Acquiring Funds
Funding Strategies
- Self-Fund
- Grants
- Crowdfund
- Accelerators or Incubators
- Investor or Publishing deals
Self-Fund it
Work a Full-Time Job and use your savings to fund the project.
Fundraise from Close Family, Friends, & Colleagues
- Fundraising through Friends / Family / Colleagues
- Being able to talk and network with others is critical to building a community of fundraisers.
- Only follow-up if they ask about your project and are willing to support it.
Apply for Grants
Government Grants
Epic Mega Grant
Outersloth Grant
Crowdfund it
Partner with a Publisher or Investor
Work with a Publisher or Investor to pay you to finish the game in exchange for a cut of the revenue or equity in the studio.
Research Publishers and Investors
- Find a publisher that publishes games with a similar genre and/or art style as the game you are making.
- Your game should align with the publisher's portfolio.
Make a Pitch Deck
- Make your Pitch clear, concise, detailed, and marketable.
- Show a working prototype, a solid concept, concise design descriptions, and captivating screenshots or videos.
- Introduce the team, their roles, and experience. Instill confidence that you are a successful team.
- State a release window, what you need from the publisher / investor, and a breakdown on how the money will be spent.
- If possible, show your community's growth overtime to convey that there is an interested audience.
- If possible, state a realistic revenue target and the potential Return on Investment for investors.
You have 5 seconds to impress a publisher. The two most important things
- Concept art, gif, screenshots, trailer.
- Snippet of what the game is about.
If the publisher is not impressed, or the game does not align with their catalogue of games they publish, you will get rejected.
If you make it past the initial impression, they will look into the studio / team background. If your team is capable, they will likely negotiate a deal.
- Prior shipped project / completed work.
Dont be the idea guy and just ask for money to make a prototype with no prior background.
Pitch Your Game
- Contact the Publisher / Investor via Email or Web Form and submit your Pitch.
Review the terms of the Contract
Publishers will draft the inital contract with terms that are favorable to them. You also want to verify the expectations and deliverables from both your team and the publisher. It's highly advised to review the contract and to consult a lawyer on the terms.
The Top 5 things to have in a publishing contract are:
- Milestone schedule & deliverable expectations
- Revshare & Recoup structure
- Terms of Termination
- How Changes in Deliverables are Settled
- Commitments of the Publisher
Don't Expect Publishers Will Save Development.
Investors are business partners, not business savers. Investors invest in something that is already proven to make money or grow an audience. Then, the investor will help you take it to the next level.
The revenue from initial sales should cover initial costs. You will need investors if you want to make future investments or leap into a bigger market. Demonstrate that your business is already successful and stay successful. If the investor wants to help with the process, they can join. Nobody wants to get on a train that hasn’t started. They want to get on a train that’s about to leave the station.
Sources
The Importance Of Contracts and Their Content (An Indie Dev Perspective)
| Crystal Sciarrino
Before You Sign That Publishing Contract… Watch This | Ft. Brandon Huffman | Devoted SpeakEasy Ep36