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How To Start A Game Company: 7 Simple Steps

After reading this article, you're going to learn...

So if you're a game dev, and you're developing a commercial game for the purpose of building a profitable game studio, then below are seven steps you need to take.

My name is Dariusz. I know exactly what it's like to have a full-time job, go home, and work on projects in the evening -- only to see NOTHING of it. I know what it's like to work hard for four years and feel like crap because I made no income. I know how it feels to be inexperienced in business. I know how it feels to fail.

But I figured it out. In 2006 I had a breakthrough. And since 2006, I've learned business strategies such as market research, product planning, digital marketing, building communities, and launching digital products. And I have had 3 successful startups doing creative work that have supported me and my family financially.

But this isn't about me. This is about you and how to start a profitable game studio.

So let me use my 17+ years of experience in starting successful companies, and show you exactly how to grow your game studio in 7 simple steps...

First, Why Games Fail...

Most games fail because they were created by somebody who had NO idea what the market wanted... and they blindly created what THEY wanted.

When we create what WE want without knowing what the market wants, then we have to talk someone into buying it. We have to SELL our idea. We have to convince people to buy it.

But the game devs who succeeded mixed a little of both: they made a game that they want to make and matched that to what the market wants.

And instead of trying to talk a player into buying your game... instead of trying to "sell" your game... if you make a game that the market wants, all you have to do is show it to them.

This is essentially how you make a game that "sells itself".

Second, What To Look Out For In This Guide...

The following steps in this guide are designed to be easy to follow. You'll get a simple "roadmap" to follow. And I can honestly say that this is the best "business and marketing strategy guide" made specifically for game devs who have no idea how to start a game company.

And even though my goal is to help you and your game studio grow and become profitable -- this is NOT how to get rich quick. You have to work your ass off. And it takes time. And nothing is guaranteed. Business is a risk.

And even though these techniques are easy to execute, and these are the business and marketing strategies that worked for me, you are still responsible for your own work ethic and effort.

So, what I want you to look out for are ideas, techniques, insights, action plans that YOU think will work for you.

And I promise you that if you put an honest effort into taking these steps and executing them IRL, your game studio will grow.

So if you want tangible results like 1,000 Discord followers, or find a publisher to fund your game -- then that all depends on your willingness to work hard and execute the ideas I'm about to show you.

Ok, ready? Grab your favorite drink. Get comfy. Turn off notifications. Let's learn about how to start a successful game company!

Step 1: Market Research To Discover If There Is Any Demand For Your Idea

If you want to start a game studio that makes enough profits so that it supports you financially, then there is no getting around it -- you need to do market research before you do anything else.

And remember, most games fail because the person didn't take the time to find out if there was even a market for it.

So, the reason why you need to do market research before anything else is, if you get the market wrong, then nothing will help you.

And no amount of marketing, PR, branding, YouTuber influence, and convincing players how innovative and unique your game is, is going to work.

And if you get your market wrong, then you will waste months and years on a game that will probably not sell.

Of course you can accidentally find the right market. For example, look at Vampire Survivors. No amount of market research could have predicted it's huge success.

And of course, this is a dream outcome, hey?

The dream is to make a game, and despite all odds, no matter how saturated the market is, the game sells in the millions, and players and YouTubers spread word-of-mouth giving you free marketing.

But accidentally finding the right market, and banking on YouTubers to spread free marketing for you, is too much of a gamble. You don't want to bet the entire future of your game studio on HOPE.

Instead of hope, a better strategy is to deliberately find hidden markets that have high income potential.

How do you do this?

You've probably seen me talk about this (or other people, too), but the best resource is to use this tool:

Game Stats Tool

What you want to look out for is a low Game Count and a high Revenue Medium.

The reason is because this will tell you how saturated your potential market is, and how much potential income you could make.

For example, let's look at the Bullet Hell market...

games count and medium revenue for bullet hell, game market research

With over 3,000 games made, this genre is oversaturated. And with only $650 revenue medium, not a lot of games are sold.

BUT! Let's look at another market that has high income potential...

games count and medium revenue for bullet hell vs. roguelike deckbuilder, game market research

A Roguelike Deckbuilder is another story.

