To self-publish, or not to self-publish—that is the question.

—Hamlet the Developer, probably

Absolute control over the creative work and keeping all the rewards for oneself is every developer’s dream. But can you pull it off, or should you split the winnings (and risks) with a publisher? It depends on what does it take to complete the game, how much workload can you take, and how many hats can you wear at the same time.

If you’re reading this article, the day when you’ll post on social “WE’RE LAUNCHING TODAY!” is probably a long way ahead. You’ve got to think about working on the game (story, assets, development), and also about running the studio, marketing your game, and all the other business stuff.

That’s where the job of a video game publisher comes in.

In general, a publisher provides necessary funding, business advisory, marketing, in-house or outsourced services such as co-development and porting, and overall support during game development and following the release. As is the case with any other partnership, if you decide to work with a publisher you’ll need to make some compromises. 

In short, there are four ways to make and publish your video game:

1. do absolutely everything by yourself
2. build a studio with a skilled team
3. hire help for specific areas of business development
4. partner up with a publisher

Read on, weigh the pros and cons and decide what is best for your project.

Self-publishing a video game

Going at it solo (just you, your team, or partial outsourcing of tasks) comes with some great advantages, such as:

• Full creative control 
• Freedom to set your own constraints and game development timeline
• Your budget is fully at your disposal
• Possibility to experiment with new ideas and different aspects of game design
• Keeping all the revenue from your game to yourself

The drawback is that you will have to wear all of the hats and cover (or hire for):

• Development
• Asset production
• Team management
• Testing
• Marketing
• PR
• Porting
• Localization
• Legal
• Finance
• Partnerships
• Events
• Release & distribution

The first obstacle to overcome when thinking about alternatives will be to secure funding for your studio. The possibilities are through:

• an investor
• a crowdfunding campaign
• grant

What you’ll need to know before approaching any of these funding routes is how much funding you need. Putting together and launching a Kickstarter campaign might feel satisfying, but if the amount you’re looking for is an arbitrary one, you might find yourself unable to deliver what and when you’ve promised. If you’re unsure how to put together a budget and which expenditures to count in, use our budget template to get started.

If your requirements are low, you could get funding from friends and family, for a more substantial amount you could pitch angel investors, and for a mountain of cash you should pitch specialized investors and VCs who are specialized in the video games industry.

When you’ve secured initial or additional funding, the next obstacle is to learn or put together a team that can bring the game to life. A good thing about the early second decade of the third millennia is that you’re clicks away from learning what others before you have experienced. It is possible for you to learn plenty of new skills online for a relatively small cost over a period of time. If you’re looking to put together a team, that’s also much easier today than ever before with a wide and easy access to skilled individuals worldwide.

While it is possible, it’s anything but easy. Most of us have affinities to certain type of work, which is why we work with other people to complement each others’ skills and avoid the drudgery of the work we do not enjoy.

Besides having the necessary skills to do all of the above, the most troubling part is the constant juggling of different hats you’re wearing. In one day you might have to deal with bugs, posting on social, staying on top of financial and legal issues, and manage a team if you’ve built one.

Partnering with a publisher

The job of a publisher is to handle all things that you don’t want to deal with or do not know how to. Your expertise is in making the game, and theirs is in doing everything they can to make the game a success. This includes financing the development process, marketing the game, working with various platforms on the release, and providing a wide range of other services.

In return for financing and business assistance during the development and following the release of the game, publishers ask for revenue share that usually covers their investment (also known as recoup) and allows them to make profit which they invest in other games. 

The main benefit of partnering with a publisher is that they take on themselves all the boring and tiresome work you don’t want to do and allow you to focus completely on building your game. The main drawback is that usually it is not easy to find the right publisher.

To find the right publisher, first you need to know what would be a good fit for your game and studio. To spark your thinking, here are a few questions:

• how much experience in publishing (a specific genre?) should they have?
• what amount of funding do you need to complete the game?
• what services they need to be able to provide to make your game a success?
• could they help you with setting up and managing your own studio?
• how much involvement by a publisher in your creative process would you be comfortable with?
• what is an acceptable revenue share ratio for you (who gets how much money from the sales)?

It’s quite all right if you don’t have answers straight away, and there are certainly more questions that arise based on the specifics of your studio and game. Answering these questions will help you enter the publishing jungle with a compass and a map, instead of walking in blindly and getting all tangled up after a few steps.

After you have answered these fundamental questions, you might ask yourself when should you start looking for a publisher?