HOW TO PUBLISH YOUR INDIE GAMEOn and beyond Steam

WAY BEFORE THINKING ABOUT SALES

• Do NOT hardcode• Localize. Having the English version of a string = localization• Think controls, control schemes, mapping. Not everyone has a gamepad. • Think Menus & HUD. Those should NEVER be an after thought• Keep up with the industry• Have a plan• Have VISION

PUBLISHER? OR SELF PUBLISH?WHAT DO YOU NEED?

• Do you need money? If so, for what?• Development?• Localization?• QA?• Porting?• PR?

• Do you need skills? If so, what skills?• Porting?• Marketing?• QA?• Localization?

WHAT CAN YOU GIVE UP?• IP Ownership?• Reputation?• Money?• Credits?• KNOWLEDGE

• What happens if you sell….• 10 copies• 10000 copies• 1 million copies?

• Do they get you on Steam?!Mike Bithell – On Publishers

SELF PUBLISH• Digital platforms

• Steam 70/30• Kongregate & GameStop – Play Free Games online 70/30 Virtual Goods, up to 50% ad

revenue• Itch.io – Open Rev Share• Good Old Games - ???• G2A• Indie Game Stand 75/25

• Your Own Store• Payment providers BMTMicro, Plimus, Fastspring, others• The Humble Widget (5% fees after payment processing fees & taxes)

STEAM • A digital distribution platform, originally for games• Has CHANGED the video games industry!!!• Includes DRM (Digital Rights Management), social networking features,

storefront, sales platform, and anyone can sell • Steamworks = API (application programming interface) that all gamedevs

can use to integrate Steam features in their games – like Leaderboards, Achivements or Micro Transactions

• Has Steam Greenlight, Steam Early Access, Steam Curators, Steam reviews, Steam microtransactions, Steam discounts and so much more (explanations – SOON™)

STEAM HISTORY2002

2003

2015<125 MIL

USERS

4500 games

2016Cca

163 MILusersCca

9100 games

2014

2013

2012

2005

2008

Steam Public BETA

Steam Official Release

Steam 1st

publisher deal

(Strategy First)

80000 –

300000 users

200713 MIL

users150

games

Steamworks

Steam Cloud

Steam GREENLIGH

T

Big Picture

Steam Workshop

Remore Clients

Redeem Games

Framework for DLC

Steam EARLY ACCESS

Family Share

Non Game Apps

Steam Hardware

SteamOS

BROADCASTSteam

Refunds

SteamVRSteam Discovery

Update

Steam Curators

100 MIL Users

3700 games

WHY IS STEAM IMPORTANT?

70% DIGITAL MARKET SHARE**In 2011. I wonder what market share are we talking now

COMPETITORS• Good Old Games / GOG Galaxy – 1486 games• EA Origin• Ubisoft UPlay• Itch.io - 31911

CASE STUDYIn an article dated November 11, 2011, PC Gamer reported statistics for online sales of the The Witcher 2.[53] According to PC Gamer, Direct2Drive, Impulse and Gamersgate's combined sales were a total of 10,000 (4%), GOG.com sold 40,000 copies (16%),while Steam sold in the same time period 200,000 copies (80%)

SO... HOW DO YOU STEAM?1. Buy Steam Greenlight Submission Fee – EUR 90http://store.steampowered.com/app/219820/

This one-time fee will grant your Steam account access to post and update as many of your games or software as you like within Greenlight.

2. Get votes“We try to incorporate external factors such as awards, critical acclaim, significant Kickstarter success, press coverage, etc. At the end of the day, we’re trying to prioritize the games that customers are most interested in having on Steam.” Valve’s Doug Lombardi for Kotaku

STEAM GREENLIGHT• Buy Steam Greenlight Submission Fee• EUR 90 - http://store.steampowered.com/app/219820/• SUBMIT• Game Title• Branding Image• Game Description• Select Categories• Rights & Ownership

* Theoretically

STEAM GREENLIGHT TIPS• Good trailer (snappy and shows gameplay)• Good description• Be ready for the first week “new” wave. Engage!• Have a demo• Have your USPs straight & clear• External attention helps but its not essential...• Have Good Luck?!

STEAM CONCEPT• Hey, did you know you can submit your game CONCEPT?

• This is FREE, but votes do not count towards your future greenlight• You can still grasp the interest for your game

SOME TIPS FROM STEAM• Have a plan• Focus on the right features• Market Early. Market often. • Make a good trailer• Make a good capsule art• Localize• Test• Don’t be exclusive• Pay attention to feedback

STEAM FOR DEVELOPERS• How does this look for a

developer?

Much Data Very Wow!

SOME STEAM DEFINITIONS• Curators = people or organizations that make recommendations to help

others discover interesting games in the Steam catalog. Players can follow curators which helps populate their Steam page and community feed (much like the facebook feed). Games recommended by popular curators get much more exposure.

We Are Curators!!!

SOME STEAM DEFINITIONS• Greenlight = ask Steam community to vote whether they would buy

your game or not!Game TITLETabs for COMMUNITY DISCUSSIONS, DEV ANNOUNCEMENTS, CommentsVideos & Screenshots!!!

Game Logo, Platform, Language, Players info, Date when it was posted!

WOULD YOU BUY THIS GAME???

Favourite, Follow, Share, Add to Collection. ALSO your queue settings AND… Report!

If you SCROLL DOWN….

DescriptionComments

USD 100

CAPSULE ART

SOME STEAM DEFINITIONS• Early Access = buy games that are Still In Development!!! The idea is

that community gets access to game as soon as possible, and might even participate in further development

SOME STEAM DEFINITIONS• Steam Reviews allows players to wrote reviews for the games they

played and browse reviews and recommendations from other players. Players can also rate each others reviews.

STEAM

REV SPLIT70% You

30% Steam

ITCH.IO

REV SPLITYou choose!

0-100%

INDIE GAME STAND

REV SPLIT75% You25% IGS

HUMBLE WIDGETREV SPLIT 95% You

5% HW

FINAL CONCLUSIONS• THINK AHEAD• STAY INFORMED• BE PASSIONATE ABOUT BUSINESS