With under 400 games made, this tells me the genre is not oversaturated. And with over $11,000 revenue medium, this tells me players are buying games like this... and they want more!

But I'm not done...

Here's how to find hidden opportunities...

Say I wanted to make a Bullet Hell, because that's what I love and what I'm good at developing and designing. But when I see that my genre is oversaturated and the potential income is low, it's going to bum me out.

However...

What if I were to incorporate Roguelike Deckbuilding into my Bullet Hell? Maybe I can come up with a unique and innovative game that people don't know that they want yet.

Can I uncover a new opportunity?

Would it work!?

Maybe.

But I can't get too excited.

It would be a horrible idea to spend the next 6 months in production, working on my Bullet Hell Roguelike Deckbuilding game. I would waste my time because what I think is a good idea, the market might not.

Remember, the number one reason why games fail is because a developer made a game they wanted to make but never considered if it's what the market wanted.

So, before you or I start actual production, we need to...

Step 2: Identify Hidden Opportunities In Your Market By Talking To Players

As you progress through these steps, you are learning how to build a game that "sells itself".

And the goal isn't to make a "copy cat" game.

The idea is to make a game that creates a NEW category, a NEW genre, and dominates it. Think Dark Souls, Vampire Survivors, Rogue, Doom, Dear Esther, etc.

You can argue these games didn't invent their genres. But at least you can say they popularized the genre.

Anyway...

My other goal here so far is to make sure that you get the genre and market RIGHT, before you go into full production mode.

This is important because remember, most game studios fail because they got their market wrong.

And I get it... it's very tempting to start production as soon as you can... or at least start a prototype.

But the more time you spend in pre-production and validating your ideas, the better chances your game idea will be a success.

You're doing the work right now that will dramatically increase the chances of players finding you, following you, and buying your game at launch.

And by doing this extra pre-production work, you're also increasing your chances of finding a publisher.

So let's go back to my example...

I did my market research. I found a potential opportunity: Bullet Hell with Roguelike Deckbuilding.

But it would be a mistake to start production right now. I still need to test my ideas out with real people. I need to validate my idea.

Why?

Because I want to see if there is a hidden opportunity that no other game dev has thought of before. I want to see if there is any demand for my game idea. I want my game to breakout and "sell itself".

So, there is two ways to find if there is any hidden opportunities:

The first way is to find all the games that are similar to yours, and read player reviews.

So in my case, I would find games in the Roguelike Deckbuilding genre such as: Slay the Spire, Monster Train, Book of Demons, Hand of Fate, etc. And then go on Steam and read the reviews.

I'd do the same for Bullet Hell. I'd read the reviews for games like: Risk of Rain, Vampire Survivors, Nova Drift, etc.

What I'm looking for are problems people have in that genre. I'm looking for frustrations. I'm looking for challenges. I'm looking for pain points.

Reason I'm looking for any challenges, problems, pain points in my genre is because that is where the HIDDEN opportunities live.

Second, I would go to where these players hang out, and ask them questions.

So I'd go to subreddits such as r/roguelikes, r/deckbuildingroguelike, r/shmups, r/shmupchumps. And I'd get involved. And I'd ask questions. I'd ask people what would they think of a Bullet Hell with Roguelike Deckbuilding. I'd try to figure out their challenges, problems, and pain points they have in their favorite genre.

As I read reviews and talk to players, I write everything down. I call this document my "Player Insights".

I want to gather as much info as I can about what players WANT and NEED.

Why?

Because when you ask questions and write down what players say, you can use this info / data to help you create a highly marketable game.

We don't want to just hope our idea will take off.

You want to be deliberate and make sure that what you think is interesting is also interesting to other people.

Also, you want to see if there is any DEMAND for your game idea. If a lot of people say the same thing about what problems they are having, then you can use this info to help you create a game that solves those problems or gives a player what they want that they're not getting from other games.

Ok, next...

Step 3: Organize Your Ideas Into A Simple Product Plan That Is Easy To Understand

The goal is to make a game that "sells itself".

