Gamedev

Gamedev

02.02.2026

Investor Deals for Game Studios: How to Protect Your Game and Your Wallet

2 weeks

If you’ve ever stared at a term sheet and thought, “This looks fine… right?” you’re not alone. Money is (finally) creeping back into games, but the fine print can still kneecap a studio for years.

We wanted a clear, founder-friendly guide to the stuff that actually matters, so we brought in someone who reads this language for a living on our Devoted Speakeasy Ep. 37

Who’s Brandon?

Brandon Huffman, Managing Attorney at Odin Law & Media, one of the leading firms advising game studios on publishing and investor deals. He has negotiated across the table from names like Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Tencent, and Netflix, so he knows how quickly one sentence in a term sheet can change a studio’s future.

In short: he sees where deals go right, where they go sideways, and which sentences quietly eat your equity.

Publisher vs. Investor: Which Door to Open?

If you’ve got a single title that needs funding, marketing, or platform support, a publisher is usually the right choice.

Meanwhile, investors are best when you’re building a scalable business:

A franchise (multiple titles in the same IP)
A live-ops game with ongoing content and monetization
Tools/technology other studios will buy (engines, pipelines, AI)

Why the difference? Investors chase scale and repeatable revenue, not one-off hits. That’s why AI and dev tools currently attract more venture capital (VC) interest than single titles. Tools can sell to many customers. A single game is binary.

Shortcut: Publishers fund a game. Investors fund a business.

Valuation & Dilution: Don’t Let Big Numbers Fool You

A sky-high seed valuation looks exciting… until your next round.

If you need more money later and the valuation drops, you’ve hit a down round.

Earlier investors then use anti-dilution protections to increase their share. You get diluted twice, by the new round and the old protections.

Founders often fall below 50% ownership faster than expected.

Lesson: Pick a valuation you can grow from, not just a headline number.

SAFEs vs. Convertible Notes

These are common at pre-seed/seed.

SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity): money now, converts later into equity at the next priced round.

Convertible Note: technically debt, can convert to equity later and usually accrues interest.

Why does it matter? Discounts and valuation caps decide how much equity early money gets when it converts. Too generous = more dilution than you planned.

Anti-Dilution: Know the Two Terms

Full ratchet: early investors reset as if they bought at the lower new price. Extremely punishing for founders.
Broad-based weighted average: a partial adjustment. Still dilution, but survivable.

👉 Always push for broad-based weighted average.

Control Terms: Where Founders Need to Push Back

Investors don’t want to design your characters, but they do want oversight.

Expect:

Board seats (common at seed/A)
Veto rights on big decisions (selling the company, raising new rounds, issuing new shares)

Game-specific twist: some investors want veto rights over publishing deals or licenses. That can block a partner you want to work with.

📌 Protect: creative/product calls, team comp decisions, and a board balance that leaves founders in control of day-to-day.

Strategic Investors: Double-Edged Sword

Publisher-affiliated or platform investors may ask for:

Rights of first negotiation/refusal/match
First look at sequels or future titles
Regional exclusivity

These rights can scare future acquirers.

Solution: time-box and narrow these clauses to specific titles or geographies. Don’t give away your whole future.

Founder Equity: Vesting and Buybacks

Even if you’re starting with friends, use vesting.

Standard: 4 years, 1-year cliff.
Milestone-based vesting ties equity to real progress.
Investors may ask for re-vesting so the clock restarts when they invest. Push for timelines that match your dev cycle.
Include repurchase rights so dead equity doesn’t block the company if someone leaves.

Drag-Along & Tag-Along

Drag-along: if a sale is approved, minority holders can’t block it.
Tag-along: if some shareholders sell, others can sell proportionally too.

Both are standard, and both grease the wheels of exits.

Bad Fit? Getting Rid of an Investor

There’s rarely a “kick them out” clause. Your options:

Buy them out.

Or bring in a new investor to replace them.

Choose carefully at the start. You’ll likely be living together for years.

Investor Checklist (Founder-Friendly Version)

✅ Valuation you can grow from
✅ SAFE/note discounts max ~20%, fair cap
✅ Broad-based weighted average anti-dilution
✅ 1× non-participating liquidation preference
✅ Founder-majority board for standard decisions
✅ Narrow, time-limited ROFR/first match rights
✅ Vesting that matches your dev cycle
✅ Repurchase rights for leavers
✅ Capped legal fees

Brandon’s best reminders!

