Game development Publishing agreements Publishing agreements As in all creative industries, What is a publisher commercial success for a new game agreement? can seem stubbornly elusive. An indie studio, full of talent, may come Fundamentally, a publisher up with an idea that’s a guaranteed agreement is entered into between hit. But without the funds to make it a game developer and a game into the masterpiece it deserves to publisher to enable the developer to be or to run an ad campaign to get their game out into the world and generate hype, let alone the make sales. In exchange for cash, contacts and the leverage to get marketing and distribution support it to the right players on the right from the publisher, the developer platforms, it may never even get grants the publisher certain rights in off the ground. Some developers the game, typically in addition to a may wish to take the risk, go it alone share of sales revenue. and self-release, but many turn The more rights granted by to outside assistance. the developer, the more control the publisher obtains over the This is where game publishers developer’s creation and its come in. With deeper pockets, exploitation, but the greater the extensive networks and a wealth potential cost to the publisher. of industry experience, publishers Ultimately, the outcome of can be the ticket to topping the negotiations may be largely download charts. But this all comes determined by the relative at a price. In order to unlock the bargaining power of the parties, benefits on offer from a publisher, particularly where the publisher is they’ll expect something in return, a large established player. That and this quid pro quo can look very said, if a gaming property is hot different depending on the enough, publishers may need to outcome of negotiations. give ground in order to get the deal through. 38