The goal is to find players looking for you.

The goal is to build an audience.

The goal is to find a publisher.

To do all this, then market research, talking to players, and product planning are vital.

These three are the trifecta.

These three are the "holy trinity".

  1. Market Research
  2. Talking To Players
  3. Product Planning

Without these three, you're guessing and hoping. Without these three, it will be very difficult to market your game and find a publisher.

So let's finish off the trifecta and get into Product Planning.

What is "Product Planning?"

Product Planning is basically taking everything you've learned in ...

1) Market Research

2) Talking To Players

...and using that info to help you design and develop a game people want.

But you're not coding or creating art assets just yet.

You'll open a Word Doc. And you'll organize all your thoughts and write down everything so far into a simple, easy to digest Product Plan.

If you're stuck, then here's a great write up on how to design a "Game Design Document":

How To Write A Game Design Document (GameDeveloper.com)

Product Plan, Game Design Doc...whatever you call it, it doesn't matter.

What matters is that you need to organize your ideas and thoughts onto something that is easy to understand.

And here's a tip that will help you write a design doc or product plan...

Be sure to be as concrete and tangible as you can.

The reason is, if you can't describe your game clearly, concretely, tangibly, then all your future marketing efforts will fail.

If you're too vague and abstract, then what you say can mean many different things to different people.

For example, say I'm making FOOD. That can mean many things to many people. But say I told you I'm making PIZZA. That is better. But it's still too abstract. Pizza means many things to many people. But if I say "Vegan pizza with hot peppers", then it's clear and tangible.

You want to be as tangible and clear as you can because that's how you grab attention.

For example, say you're trying to figure out your core game play loop, and you're having trouble being tangible and concrete.

To help you out, let's look at Dome Keeper's Steam capsule description:

dome keeper steam capsule description

Defend against waves of alien attackers in this innovative roguelike survival miner. Dig for resources and choose from powerful upgrade paths. Is there enough time to mine a little deeper and get back to defend before the monsters attack your dome?

Notice the last sentence. They could have easily said, "with a cool risk reward system". But they specifically spelled it out for you: dig deeper or run back and defend!

In less than one second, I understand the core game play loop.

So to help you do the same, do what I call the "Imagine Test".

It goes like this...

Say I ask you to imagine "food". What you think of will be way different than what I think or what thousands of other people think. That's because "food" is too vague, too abstract.

But say I ask you to imagine "vegan pizza with hot peppers", then it's not hard to imagine what I mean.

It's the same with your game.

Try to imagine a "risk reward system". It's hard to imagine what a "risk reward system" is or means because it's too abstract, too vague.

But let's say I said, "dig deeper or run back and defend".

In my mind, I can imagine, I can feel, I can see myself digging deeper and getting greedy and then feeling the stress of running back to defend my fort.

But I can't imagine "risk reward system".

When writing your Product Plan (or Design Doc), apply the "Imagine Test". Can you "imagine" yourself doing X?

Why is being concrete, tangible, clear so important?

Because when it comes to marketing your game, a player is NOT going to try to figure out what a "risk reward system" means. And the more abstract your game sounds, the more generic it sounds.

For example, a lot of games have a "risk rewards system"... so how is your game different?

So you need to know how to write and describe your game in a way that is clear, concrete, and tangible.

Being tangible now will help you later on when you market your game -- and when you approach publishers, too.

So, use what you've learned in...

1) Market Research

2) Talking To Players

...and use those insights, ideas, discoveries to help you write your Product Plan / Game Design Document. And be clear, concrete, and tangible when writing your product plan.

Ok, onward!

Step 4: Prototype And Test Again

The reason you're working so hard on...

1) Market Research

2)Talking To Players

3) Product Planning

...is because those activities are the LOWEST in investment but give you the HIGHEST in return.

What I mean is, by spending a few weeks on Market Research, Talking To Players, and Product Planning, then you'll know by the end of your efforts if you have a marketable game or not.

But what most game devs do is they will spend money, energy, and time into making a "polished" or "presentable" game or prototype. THEN they will go out and see if it's marketable or not.