Bring in a lawyer early. Many defer fees until a round closes, so don’t wait until after you’ve signed. A few hours of expert review can save you years of regret.

Big picture: Raising money should buy you runway and freedom, not lock-ins and headaches. Whether it’s publisher or investor capital, structure your deal so your studio keeps creative control and long-term upside.

Watch the full conversation in Devoted Speakeasy Ep. 37 to hear Brandon break down investor traps, valuation myths, and real-world examples from the games industry.

Gamedev

02.12.2025

Why Game Dev Costs Are Up, And What You Can Actually Do About It

3 months

Game development budgets are exploding. Spider-Man 2 (2023) cost around $315 million, more than triple the first game’s $100 million budget in 2018. Call of Duty went from 657 contributors in 2008 to over 9,000 in 2023, with budgets reportedly exceeding $700 million. Yet players are spending less time in games than they were just a few years ago.

The math doesn’t add up. Game studios are pouring in more money, time, and talent, but returns are shrinking.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s causing this spike in cost, and what developers can actually do about it.

Game Budgets Are at All-Time Highs

At industry events like XDS 2024 and GamesBeat LA, data was shared showing that AAA game budgets now regularly fall between $300 to $500 million. Some titles push well beyond that, especially as teams grow and scope expands.

These figures don’t include marketing, which can often match or exceed development costs. One publisher reportedly spent $660 million on development and another $550 million on marketing.

Even mid-tier games are seeing budgets climb due to longer dev cycles, asset complexity, and increasing player expectations.

What’s Driving the Cost Increase?

At XDS 2024, over 30 developers and service providers shared the biggest contributors to rising costs. Their responses fall into four key categories.

Content Complexity

Players expect larger maps, more quests, and cinematic content
Better graphics and physics increase asset creation time
Games must ship across more platforms with custom optimizations
New features like live services and destructible environments take more effort to build and test

Market Pressure

Sequels are expected to be bigger and better than the last game
AAA games now compete with polished mobile titles backed by $500M budgets
Launch windows are packed, so even successful games delay to avoid the crowd
More time is spent researching and testing before greenlighting production

Talent and Team Growth

Hiring specialized talent is expensive and competitive
Ramp-up times are longer, especially with in-house engines
Post-launch polish teams are larger and stay on longer
Compensation gaps and industry competition are inflating salaries

Executive Pressure

Shifting feedback from executives leads to costly reworks
Ambiguous creative direction causes teams to rebuild or delay
More layers of approval slow decisions and increase iteration cycles
Everyone wants prestige quality, but not everyone agrees on what that means

And Yet… Players Are Playing Less

In 2020, the average U.S. gamer played about an average of nearly two hours a day gaming or using computers for leisure, up from just over an hour in 2019. By 2024, that number had dropped to around 79 minutes a day. A 2023 survey also showed that most U.S. console gamers now play only one to five hours per week, while just 11 percent spend more than 20 hours.

At the same time, according to NewZoo Global Games Market Size, revenue growth in the global gaming market has stalled.

2020: +24% growth
2022: -5.1% contraction
2024: Estimated at $187.7B, which is $5B less than 2021

So while development costs have gone up, player time and spending have not followed the same trend.

What Can Studios Actually Do About It?

Studios today face a tough balancing act. Layoffs are happening across the industry, but games still need to meet growing expectations. Instead of choosing between cutting quality or breaking the bank, here are three things you can do differently.

Embrace Strategic Co-Development

Not just outsourcing. Real co-development involves working with external teams who integrate with your internal processes. They can own parts of the pipeline, from level design to live ops support.

With the right partner, you can:

Reduce your core team size
Access specialized talent faster
Avoid long onboarding cycles
Keep production moving, even during delays

This is how Devoted Studios supports internal teams. Our co-dev approach helps manage quality and scale, without ballooning internal costs.

Plan Smarter, Not Just Bigger

One we know is that throwing more people or money at a project doesn’t always solve the problem.

