Many view publishers as a necessary evil in the gaming industry, funding games but at the same time keeping titles confined to categories that are known to sell well. While escaping dependency on publishers seems like a pipe dream, Gabe Newell has a different idea for how games could be funded.
"One of the areas that I am super interested in right now is how we can do financing from the community," explains the Valve founder to Good Game [thanks Destructoid]. "So right now, what typically happens is you have this budget -- it needs to be huge, it has to be $10 million - $30 million, and it has to be all available at the beginning of the project. There's a huge amount of risk associated with those dollars and decisions have to be incredibly conservative."
"What I think would be much better would be if the community could finance the games," he proposed. "In other words, 'Hey, I really like this idea you have. I'll be an early investor in that and, as a result, at a later point I may make a return on that product, but I'll also get a copy of that game.' So move financing from something that occurs between a publisher and a developer. Instead have it be something where funding is coming out of community for games and game concepts they really like."
This idea is all well and good, and could potentially work for smaller projects, but it's honestly hard to imagine a group of gamers coming together to agree on what should work in a $10 million - $30 million product.
5 Comments
July 21, 2009
This is how the very excellent Mount and Blade from Paradox Interactive was financed.
So - it can work.
ps Amazing melee combat in it - particularly if you're fighting from horseback.
July 21, 2009
pps Forgot - actual developer (who distributed the early beta back in 2005 and financed the rest of the project from sales of the progressively more complete beta) was Taleworlds Entertainment.
July 21, 2009
This is a great idea, despite the fact it was obviously concluded due to the industry and (some) of the investors in rough shape financially right now.
If it was ever put in place for the majority of projects though, I have a feeling a lot of the cheaper shovelware/games directed to more casual/younger gamers would be shot to shlt, which are sort of needed to make the industry go round... =\
July 22, 2009
Agreed with you Dan - this kind of funding is probably only going to work best with slightly niche products aimed at people who have a credit card :-)
July 22, 2009
Good point Dan.