You see, most game devs do it backwards. They put all the time and energy UP FRONT then test and see if their game is marketable... see if there is a market for their game.

They are essentially putting a lot of investment into something that may or may not give them a good return.

But what I'm trying to teach you is to work your way up, slowly, and discover if there is a market for your game with the LEAST amount of effort, time, and money.

I'm trying to show you that the "ideation" phase... the pre-production phase... is the most important part of game dev and growing your game studio.

It's the most important part because when you learn if your game idea is marketable... when you learn if there is even demand for your game idea... then you are VALIDATING your idea BEFORE spending months or years on a game project that may or may not work.

So good job so far!

Once you get past these three steps (Market Research, Talking To Players, Product Planning), then now you can start building your prototype.

And since you've done all the hard work, you basically have the "scaffolding" for your prototype done.

Let me explain...

One: You've found a market that has a high probability of income.

Two: You talked to players and found out what they want and need. You found out what your market is missing and what players want and don't want.

Three: You used that info to create a Design Document / Product Plan. You organized all your thoughts onto a single sheet of paper.

Now you can take all that and do what you do best: design and develop!

Again, use what you've learned in the three steps to help you create a game prototype. This is very important because all that work is the foundation of your game.

So, what is a prototype?

The prototype is the CORE of what your game is minus everything else. What is your game when you take away most of the art, music, story details, and sound? What's left? It's probably just game-play, a core game loop, and a simple story to give context.

Also, a good prototype is a self-contained, stand-alone, complete product. In other words, constrain your prototype to one level, or one area of your game. Focus on depth rather than length. Don't worry about details. Your focus is the CORE idea.

But make sure your prototype is a stand-alone, self-contained, complete product. It's the first area, first checkpoint, first story beat -- but it is COMPLETE.

For example, you're making a cake. Right now, all you're worried about is the taste and texture of the cake. You don't care about the shape, the color of the icing, the frilly icing design, the sprinkles, how many layers, the presentation. You're working on the "heart and soul" of the cake -- the taste and texture.

It's the same with your prototype -- get the core ideas done. It doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, it will be crude.

Look at The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild prototype...

The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild prototype was in 2d

Now, here's the most important part:

Remember how you talked to players in Step 2?

Remember how you interacted in those Reddit communities? Well now that you have some karma in those communities, you'll have an easier time asking for feedback -- because you've developed a relationship in that community.

Or if you found an online forum in your genre, and interacted with that community.

Well...

This is when you can share your prototype with them, and do more player research.

Don't worry about how ugly your prototype is. And don't worry about players who have no idea about the game dev process. Some people will give you bad feedback just because they assume your prototype is the final version.

I know this part is scary. Rejection sucks. Hearing bad feedback sucks. And it's hard to tell the difference between hateful feedback vs. negative feedback that is constructive.

But sharing your prototype with a small group of players (and NOT other game devs) is how you validate your idea.

You want to validate your idea because you don't want to HOPE that your game will sell. You want to know that your game will have a fighting chance when you eventually launch it.

Again, this is a low effort strategy that has a high potential of return. What I mean is, by testing your idea on a small scale, and finding what works and what doesn't, will help you create a game that is highly marketable -- a game that "sells itself".

Also, by testing your prototype this way, it means you can change things fast. Since your prototype is the core of your game without most of the art, music, and sound, you can iterate things faster.

It's a lot easier to change your mind and overhaul a major feature of your prototype than it is to do the same thing with a demo or an alpha build.

So go back to those communities. Go back and talk to those people you talked to, and show them your prototype.

Tell them, "hey, a few months ago I asked your opinion on my Bullet Hell with Roguelike Deckbuilding. I have a prototype done, and I'd like to hear your opinion. Here's the link to check it out..."

Ok, next...

Step 5: Turn Your Prototype Into A Polished "Tight 10-Minute Demo"

If you want players to join your community, you need something more valuable to give them than just screenshots and updates.

And if you want to attract publishers to fund your game, you need something more valuable than just ideas and prototypes.

And you can't wait two years when your game feels more polished or more presentable to start building your community or start approaching publishers.