Studios that succeed in the current climate are:

Building modular pipelines that allow reuse and flexibility
Launching content in chapters or live updates to spread cost
Aligning creative and executive vision early in pre-production
Prototyping early and often to reduce late-stage churn

Nearly 70% of developers say they’re being asked to do more with less, according to the 2025 Unity Gaming Report. And around 45% are turning to productivity tools to move faster, while 24% are focused on getting more value from their monetization and live ops budgets.

So it’s all less about making everything bigger, and more about designing development to be adaptable. The result is not just better games, but healthier teams and more sustainable budgets.

Delay the Right Way

Delays happen. But keeping your full team active during polish phases burns through the budget fast.

Instead:

Lean on external teams for polish and asset fixes
Let internal teams focus on tuning and final integration
Plan co-development capacity into your project timeline, not just as a backup

What This Means

Game development costs are rising fast, driven by larger teams, more complex content, and shifting market realities. At the same time, player attention and revenue growth have slowed. Studios must build differently if they want to stay competitive.

Co-development isn’t just a cost-cutting tool. It’s a way to bring flexibility and focus to your production process. The studios that embrace it early will be better prepared to ship the games players love, without breaking the budget.

Gamedev

28.11.2025

Publishing Red Flags Every Game Studio Needs To Know

3 months

The past few years have pushed game studios into one of the most complex publishing landscapes we have seen in a decade.

After the funding drought of 2023 and 2024, 2025 finally showed signs of recovery, with global gaming industry funding climbing back upward. In Q1 2025 alone, the sector saw 373 million dollars in funding, a 35 percent increase from the previous year, showing that capital is cautiously returning to the market.

At the same time, private equity firms have become increasingly active in gaming, making large investments into publishers and studios and accelerating the growth of PE-backed publishing labels. As a result, more publishing groups are emerging and expanding their portfolios each quarter, reshaping how deals are structured and what developers can expect when seeking funding.

But while the number of publishers is increasing, the terms are getting tougher. Many of the deals that look great on the surface hide clauses that can cost a studio control, revenue, or even the ability to survive a delayed milestone.

In our Devoted Speak Easy episode 36, we invited Brandon Huffman, one of the industry’s most respected video game attorneys, to walk through the clauses, traps, and financial structures that define modern publishing agreements.

Get to Know Brandon HuffmanBrandon Huffman is the Managing Attorney at Odin Law, one of the leading law firms focused on interactive entertainment. He has represented studios and developers of all sizes and has negotiated against publishers like Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Tencent, Disney, Netflix, and more.

We’ll break down the biggest red flags from the conversation and Brandon’s practical advice on how to stay protected. Let’s dive in.

illustration related to publishing agreements

Why Publishing Terms Are Changing in 2025

Several macro factors explain why publishing agreements have become more demanding.

Funding is recovering but still conservative

Money is returning to the market, but not with the “2020 energy.”

Publishers now require prototypes, traction, or near-alpha builds before signing.

“Publishers are clamping down on what they’ll publish and making it more difficult for indie studios especially to get deals.”–Brandon Huffman

Private equity backed publishers demand higher returns

Many new publishers in 2024 and 2025 are funded by private equity. These firms operate with strict return expectations and often require management fees or revenue structures that protect their capital first. Brandon explained how some publishers are now inserting 10 to 15 percent service fees into the deal because their investors expect guaranteed income streams.

Publishers require more advanced builds before funding

GamesIndustry.biz reporting shows that publishers now expect playable prototypes or near alpha state before offering a contract, compared to the pitch deck stage that was common in 2020 and 2021. Some publishers even want to see community traction through Discord numbers or Steam wishlists before committing.

Milestone pressure is higher than ever

The GDC 2025 State of the Industry reports highlight that more studios are dealing with milestone rejections, schedule uncertainty, and production delays. As studios shrink, milestone pressure increases, making vague agreements even riskier.

This changing environment makes it important to understand what lies beneath the surface of a publishing deal.

“If all it says is ‘vertical slice,’ that’s not a very well-defined milestone… the publisher may get it and go, ‘I don’t think this is a vertical slice,’ and reject it.”–Brandon Huffman

The Publishing Red Flags: What You See vs What You Actually Get

Publishing deals look generous at first glance. But much of the risk is hidden under the surface.

