Non-solicitation it needs to cut its losses, the publisher may wish to be able to terminate Non-solicitation can be a concern for convenience, in which case the for developers given that during developer may require a kill fee in a long-term game development exchange for the publisher’s right project the publisher can work closely to do so. alongside the development team. As most of the larger publishers However termination is achieved or also have internal development comes about, the parties will want studios, it’s not uncommon for clarity on what happens as a result. publishers to approach and recruit The developer will want its rights key development personnel after the in the game to revert so it is free to completion of a development project take the game elsewhere, while the in order to secure their knowledge publisher will want to retain as many and ongoing services. A developer of its benefits (eg ongoing royalty may wish to include relevant payments) as possible, as well as restrictions against this. being free to fulfil any contractual obligations it has already entered Termination into with third parties. Finally, the agreement should allow While both developers and publishers parties to walk away if things aren’t want the game to succeed, they may working out. For example, if a game have different priorities on a number underperforms in terms of sales or of issues which will need to be critical reception, the developer may considered and negotiated. Finding wish to be able to terminate and a balance that both parties are take its game to another publisher. comfortable with is the key to a However, this would need to be good deal and a fruitful partnership. balanced against the publisher’s need to recoup its investment and make a reasonable return. In case 44