5 ways to fund your game

To develop a billion-dollar game project in the market, game developers require financial resources. Here are 5 ways to fund your game that you can consider for financing your project.  

1. Self-Funding to fund your game

Self-Funding is the most common and easiest way to fund your game. In this approach, you will use funds from your personal assets or from relationships around you to invest in the game. The advantage of this method is that game developers do not have to deal with additional pressure from external parties during the game development process.

In reality, many game developers do not have enough financial resources for self-funding. One of the ways they have done this is to find an additional job to generate income. However, this can make it challenging for many people to balance between multiple jobs, resulting in developers being unable to fully focus on building the game.

If you have effective time management methods, you can consider finding another job. Otherwise, there’s no need to worry. There are still other ways to fund your game available for you.

2. Find game publishers to fund your game 

Here is the method of finding publishers to invest in your game project. Specifically, the publisher will support the costs for developing your game. Of course, nothing comes for free. When your game project is released, they will recoup these costs and other testing expenses. Simplistically, this can be seen as an advance against future project revenue. Additionally, in some terms, you may have to give the publisher an additional share of the game’s future revenue.

In addition to financial support, you also gain significant value in terms of promotion and player acquisition. Furthermore, publishers are also willing to provide you with additional resources to develop the lifecycle of your game.

To avoid future disadvantages, you need to find reputable publishers. It’s essential for both parties (the publisher and the game developer) to have clear and detailed contract negotiations with each other. Note that thoroughly reviewing and researching the terms and your rights in the contract with the publisher is extremely necessary.

3. Grants game developer

Grants for game developers are one of the ways to fund your game and gain strong financial resources and promotion for your game. Currently, there are many funds available that are willing to invest in projects with strong potential for future development. These funds can include independent funds, non-profit organizations, or government-funded grants. In general, each type of grant will have different characteristics and requirements. Here is a list of grants you can consider:

• Indie Fund: A successful group of developers who have established a fund to invest in indie games.
• IndieCade Foundation: A non-profit organization that supports game developers worldwide.
• UK Games Fund: A non-profit organization that provides financial support to developers in the UK.
• Fig: A crowdfunding and publishing platform focused on community support.
• Unreal Dev Grants: A creative project development fund worth $5 million for those using UE4.

Overall, these grants are a competitive investment option for games and require various factors to be considered. Therefore, game developers need to invest time and effort into researching suitable grant opportunities. This will allow them to be well-prepared and increase their chances of success.

4. Crowdfunding

If you are looking for ways to fund your game development, crowdfunding is a viable option. This means you need to reach out to a large number of gamers through platforms such as Indiegogo, Kickstarter, and GoFundMe. Specifically, you will be appealing to gamers to contribute or invest small amounts in your game.

Crowdfunding campaigns usually offer various incentives or rewards to backers based on their level of contribution. These rewards can range from early access to the game, exclusive in-game items, or even special recognition in the game credits.

However, crowdfunding from the community is a highly competitive environment. Not all campaigns achieve their funding goals as desired. To gain support and funding for your game, it is essential to create a captivating and informative crowdfunding campaign page. This page should effectively communicate your game concept, feature gameplay footage or concept art, and emphasize the advantages of supporting your project.

5. Find investors for you game

The final method I want to introduce to you is investors. Here, you will approach investors to persuade them to fund your game project. Through researching the potential for project development and risks, you and the investors will come to an agreement. This typically includes the amount of money the investors will contribute to you and the equity they will receive in return.

The benefits of this investment method are that you receive both funding and the guidance of investors to help your project grow rapidly. However, game developers will face significant pressure from investors. If investors withdraw from the project, you may encounter financial difficulties in continuing the project.

FAQs 

Here are some questions related to ways to fund your game that you should consider:

How many types of crowdfunding are there?

There are four main types of crowdfunding: donation, equity, debt, and revenue. Generally, each type of crowdfunding has different implementation methods and advantages. Depending on the project’s goals, each game developer will choose the appropriate crowdfunding model.

How much does it cost to fund your game?

There is no specific figure for this. The amount of money needed to fund your game depends on the scale and goals of your project. According to data from developers, they typically need at least $100,000 to sustain game development.

How do you get funding for a video game?

The article above has suggested 5 ways to fund your game. Except for self-funding, the remaining methods require developers to demonstrate the potential for project success in order to attract external investment.

How do I find an investor for my game?

Firstly, you need to research a list of all investors in the game industry. Next, you only select a few investors who are capable and suitable for your project’s goals. At this point, you need to prepare a detailed presentation to persuade them to invest. Make sure to show them that this is a game with potential for future success and provide them with relevant information and details about your game company.

In Conclusion 

This article has suggested 5 ways to fund your game. Overall, each investment method has its own advantages and disadvantages, which have been detailed above. Depending on your goals and direction, you can choose the most suitable investment approach for your game. Ultimately, we hope you will secure the funds to develop your game successfully.