⚾️ 9 things I learned pitching my game to publishers
I recently pitched my game Pixel Washer to a handful of notable game publishers. There's so much I learned during this process that I thought would help developers like me, so here we are.
I don't want to name names for risk of offending anyone or whatever. I talked to about a half dozen publishers over several months but I'll list just two that I think wouldn't mind being mentioned:
Devolver Digital because they're awesome, and Armor Games because it sounds like the publishing division was at least partially shut down (I was sad to read this because they were an exceptionally kind and talented team). The other publishers ranged somewhere between these two, with one that had just signed its first game.
Here are 9 things that I learned during this process:
A Caveat
I'm not an expert at this. My experience is mostly with small to medium sized publishers, and definitely leaning towards the indie spectrum. Your mileage may vary, and your experience will definitely stray from mine, so take my thoughts with a large grain of salt. You've been warned!
1) Publishers prefer standard game engines
Publishers prefer industry-standard game engines. These are the engines you'd expect: Unreal, Unity, GameMaker, and Godot is picking up steam. Why? Because industry standard tech is a known quantity. Publishers are probably experienced with these tools and have developers in mind who have shipped with those tools and could offer advice or help if needed.
If you've got a custom engine like I do with Pixel Washer, that's a black box to them. Anything non-standard they call an exotic engine, and it could be a reason they don't sign. They're not sure what your strange new engine can do and what strengths or weaknesses it has. They also don't know how long things might take with your engine.
That said, publishers are reasonable people, they (sometimes) know awesome games when they see them, and if you've got an amazing custom engine like that used in Noita or something, then they might be fine with whatever.
All things being equal, however, they'd probably rather you were using Unity or Unreal so they know what to expect. The more "exotic" the engine, the riskier it is.
Never forget: all games are risky investments. Some just less so than others.
Nolla Games
Noita is powered by the Falling Everything Engine.
2) Publishers are fine with solo developers
As a solo dev, I was a little worried that some of these big publishers wouldn't want to talk to me. Something about being a one-person shop feels a little illegitimate or unprofessional somehow, doesn't it?
The good news is that pretty much every publisher I talked to explicitly stated that they either have worked with solo developers or have no reservations about doing so. It seems like it's generally known that, once in a while, a solo dev will make a huge hit of a game (and publishers want to get in on that!).
Wanna be a solo dev? Boyyyyyyyy do I have the book for you.
3) Publishers do (almost) everything
Publishers generally offer any non-development service you could imagine. Localization, QA, marketing, and whatever else, they'll do it. Every single publisher I talked to had no problem covering absolutely everything I asked about.
Even if they don't have in-house talent for a given category, they likely have the connections and resources to contract someone or outsource to another company.
In general publishers just want you to make the game and they'll support you the best that they can. Sometimes ... they can even help with development! They work with lots of developers and have many connections that could help.
Matt Hackett
Hey Make the Game that's the name of my podcast.
4) Publishers care about localization
Localizing your game into several different languages can be a huge boost to your game's sales, and publishers are typically savvy enough to know this.
For that reason they'll be interested to know what the state of localization is in your game. Do you have some external way to edit the strings (or language tokens) in your game? How many strings are there? They'll want to know these things to help them estimate costs and figure out how to market your game.
If you're targeting Steam, highly desired languages include Chinese, Korean, and Japanese (but each genre and publisher will care about different languages).
This timestamp links straight to Chris Zukowski talking about localization. Hi Chris!
5) Publishers care about cross-platform
Every publisher I talked to wanted to release on Steam, but why stop there? A game that hits on Steam could do well on other platforms like Xbox, PlayStation, and ya know, mobile platforms, if that makes sense for your game.
It's also cheaper to ship on another platform than it is to create a brand new game.
One approach that publishers take is Steam +1, meaning releasing on Steam plus one additional platform (the most common one currently being Nintendo Switch).
Ideally, your game is a huge hit that's available on day one on every single major platform. That's quite difficult to pull off, especially for solo developers, which is another thing that makes working with a publisher appealing. If you're aiming to be on all platforms at once, a publisher can ease that process for you.
