“Your time is the most valuable thing that you have and you should think about,” when it comes to deciding whether to work with a publisher or self-publishing a title.
This advice was shared by Koch Media business developer Thomas Glenn during his talk at PGC Digital #4 on ‘ Working with a Publisher or Self-publishing?’.
“You should devote as much of your energy and resource into making the highest quality game you can,” said Glenn.
“If you specialise more as a programmer or an artist, and if you’re able to sign a deal and get $50,000 or $100,000 to make the game, that could also take you from having to work a second job to being able to pay rent or buy food.”
While funding was explained as the “most critical” to secure, other benefits a publisher can bring include: a marketing plan, community management, pricing strategy, release strategy, platform knowledge, localisation, and QA.
Network expertise was also highlighted as publishers likely already possess relationships with first-party platform holders and this can help with featuring on stores and further marketing help.
“Success stories”
“If you’re a game developer working on your first project, having a publisher who knows how to time your release (be that September, January or whenever), a publisher will probably have released 12-13 titles before and therefore have success stories as examples,” Glenn explained.
Signing with a publisher can be done at most times during development, with deals even been made two months before launch from his experience.
Along with this, if a project goes well, it was recommended to look into whether you control the IP, does it have a large community (outside of a major platform) and if there is actually any interest for a sequel.
Earlier this year, Embracer Group subsidiaries THQ Nordic and Koch Media traded a number of IP in a new deal, including Red Faction, Painkiller and Sacred.
PGC Digital #4 will run from November 9th to November 13th. To keep up to date with all of our coverage, check out the roundups here. There’s still time to sign up – to find out more and book a ticket, head to the website.
