Submitted by Judge_T t3_11djy8l in explainlikeimfive
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Donohoed t1_ja922ri wrote
They advertise and essentially endorse the game. A small time developer can publish their own video game, but they're going to get a lot more sales by having a bigger name backing their funding and attaching their name to it. It's similar to someone self-publishing a book they wrote. A lot of those are never heard of, but going through a large publisher whose sole purpose is making it a success financially will be a lot more profitable
Judge_T OP t1_ja946j9 wrote
Could you go into a bit more detail? I mean, a book publisher actually prints books and has them shipped to bookstores. But a game on Steam doesn't need to be printed or distributed, and Steam barely has any ads in the first place. So a videogame publisher does, what? Just the ads? Are they basically just an advertising agency specialized in videogames?
Twin_Spoons t1_ja97fp1 wrote
The marketing component is big. Getting the game talked about in the spaces that potential customers frequent is hugely important but also requires a lot of resources and connections that developers don't often have. It's not just paid ads but trailers, criticism, launch events, merch, engagement from Twitch streamers, and all the other pieces of the hype engine. The difference between all the good games you've never played and all the mediocre games you have played is mostly marketing.
Also, like book or music publishers, video game publishers may also advance some money to the developers to fund the development of the game, working essentially as venture capital.
Judge_T OP t1_ja99oeg wrote
>Also, like book or music publishers, video game publishers may also advance some money to the developers to fund the development of the game, working essentially as venture capital.
Ok. Venture capital usually works by taking a percentage of a funded company's ownership (in the form of stock) in exchange for the cash. In the case of the videogame publisher, what do they get exactly - full ownership of the game's franchise including any control over future sequels, DLC, etc? Or do the developers retain some property rights (like an author would do when selling a book to a publisher)?
Also, I'm not at all downplaying the importance of marketing and funding, but basically this is all that a publisher does? Do they get involved with the actual creation of the game in any way, or with the way that the developer team does stuff?
Yancy_Farnesworth t1_ja9fyc0 wrote
Publishers basically do whatever it is the developers need them to do. Most of the time it's funding because making games is expensive. They will offer other services to developers depending on the situation.
Some games are completely developed independently by the developers and the publisher only deals with distribution and marketing. This extends from simply listing games on Steam to all the legal paperwork and lawyers needed to negotiate contracts with distributors like Steam. The publisher also tends to have a lot of existing relationships that they've built over years for marketing/selling. Something that is very expensive/time consuming for a small developer to invest in, especially if they have never done so before. This is fairly common with indie games.
In other cases publishers will advise developers on games. For example, highlighting that some gameplay features might not work in the general public. Companies like Paradox, given their general focus on strategy games, could provide a lot of useful insight to developers. Whether or not the developer takes the advice depends on the nature of the relationship. Sometimes publishers can dictate what the dev does, seeing as the publisher usually funds the game. Other times they take a more hands-off approach.
Publishers also have access to a lot of other resources beyond financial/legal/etc. For example, they might have access to a really powerful game engine that a developer could use if they decide to build a game on it. Or maybe they have a large artistic group that a developer could leverage. You can see this in EA where they publish games and the publisher itself owns a number of dev studios around the world. They tend to share employees and tools like the Frostbite engine.
This is all to say that there's a lot work aside from writing code/making art that goes into making a game. Publishers offer developers a way to navigate that with someone that has experience doing that a lot.
Judge_T OP t1_ja9trg8 wrote
Thanks! A couple more questions for you and anyone else who'd like to chip in:
1.) What sort of deals do publishers get for the games they publish? e.g. a literary publisher will get the right to sell and distribute an individual book, but the author largely retains control of the "franchise", in the sense that the publisher couldn't just override them one morning and commission a sequel to someone else or change the ending to the novel. How does it work for game developers? Do they also retain some form of artistic control, or do they surrender everything related to the game?
2.) In the literary world, it's always the authors who go courting the publishing houses. Is it the same in the gaming world, or do publishers actively seek out smaller game studios? And how do the parties communicate? Is there the equivalent of literary agents doing the intermediation?
3.) I'm having a hard time imagining a large publishing house giving a small developer access to resources like game engines and even employees for a game that evidently doesn't have anything to show for itself yet. How does that process work? Does the developer team need to prove itself first by creating one or two successful games before they can hope for the endorsement of a publisher, or can a pitch be so strong that they get these resources even with little more than a game concept to go on?
Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far for helping lift the veil of my ignorance!
Yancy_Farnesworth t1_ja9yiz5 wrote
There's no fixed standard. Publishers usually do things their own way and it will depend on the situation. For example, Microsoft approached acquiring Bungie for Halo to launch the XBox. Sometimes studios are running low on funds, so they seek a publisher to support them until the game launches. They can reach out to each other directly, there are usually entire teams whose job is to manage these relationships. Alternatively, they could have networking events in industry conventions like the GDC (Game Developers Conference).
For 3 specifically they don't do this randomly. They will negotiate terms for a contract that both parties will have to sign. It's a contract where the publisher is selling their services for a price. In the software world, outright IP theft of things like game engines is rare because it's really easy to get caught. The publisher really only has to look at the distributed game to spot clear markers of it being based on Frostbite. Having a past record of good projects will definitely give the developers an easier time negotiating a contract over someone that doesn't. A publisher could definitely opt to publish a game with only a pitch from a studio with no experience if they wanted to. It's just not likely and more often than not they're going to ask for at least some evidence that they're not wasting their time.
usrevenge t1_ja9xxm4 wrote
Generally.
Publishers fund all or part the game, advertise the game, and give logistical support for the game.
In return publishers take a share of the money the game earns.
Depending on the publisher they can make demands on the developers or won't.
Like ea for example generally has a hands off approach..they give the dev team a bag of money and then say make your game but I expect 2 bags of money back idc how your get it.
Other companies especially in the past had rules. Like in older days publishers would force games to be difficult so you couldn't beat the game if you rented it
Judge_T OP t1_ja9zx4e wrote
>Like ea for example generally has a hands off approach..they give the dev team a bag of money and then say make your game but I expect 2 bags of money back idc how your get it.
Sounds awfully a lot like a fetch quest, no wonder these guys produce videogames lol
PrionBacon t1_ja99r81 wrote
There are two situations:
If the game is almost developed or already released, the developers can get support from a publisher to aid in marketing and distribution. It's uncommon for a development team to have any marketing talent so it's best left for the experts at the publisher. Distribution also means help in porting the game to different platforms like mobile and console with a separate development team. An example of this is Stardew Valley that had great success on PC but needed publisher help for porting to other platforms.
The second situation is where the publisher helps fund the game development. You can take a bank loan to fund your own game but you will be on the hook to pay off that loan. If the game doesn't do well, you might end up homeless and poor. Publishers take on that risk when funding developers. If the game does poorly, at least the developers were paid for making the game. In return, the publishers have some control over the development process for good or for worse. The developer also has access to the publisher resources like in-house game engines, knowledge/talent, and QA teams during development.