indie Games Get the Recognition They Deserve
The independent gaming scene is bursting with creativity, ambition and incredible talent, but getting noticed in an increasingly crowded industry isn’t always easy. That’s where Duncan Voice and Rebel Chums come in. Combining a passion for discovering hidden indie gems with professional marketing, scouting and community support, Rebel Chums is on a mission to help great games find their audience. And we think it’s a mission worth getting behind.
There’s something rather wonderful about independent gaming. It’s an industry where creativity often takes centre stage, where developers aren’t afraid to experiment, push boundaries and deliver experiences that might never have come from a major publisher.
Some of our most memorable gaming experiences come from independent studios. Games that surprise us, challenge us, make us laugh or introduce us to something we didn’t even know we wanted to play.
But there’s a problem.
For every independent game that finds its audience, there are countless others that struggle to get noticed. Brilliant ideas can disappear into an increasingly crowded marketplace, and even the most talented developers can find themselves battling for attention against projects with considerably bigger budgets and marketing resources.
Creating a great game is one thing. Making sure the right people discover it is another entirely. It’s a challenge that Duncan Voice understands, and one he’s looking to tackle through his business, Rebel Chums.
If you’ve followed some of our previous guest reviews here at CompleteXbox, you might already recognise Duncan’s name. He’s a familiar face within the independent gaming community, a passionate advocate for discovering interesting titles and, as we’ve come to discover ourselves, a thoroughly decent chap.
But Rebel Chums is about taking that enthusiasm a step further. It’s about helping independent developers get their games noticed, helping publishers discover their next promising signing and providing practical support to studios that might otherwise struggle to manage everything themselves. And in an industry that continues to grow at an incredible rate, it’s a service that could make a genuine difference.
Meet Duncan Voice: A genuine passion for gaming and its community
Before we get into what Rebel Chums offers, it’s worth introducing the person behind it.
Having spent time getting to know Duncan through his contributions to CompleteXbox and his wider involvement in gaming, I can honestly say he’s one of those people who reminds you why the gaming community can be such a fantastic place.
I’ve met some wonderful people throughout my time in the industry, but Duncan is someone I have a particularly large amount of time for. He’s genuine, approachable, passionate about what he does and, importantly, someone who’s always willing to lend a hand. He wears his heart on his sleeve, has a wonderful perspective on life and clearly cares about the people and projects he gets involved with.
We’ve already welcomed Duncan to CompleteXbox as a guest reviewer, where he’s brought his own personality, humour and perspective to the table. His review of Blood Dungeon earned an impressive 90%, while his thoughts on RV There Yet? delivered an entertaining look at the chaotic multiplayer experience, earning a respectable 75%.
Both reviews demonstrated something important: Duncan isn’t simply interested in the business side of gaming. He’s a gamer who enjoys discovering new experiences, appreciates what independent developers bring to the industry and understands why these smaller projects deserve attention.
You can read his latest contributions to completexbox here:
That enthusiasm for discovering independent games eventually became something more.
Coming from a marketing and communications background, Duncan found himself increasingly enjoying the process of exploring lesser-known indie titles, identifying games with potential and helping create opportunities for developers.
As he explains on the Rebel Chums website, he realised that he was genuinely excited about the work he was doing. When opportunities began opening doors for developers and publishing deals, he decided to turn that passion into a proper business.
And that’s how Rebel Chums came to life.
So, what exactly is Rebel Chums?
At its heart, Rebel Chums is an independent game scouting, marketing and community management service. Its mission is refreshingly straightforward: help great indie games get discovered.
That might sound simple, but anyone familiar with the gaming industry will understand just how challenging that can be. Thousands of games compete for attention across digital storefronts, social media, online communities and gaming events. Developers are constantly trying to communicate what makes their projects special, while publishers are searching for the next interesting title that could become a valuable addition to their portfolio.
Rebel Chums aims to bring those two sides closer together. Rather than expecting developers to figure everything out themselves, Duncan offers services designed to identify opportunities, improve how games are presented and provide additional support where it’s needed.
And importantly, Rebel Chums works with both publishers and developers, offering different services depending on their requirements.
Let’s take a closer look.
Helping publishers discover their next big indie opportunity
For publishers, finding promising independent games can be a time-consuming business. There are countless projects in development, each with its own ambitions, ideas and potential. Finding those hidden gems requires considerable research, and it’s easy for interesting projects to slip through the cracks.
Rebel Chums offers an indie scouting service designed to make that process easier. Its Scout Report provides monthly reports featuring between eight and twelve hand-picked independent games that are currently in development and unsigned.
Each selection is chosen with discovery in mind, helping publishers identify interesting projects that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. Rather than simply providing a list of names, the reports give publishers an overview of the selected games, why they’ve caught Duncan’s attention and an assessment of their potential audience.
The service starts at £295 per month. For publishers with more specific requirements, Rebel Chums also offers Custom Scouting. This allows the search to be tailored around a particular brief, giving publishers the opportunity to identify games that fit their individual requirements and publishing ambitions.
For anyone looking to discover something different, it’s certainly an interesting proposition. After all, the next great indie signing might not be the game everyone is already talking about. It might be the one that simply hasn’t been discovered yet.