Pixel Washer is coming to Steam! And ... maybe something else too someday.
6) Publishers care about major marketing beats
Publishers think about how to sell your game. To get the attention of players and press, they'll leverage marketing beats, which are notable moments regarding your game and its releases. Potential marketing beats include:
- Announcement of your game
- Release of your first demo
- Inclusion in Steam Next Fest (or any event)
- Official release date announcement
Some publishers are primarily interested in unannounced games so that they can control the announcement marketing beat. Perhaps they could get an exclusive platform partner to boost the announcement, or have other plans to help it make a big splash.
Other publishers would prefer that you've been developing your game in the open, gathering followers and wishlists. Every publisher and game are different, so your mileage here will vary, but keep in mind that some roads can't be uncrossed ...
Since a game can only be in one Steam Next Fest, for example, publishers probably don't want your game to have already been in one. A Steam Next Fest is a huge marketing beat. It's a chance to earn loads of wishlists, so they'd likely rather be involved to help it succeed. If you have already participated in one, they might be OK with it, so long as you have lots of wishlists to show for it!
The thing is, some publishers aren't going to care about Steam Next Fest or whatever else, because they just love your game (and/or you or your team). All these little details will melt away when a publisher truly wants to work with you.
7) Publishers care about wishlists
Publishers prefer large numbers of wishlists on Steam. Why wouldn't they? A wishlist is a signal of intent to purchase. A high wishlist count could indicate that a game could be successful, while a low count could suggest an indifferent audience.
Most indies I know are trying to get enough wishlists to make it into Steam's Popular Upcoming section, but that might not be enough for many publishers. They might want to see tens of thousands of wishlists before they start writing checks. Other publishers might not care as much and are more excited about your awesome game itself.
8) Publishers have vastly different budgets
They're both right.
So how much money do you want from a publisher to develop your game?
The range is dramatic. One publisher I talked to said that $60,000 USD was too high for their budget. Another said they typically sign at around $300,000 but have gone up to $2.5 million.
Keep in mind that a publisher's goal is not just to recoup these amounts, but to scale them 10x or even 100x!
There are tiny publishers with micro-budgets just as there are titanic publishers with billions of dollars at their disposal. It's a big ocean. If you're talking to Microsoft or Sony, the budgets for big studios can get into the hundreds of millions of dollars – but for us small teams we're typically talking about six figure deals.
Matt Hackett
9) Publishers can be slow (and cold)
Publishers tend to be slow to respond, with many weeks or sometimes months between communications. I've had publishers reach out initially very excited, have a call or two with me, then disappear for months without responding ... only to suddenly appear again and continue their excitement.
This is a direct quote from a publisher:
yes, count us in!
... and then they ghosted me for many months.
Talking to publishers seems a bit like dating, where emotions are high, multiple parties are involved, and things tend to happen at a snail's pace. Just try to be patient with the process.
My advice is to do your best but assume that no deal will happen. One publisher said straight-up that they sign with less than 1% of the developers they talk to. The likely outcome is that you'll get ghosted or rejected, but it could all be worth it.
It could.
Should you seek a publisher or self-publish?
So those are the 9 things I learned from talking to a handful of publishers, big and small, over a period of about 6 months. If it sounds like a lot, it is! It takes a surprising amount of time to communicate, schedule, prepare pitch decks, distribute demos, all that.
This is all time that could instead be spent on the game. Which begs the question:
Would we all be better off self-publishing?
When you self-publish, your destiny is your own. Do whatever you want! Put your game on more platforms, discount it as often or as much as you like, update it whenever and however you like. You retain complete control.
For some, getting your game funded could be the difference between getting to make it or not. A publisher could make your dream game happen!
With the right publishing partner, your revenue could be much higher than it would be on your own. Marketing could be less stressful and far more successful.
Maybe most importantly, publishers have connections at platforms like Steam, Apple, and Microsoft, which can open doors for you that you didn't even know existed.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck out there!
Sean McKenzie
Big thanks to my friend Sean McKenzie for feedback on this article. Subscribe here!