You need to do this as SOON as you can. You need to create something of VALUE right NOW.

This is why creating a polished 10-minute demo is important.

Let me explain...

Remember, the idea here is to slowly work your way up, test small, and validate your idea BEFORE you spend months or years on a game project.

You want to validate your idea before you go into actual production because you don't want to spend 2 or 3 years on a game, then start trying to build your community and trying to find publishers.

You need a strategy that will get you there FASTER.

Let me show you what I mean...

Taking action and doing these 4 strategies...

1) Market Research

2) Talking To Players

3) Product Planning / Design Document

4) Create Prototype And Get Player Feedback

...will give you the highest probability of building a community and finding a publisher or get crowd funding.

But if game devs spend months or years and wait until they "feel" their game is polished enough to present to players and publishers, then they are gambling that their years of hard work will pay off.

They hope and gamble.

They believe that as long as they have a "polished" game or demo or prototype first, then that's when they will get "out there" and start talking to players and talking to publishers.

But this is a gamble because the idea hasn't been tested first... the idea hasn't been validated. Just because a game dev has a "polished" demo or game or prototype, it is not enough to grab a player's attention or find a publisher.

You first need to validate your ideas as early as you can, then slowly build up to the actual creation of your product, your game.

And that's what you're doing here.

You can't wait years for something presentable. You need something that is valuable and polished RIGHT NOW.

Here's how to create something of high value that grabs a player and publisher's attention right now...

If you want your game to grab a player's attention... if you want to attract the attention of publishers and get crowdfunding, you need to have something of VALUE.

And a demo is one of your most valuable market assets.

So what is a demo? The question seems simple, but there's more to it...

A demo is taking all your ideas and concepts and turning them into a COMPLETE product.

It's a self-contained, stand-alone, complete product that a player can USE and interact with.

And a self-contained, stand-alone game demo is more VALUABLE than a half-done, semi-complete, loose, alpha build.

And a demo is more valuable than screenshots, trailers, devlogs, and updates.

Why?

Because people have a hard time taking loose, semi-complete, abstract ideas or images and connecting the dots to an end product.

For example...

A player will have a hard time seeing your vision of your game, the end product, by just playing an alpha build. Their mind can't connect the unfinished version to the finished version like your mind can. That's because they are a consumer and you're the producer. You put more hours into your game than they did. They cannot see what you see.

It's the same with screenshots and trailers. A player will have a hard time understanding your cool new feature by just looking at a screenshot. It makes perfect sense to you why the feature is cool and fun. But again, being a producer, you're basically "living" your game. A player is a consumer. They've spend maybe 10 seconds looking at your screenshot. And 10 seconds is not enough for a player to understand your feature and let it sink in.

People don't have the time or brain energy to try and figure out why your game is fun, exciting, and worth playing.

But, if you have a "Tight 10-Minute Demo", all the mental work is done for the player.

All they have to do is sit back and EXPERIENCE the fun, excitement, the emotions that get them hooked.

That's why a demo is more valuable than screenshots, trailers, vlogs, updates, and even alpha builds.

Demos are more valuable because it's the FASTEST way a player can experience your game.

With screenshots, trailers, alpha builds, there is too much abstract between the player and your game.

Players can't have the same feeling by just looking at your screenshots, trailers or reading your devlog.

But with the demo, all abstraction is gone, and a player gets to experience your game -- actually feeling what your game can offer.

Here are some tips to make your "Tight 10-Minute Demo" as valuable as possible...

This is what Hallow Knight did. They made one level, polished and used that as their demo. They polished that first level it as if it was their final product. They put all their focus and time into that demo. All their effort went into "depth" and not length.

Also, Hallow Knight did the counter-intuitive thing: you could only play the demo if you were a Kickstarter backer. It wasn't available to anybody.

Your demo is your most valuable marketing asset. And the intuitive strategy is to give out your demo as freely as possible.

But like Hallow Knight, you can leverage your demo in a better way than just giving it out freely.

Let me explain that strategy, next...