Above the Surface: What Looks Great in a Publishing Deal

These benefits are visible, attractive, and often well presented.

Funding
Platform support
Marketing and PR
QA and localization
Production and launch support
Community and analytics help
Distribution and retail relationships

Below the Surface: What Developers Do Not See Right Away

The deeper risks often sit inside legal clauses that seem harmless.

Milestones that are vague or loosely defined
Acceptance criteria that enable repeated rejection
Recoup structures that push developer revenue far into the future
Rights creep that limits future projects
Publisher fees added on top of revenue splits
Termination clauses that force repayment
Unclear marketing budgets
Weak reporting and no audit rights
Change request pipelines that inflate scope
Private equity driven expectations that shift risk onto developers

Brandon noted that even a small change in wording can mean the difference between a fair deal and a financially devastating one.

🚩Red Flag 1: Vague Milestones and Risky Acceptance Terms

A milestone like “vertical slice” or “alpha build” may seem obvious. But without objective criteria, it becomes a tool for publishers to delay payments.

“If the milestone acceptance terms are aggressive, then the publisher can reject for virtually no reason.”–Brandon Huffman

In the current market, milestone rejection is more common. The GDC 2024 industry survey highlighted that studios feel increased pressure around milestone acceptance due to leaner teams and stricter requirements. Brandon has seen deals where publishers reject milestones simply because the build is “not polished enough,” even when the milestone definition never included polish.

What to secure instead:

Tangible deliverables
Concrete feature lists
Clear acceptance timelines
A milestone zero payment on contract signature

When milestones are objective, there is less room for subjective rejection.

🚩Red Flag 2: Recoup Clauses That Block Revenue for Years

Recoup is where many studios lose money.

Some 2025 publishing agreements recoup only from the developer’s royalty share. Brandon explained that in these cases, even if a game sells well, the developer might not see revenue until extremely high sales thresholds are reached.

This problem is compounded in PE backed publishing deals, where firms introduce extra management or service fees before splits happen. As PE Hub reports, PE backed publishers commonly structure deals to prioritize guaranteed returns, often through fees or more aggressive recoup pipelines.

Safer options:

Recoup taken from total revenue, not the developer share
A royalty percentage that begins from day one
Clear caps on marketing or internal spend
No extra fees without mutual agreement

If the recoup math does not make sense at first glance, do not sign!

🚩Red Flag 3: Rights and IP Creep

A contract may say “the developer retains the IP,” yet the fine print sometimes grants the publisher sequel rights, prequel rights, merchandising rights, or transmedia rights. Brandon has seen deals where developers unknowingly locked themselves out of their own sequel.

This is becoming more common among strategic investors. Some publishers who also act as equity investors use their ownership stake to secure long-term rights across multiple projects.

Look for these protections:

Rights limited to the specific game
No automatic sequel claims
No perpetual merchandising rights
No multi-project lock-ins

If a publisher wants future rights, they should negotiate them separately.

🚩Red Flag 4: Termination Clauses That Put All Risk on the Studio

This is one of the most dangerous areas for indie studios.

Some agreements allow publishers to:

Reject a milestone multiple times
Declare breach
Terminate the contract
Demand repayment of all funds

Brandon shared an example where a developer nearly lost the entire budget because a publisher repeatedly rejected deliverables, then terminated and asked for repayment.

“They fail your milestone two or three times… and then they say, ‘Oh, by the way, give me back that money I paid you.”

He also gave us another example involving a publisher terminating a deal just before launch, releasing the game, and keeping all revenue.

“They terminated before the game shipped… then shipped it and the game made a ton of money.”

You must secure:

No repayment after termination
Reasonable cure periods
Guaranteed minimum compensation
Clear post-termination revenue rules

Termination should never bankrupt a studio.

🚩Red Flag 5: Marketing Promises Without Marketing Commitments

Many publishers promise marketing. Few guarantee it.

We know multiple cases where publishers deprioritized indie titles in favor of larger ones in their slate. Without agreed upon spending floors or caps, studios have no leverage if their marketing plan is dropped.

Secure the following:

A minimum marketing spend
A cap to avoid inflated recoup
Clarity on internal vs external spend
Regular reporting
Control over key art and messaging

If marketing is not in the contract, it does not exist.

