Game Development Stack Exchange
Game Development Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [business]

Business refers to the operations of a company in the context of game development; this includes planning and strategy as well as execution.

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Why are people developing and publishing games online without charging money?

What's the incentive of sharing games one designs themselves for free online such as itch.io? I see people doing this and I don't understand.
feynman
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What pitfalls should one look out for when starting a studio

What are the common mistakes or oversights made when starting a new game studio? Please only one mistake or oversight per answer and if you can explain why it is an issue and what one should do to avoid falling into the mistake or recover if they've…
lathomas64
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As an indie developer, what should I learn about the business end of game development?

I assume I should look into intellectual property law, copyright law, and money management, but what else would be good to know? My ideal goal is to be able to handle all legal/monetary business internally, without hiring an outside lawyer.
Shanghai
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What type of legal entity do I need for my game company in the USA?

I'm the leader of a group of 4 of us that are contributing to a game and it has come to my attention that we will eventually need some kind of official title or something along those lines. We've agreed on a name, and we've already got a domain name…
Radai
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UK Indie studio registration

I'm from the UK and I've just about completed making an indie game and had some interest from several online retailers that sell games. This requires me filling in a basic contract. I'm just one guy who works from home as a hobby, I go by a studio…
user961882
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Are there any good blogs or articles on the business of indie games?

Interested in both successes and failures (and semi-successes). Maybe this might be better at OnStartups but I think the game market is quite a bit different than the business market that's prevalent there (i.e. selling something that's fun instead…
Davy8
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What sort of GDC pass (if any) is best for a cash-strapped indie?

I'm doing a web game startup with one other person. We support ourselves with contract programming. I'm considering attending GDC for the first time, but we're really tight on cash. Money spent on passes and plane tickets slows our startup's…
warbaker
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share distribution question

I just developed a facebook game(mifia like), but the graphics I made are not good, because it is reference with some existing photo, trace with AI, and coloring it. Therefore, I invited my friend to join me, he is a graphic designer, owns a…
facebook-100000781341887
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Why is professional game development harder in Europe?

In comparison to the U.S.A., there seem to be far less leading or successful game companies in Europe. The recent salary survey of GameCareerGuide shows that the average salary of a games programmer in Europe is only 46k versus 80k in the U.S.A.…
Nef
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Partnership vs. Limited Partnership vs. LLC for not-serious gamedev project

Me and one friend are getting close to releasing our first game to the App Store. Right now we're registered as a "partnership" with the IRS. I don't expect to make much money, and I have a day job so it doesn't matter too much anyway. In this…
Jan
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How to calculate how much revenue a game will make?

Let's say I've made a game X. Things we know about the game: It's a board game Game will run on PC, Macs, iOS and Android Sold through Steam, App Store and Google Play store Turn based Has few to none competitors on the market High-quality…
Creative Magic
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Would a company take a game pitch seriously if they were pitched a fully finished game?

Let's say hypothetically that I had a fully realized and functioning game using a well known IP (a character from Nintendo or from another company, for instance), where the game is finished and wouldn't have any development time, would they…
user108317
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how to make sure a developer is working effectively?

Let's say I hire some developer or an artist for a project, and that I pay him hourly. How am I supposed to know how many hours he worked for the content he provides to me ?
aqww
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Have there been precedents where a closed-source game maker adopted user-made code (major overhaul)?

I'm interested to learn if there have been notable cases of a game maker accepting code or game engine portions developed by fans to replace their own buggy/flawed/slow parts, or even complete game remakes that turned official. For open-source games…
user1306322
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Shall we create our game engine in this case?

Although my friend and I are not interested in game development, we like creating tools. We would really like to give life to our own game engine, however, we don't want to put effort into something useless. Develop something what can be used by…
user80870
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