Step 6: Build Community Using Your Demo As A Reason To Join

Ok, so you know how in Step 2 I had you talk to players? And you know how in Step 4, I had you test your prototype on players?

Well, you didn't know it at the time, but as you do this, you ARE building a community.

As you talk to people and ask them about what they hate about their genre, and you tell them that you're thinking of making a game that fixes that problem -- THAT person is going to want to follow you and see what you're up to.

Why?

Because if your game can help solve people's problems, and get them what they want when no other game is giving it to them, then players perk up and notice you.

You are trying something different that no game is giving them BUT is needed.

And since you've done all your market research, and you know what players want and don't want, and you've made a "Tight 10-Minute Demo", all you have to do is tell them about it.

You don't have to convince people. You won't have to try to sell them the idea.

Because you've done all this work in pre-production, you essentially made a game that "sells itself".

But your job isn't done yet. You can't just start production.

You NEED a community because it will help you at launch. And it will help you find a publisher.

So to help you build your community, your demo is your best marketing asset.

And you might be asking, where's the best platform for a community?

I'd say the technology doesn't matter. It can be Discord, Tik Tok, your own subreddit, email, newsletter.

The technology doesn't matter. What matters is that you have a centralized spot where your fans hang out.

But if you really wanted to know which platform does the best, I would say email is one of the best. That's because you have more control over your messages. And you have a better chance players will see your message.

For example, say you have 1,000 newsletter followers. And you sent out an email to them once a week. You know that 1,000 people atleast got an email in their inbox.

But say you have 1,000 subreddit followers. And you posted something once a week. You have no idea if all 1,000 followers have visited your subreddit that week... let alone seen your post.

At least with email, you have more control because you know that your email at least is in their inbox.

Another great place to centralize your community is Discord. It's a good place because unlike email, people can interact with each other.

But again, the technology doesn't matter. What matters is that you have something of VALUE to offer somebody so they join your community.

Also, what else doesn't matter is the size of your community. What matters more is the quality of followers.

In other words, having 1,000 die-hard fans join your Discord and be highly active is better than having 10,000 Discord followers who rarely talk. The quality of your fans is more important the quantity.

So, how does your demo fit in all of this?

Well, all your marketing activity should now be focused on advertising your demo. In other words, every content you post on Reddit, YouTube, Tik Tok, should be about your demo.

Your demo is your number one marketing asset. Leverage your demo to help you grow your community.

How?

Well...

Remember, all marketing efforts should be getting as much attention on your demo as possible.

But don't give out your demo too freely.

Remember how I told you about Hollow Knight's demo? Well, the only way you could play it is if you were a Kickstarter backer.

Use this same idea with your demo. If a new player wants to play your demo, then they need to join your Discord, or sign up to your newsletter.

It's counterintuitive to not give away our demo. Of course you want as many people as possible to play it. And besides, people HATE "pay walls".

True.

But people also DEVALUE what is given to them too freely. A demo that anybody can have access to is "perceived" as less valuable than a demo that only a select few have access to.

By putting a "speed bump" in accessing your demo, you're going to grab only the high-quality, die-hard fans.

You basically want to "pre-qualify" your followers because remember, the quality of your fans is more important than quantity.

And by "pre-qualifying" your fans, you are rewarding them. They feel they are in a select group. And these are the fans that will spread word-of-mouth for you, giving you free marketing.

And I'm not saying to hide your demo like this forever. As your community grows, as word-of-mouth spreads, THAT's when you can open the "flood-gates" and put your demo on your Steam page so anybody can play it.

But not right now. Right now when you're building your core fanbase, you want to be selective. You want to only attract people you know will LOVE your game and are willing to join your community just to play your demo.

Now that you've got a community, say 1,000 people or so, you're ready for the next step...

Step 7: Approach Publishers With Your Polished Demo AND The Community That Is Vouching For You

Let me tell you a story...

My first startup attracted the biggest organizations, companies, and businesses in Canada.

Clients from my first startup

But before I got this huge though, I started small. I first attracted residents. Some of those residents had small businesses. Word-of-mouth spread throughout the business community, and I started landing more small businesses. And those small businesses worked with larger businesses. And as word-of-mouth spread in that community, I slowly started landing multi-million dollar businesses.