Developers: Is your game getting the attention it deserves?
Of course, Rebel Chums isn’t just about helping publishers find games. Independent developers have their own challenges, and sometimes the biggest obstacle isn’t the game itself, but how it’s being presented to the outside world.
You’ve spent months or even years developing something you’re incredibly proud of. You understand its mechanics, its appeal and everything that makes it special. But does your trailer communicate that effectively?
Does your store page give potential players a reason to click? Are your screenshots showing off the best aspects of your game? Is your messaging reaching the right audience?
These are important questions, and they’re precisely what Rebel Chums’ Signal Audit aims to address. This is a friendly but honest assessment of how a game comes across to players, publishers and communities. The service examines areas such as store pages, trailers, promotional materials, messaging and community readiness, helping developers identify where improvements could make a meaningful difference.
The aim isn’t to criticise for the sake of it. It’s about providing an independent perspective, highlighting what’s working and identifying areas where a little refinement could help a game communicate its potential more effectively. The Signal Audit starts at £350.
Whether you’re preparing to approach publishers, launching a demo, heading towards Early Access or simply looking to improve your game’s presentation, having an experienced outside perspective could be incredibly useful. Sometimes, you can be so close to a project that you stop seeing the things other people notice immediately. That’s where a fresh pair of eyes can be worth its weight in gold.
Looking after the players who make your game special
There’s another important ingredient in successful game development that deserves plenty of attention: community. Building a community around a game can be incredibly rewarding, but maintaining it requires time, consistency and genuine engagement.
Players want to feel involved. They want their questions answered, their feedback acknowledged and their enthusiasm appreciated. For smaller development teams, managing all of this alongside the actual development of a game can become a considerable challenge. That’s why Rebel Chums also offers Community Support.
This fractional community management service gives studios additional help with looking after their players, maintaining communication and ensuring their communities don’t feel forgotten while developers concentrate on the work in front of them. It’s particularly relevant for games in development and Early Access, where communication between developers and players can be crucial.
A strong community can become one of a game’s greatest assets. Players become advocates, share their experiences, spread the word and help create excitement around a project. But those relationships need looking after. Rebel Chums offers developers an additional helping hand, with community support available by enquiry depending on their requirements.
A business with personality and a purpose
One thing that immediately stands out when visiting the Rebel Chums website is its personality. From the distinctive purple robin mascot to the wonderfully informal approach, there’s a clear effort to make the business approachable without losing sight of the professional services it provides.
It’s not trying to be another faceless marketing operation. There’s a person behind it, somebody who genuinely enjoys discovering independent games and wants to help the people creating them. That combination of professional marketing experience and personal enthusiasm is what makes Rebel Chums particularly interesting.
The independent gaming scene needs people who understand its challenges, appreciate its creativity and recognise that not every talented developer has access to the resources of a major studio. Duncan is looking to help bridge that gap. And while no service can guarantee that a game will become the next big success, having somebody who can help identify opportunities, sharpen messaging and support community relationships can give developers and publishers another valuable resource to work with.
Why we’re shining the CompleteXbox spotlight on Rebel Chums
At CompleteXbox, we’re passionate about gaming and the people who make this industry what it is. Our focus is Xbox, but our appreciation for gaming extends far beyond the console in front of us. We’re always interested in the people, creativity and hard work that go into bringing games to life.
Independent developers deserve recognition. Their projects deserve opportunities to be discovered, and the people who dedicate themselves to supporting that community deserve recognition too. That’s why we’re delighted to shine a spotlight on Duncan and Rebel Chums.
This isn’t simply about giving a friend a mention. It’s about recognising somebody who has taken a genuine passion and turned it into a business with a clear purpose. I’ve seen Duncan’s enthusiasm first-hand, enjoyed his contributions to our website and, more importantly, experienced the sort of generosity and genuine character that makes him such a pleasure to know.
He’s somebody who believes in supporting others, and Rebel Chums is an opportunity to put that philosophy into practice. If you’re an independent developer looking for help getting your game noticed, a publisher searching for fresh talent or a studio that needs additional community support, we’d genuinely encourage you to take a look.
You never know what opportunities might come from starting a conversation.
Let’s be Chums!
If there’s one thing we’d like readers to take away from this feature, it’s that there are plenty of talented people working behind the scenes to help independent gaming flourish. Duncan Voice is one of them.
Through Rebel Chums, he’s bringing together game discovery, marketing expertise and community support, all with the aim of helping brilliant independent games find the recognition they deserve.
So, whether you’re developing your dream project, building a publishing portfolio or simply looking for somebody who understands the challenges of the indie gaming world, why not introduce yourself?
Duncan would love to hear from you.
Find out more about Rebel Chums:
Official website: https://www.rebelchums.com/
Contact: Duncan Voice
Email: duncs@rebelchums.com
Telephone: +44 (0)7867 231871
Services: Indie game scouting, marketing and community management.
You can explore the available services, find out more about Duncan’s approach and make an enquiry directly through the website.
And from everyone here at CompleteXbox, we wish Duncan and Rebel Chums every success.
Here’s to supporting independent developers, discovering the next generation of gaming talent and making sure that great games don’t get lost in the crowd.
Rebel Chums – helping great indie games get discovered.