Unity Game's North American market survey independent developers return to publisher mode

The data from an industry survey of the Game Developers Conference gave me some new ideas about the game's self-release trend. The survey , which took a sample of 2000 participants from the North American Game Developers Conference, showed that the percentage of developers who have released their games has fallen, while the proportion of vendors looking for publishers has risen. Comparing 2014 and 2013 data, it is found that developers who have released their latest games have risen 6% (from 23% to 29%) from the previous year. At the same time, the proportion of developers planning the next project to the issuer has risen by 3% (from 28% to 31%).

Although there is not enough time span and concrete evidence to prove whether this is a trend, there is also the possibility of a loophole in the data, but it is still worth the data to start rethinking the importance of game publishers. From year to 2014, the game market has become the Red Sea. As you can see from last year's report, more games were released in five months than in 2013, 2014 years ago. At the same time, the mobile app Store is more mature, the application is more and more, the second generation of the game host digital distribution market also shows the same trend.

Developers have long understood that they can release their own games. But many developers find that their games are overwhelmed by the huge numbers of games in the market. How do I solve this problem? Developers consider returning to the Publisher proxy mode.

Mike · Mike Wilson is an established game publisher whose company Devolver Digital has released independent games such as the Miami Hot Line, the sky Luftrausers and the Talos law (the Talos Principle). On this trend, he says, game publishers have always been important to the industry, but the days are not as good as they used to be.

"Publishers can bring value to developers, " Wilson said . The problem is that they have been overly demanding or controlling developers. Most of the developers we work with know that they can live without publishers. But if publishers can build a fair trade relationship with developers on the basis of mutual respect and trust, it will be beneficial to both sides. ”

Devolver Digital has positioned itself as an independent publisher, not only because it is distributing games for independent developers, but also because its target audience is small, independent studios that operate at low cost, It is not only the game that sells millions copies that is successful. "For developers, bloated, huge distribution companies are not necessarily ideal partners, because in the old business model, whoever has the money is the boss," Wilson said. ”

veteran game developer and indie game publisher Cliff · Harris (Cliff Harris) is the founder of a personal operator named Positech. He has developed and distributed his own games, including democracy and the gratuitous Space War (battles), but since tiniest shark's Sequoia, it has recently launched its own indie game. Interestingly, he claims to have Positech transformed into a distributor, in part because of his aggressive marketing of his own services. But overall, "more developers are considering working with independent publishers compared to a few years ago." ”

Harris pointed out that as the game market became the Red Sea, the role of publishers also changed. " The game's exposure is the biggest challenge for independent developers. In the past, developers have been paying more attention to funding and commercialization advice, and now they are raising the focus of their own games and making them stand out as their main concern. "Most start-up developers have very little PR and marketing experience, and they see a number of instances where the game is released but is completely ignored by the player," Harris said. ”

the Lamy? Rami Ismail's Studio Vlambeer has since released such games as "wonderful fishing", but it still gives Devolver Digital the release of the Sky Raider. Ismail is a particularly commercially minded independent developer who believes that although many developers currently choose publishers, publishers are not necessary. "The exposure rate is a problem because there are now more games than before. Although publishers can help you, they operate in much the same way as developers. ”

Whether it is an independent issue or a joint issue with a publisher depends on what kind of service the developer wants to get. Developers who want the game to be successful in the marketplace have to weigh their needs against the services that the Publisher can provide and determine whether their services are worth your money. " I still believe that if you can make high-quality and unique things, it's best to do it yourself," said Ismail. "But there is no absolute answer to the question of whether a publisher is needed."

David Edery, CEO of David Edry , a developer of the game industry, says: "The current issue is harder than it was two years ago or even four years ago." "His studio will also choose to be issued in conjunction with the issuer, since its release. "That means you don't need publishers to generalize." He added: "For example, no matter how competitive the mobile game market is, but if your game is small and beautiful, original, financial expectations are not too much, and the relationship with Apple and Google is good, then you do not have to find the publisher." ”

for Adeli, the demand for the popular trader is closely related to the project risk. " If we are doing a high-risk, high-return project, then the Publisher is an ideal partner who can provide funds to help us reduce risk, provide development advice and product analysis, and help us get more users to achieve maximum return." If the project is low-risk and low-return, then finding the publisher doesn't seem to make much sense. " Dog planing Learning Network report!"

Unity Game's North American market survey independent developers return to publisher mode