But here's the morale of the story...

If I approached these big companies, organizations, and companies when I had no community, they wouldn't even talk to me.

But since I had a small following, and I built some cred, and the community vouched for me, those large clients took notice.

And it wasn't much. I didn't have a million clients. I had maybe 400 small clients... and that was enough to grab the attention of multi-million (and in one case, multi-billion) dollar companies.

So what does this have to do with you finding a publisher?

If you want to land a publisher, you can't approach them with a game idea. You can't approach them with an alpha build.

You need "social proof" that your idea will make money, that your idea is wanted by players.

That's why I had you slowly work your way up from market research to a polished demo.

Every step of the way, you are VALIDATING your ideas.

But most game devs SKIP the first steps, and start working on their game. And then after year a few years of making sure that the game is "polished" enough to show to other players, that is when they present their game to the public and get feedback.

This is dangerous because the only measure these game devs have is "polish". They assume that just because their game is polished enough that that is what will get them attention.

But "polish" is NOT what gets the attention of players... or gets the attention of publishers.

They haven't gone through the process of validating their ideas. Without validating their ideas, they are just guessing, and hoping that their "polished" game will get attention.

And if you want to build a successful game company that supports your life financially, you can't hope... you need to validate ideas every step of the way.

And that's what publishers want to see: they want to see that your idea is already VALIDATED.

A publisher can't see "profits" just by looking at design documents, or screenshots, or trailers, or an alpha build, or even a demo.

But a publisher can see "profits" if you come to them with a highly polished demo AND a community that is vouching for you.

And like I said, it's not the size of your community... it's the quality. Even 1,000 die-hard Discord followers who are highly active is better than 10,000 inactive users.

And you can use this part of your pitch when approaching publishers. You can show them how much activity your community has, and how much passion your community has for your game.

So it's not just enough to have a polished demo. You need validation that your game will be profitable. And by leveraging your community by showing potential publishers that you have the backing of a passionate group of people, then they will perk up and listen to you when you approach them.

Actually, if you did your job right, publishers will approach you.

But You Might Be Saying...

At this point I can already hear you telling me...

"But what if I can't find a publisher!?!@?!"

"What if I don't want a publisher and rather get crowd funding?"

"But I still don't know how to find players!"

"What am I supposed to do? Make a polished demo and players will flock to me by magic?"

"I'm still stuck, and have no idea where to begin!"

...If this is you, then read and watch this: How To Start A Game Company: Advanced Help.

After watching or reading that, you'll get more in-depth, more advanced help showing you how to make a game that is marketable, find players to join your community, and how to get your game funded by publishers or by players.

So What Should You Do Now? Get The Blueprint...

Download the Blueprint here

Remember, the number one reason games fail is because somebody made a product the market didn't want. A game dev made a game THEY wanted without finding out if the market wants it too.

And my goal in this article is to give you a simple "roadmap" you can use to help you avoid having your game fail -- and help your game company grow in profits and income.

I want to help you develop a game so that when you launch it, it makes enough profits so that your game studio survives and you can start making a new game.

But in order for you and I to get there, you need to take action right now. I can show you the way. But ultimately, you are responsible for the success of your game studio.

So to help you take the first baby step, I've made a "Blueprint" you can download here: How To Start A Game Company: Step-by-Step Action Blueprint.

In the blueprint you'll get a summary of all the 7 simple steps... plus I will walk you through with action steps you can easily take.

So go download the blueprint right now, and take the first step into growing your game studio, finding players so they join your community, and find a publisher so they fund you and you don't have to worry about budgets.

Message Me If You're Stuck Trying To Start An Indie Game Company...

Starting a company isn't easy. And results are NOT instnat. It takes time. So if you're stuck, feel free to contact me anytime, and I'll help the best I can. Here's my info:

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Dariusz Konrad
Email: dariusz at mainquestmarketing dot com
Discord Username: dariuszkonrad
LinkedIn: My entrepreneurial successes
Work: Game devs I've helped so far