🚩Red Flag 6: Reporting, Transparency, and Audit Limitations

If you cannot see the numbers, you cannot trust the numbers.

Brandon reminded studios that publishers control all sales data unless the contract says otherwise. A safe deal includes:

Quarterly reporting
Access to receipts
Audit rights at least once per year
Penalties for underreporting

Remember: Transparency is non-negotiable!

When a Publishing Deal Is Actually Worth Taking

Not all publishers are problematic. Many are incredibly supportive and add huge value. The important part is knowing the difference.

A strong publisher offers:

Real marketing power
Platform relationships
QA and localization pipelines
Production support
Funding tied to realistic milestones
Clear communication
Fair recoup and revenue splits

So before you sign that publishing contract, ask yourself…

Will this publisher help your game perform at least twice as well as it would without them?

If the answer is yes, then the deal may be worth taking.

👉 Watch the full conversation on Devoted Speak Easy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdRUkrrwJ-w

Devoted Stories

20.11.2025

Behind Every Great Game Is a Great Team: How We Build Ours at Devoted Studios

3 months

Ever wonder how your favorite games actually get made? It starts with a great idea, but it takes a well-organized game development team structure to turn that idea into something that’s actually playable.

At Devoted Studios, we support studios through co-development. That means we don’t just create assets and hand them over. We become part of the team. Our tech experts, producers, and artists collaborate with internal teams to create games from the ground up.

One of the ways we support studios is through our Strike Teams. Like a special forces unit, this is expert talent ready to jump in fast and solve complex tasks. These specialized teams integrate into your studio and bring the right skills exactly when you need them.

They’re small, senior-level groups built to plug directly into your production. Fast to onboard, easy to scale, and designed to move with you. No long hiring process. No full outsourcing setup. Just the support you need, right when you need it.

So how do we structure these teams? What roles are involved, and how do they work with your studio day to day?

Let’s walk through the key game development team roles, how they stay connected, and why our setup makes the whole game development process smoother for everyone.

Devoted Studios Core Team: Your Dream Game Makers

Every game project starts with the right people. Here are the key roles you’ll find in a well-rounded game production team and what each of them brings to the table.

The Executive Creative Director makes sure ideas are clear and ready for production

Creative ideas can drift when a project gets busy. Jason Millena makes sure they don’t.

Jason is our Executive Creative Director. He works closely with both studios and internal teams to make sure the vision stays clear from start to finish. He’s great at guiding teams while keeping things flexible and collaborative.

He’s worked on games like Game of Thrones, Runescape, and Jurassic World: Primal Ops, so he knows how to manage creative direction even on big, complex projects.

Having Jason in the role means there’s always someone making sure the creative vision stays clear, focused, and fully realized.

The creative lead behind the visuals is our Visual Art Director

This is the person who makes sure your game doesn’t end up looking like a mix of five different art styles.

The Visual Art Director guides the overall look and feel of the game. From characters and environments to textures and props, they make sure everything fits together visually and supports the story and setting.

One of our Visual Art Directors worked on titles like Guild Wars 2, Avowed, and Nike’s Airphoria in Fortnite, helping keep the art direction focused and cohesive throughout production.

Want a closer look at how we handle worldbuilding? Read our article on Nike’s Airphoria in Fortnite. Read it here.

Blending design and function is what our Tech Art Director does best

If something looks amazing in concept but breaks when you hit play, this is the person who steps in.

The Tech Art Director connects creative and technical teams, making sure assets work just as well in the engine as they do on paper. They’re the ones solving issues with shaders, rigging, and performance without slowing down production.

We also shared some practical tips on updating from Unreal Engine 3 to Unreal Engine 5 in this article. If you’re dealing with a similar transition, it’s a simple breakdown of what to expect.

Our 3D Tech Art Director keeps complex assets running smoothly

This is the person who steps in when the 3D scene looks great but acts like it’s haunted.

Our 3D Tech Art Directors specialize in solving tricky technical issues that come up during production. From asset integration to performance fixes, they make sure everything runs the way it should.

With personal experience on titles like Guild Wars 2, Predecessor, and Nike’s Airphoria in Fortnite, our 3D Tech Art Director brings the kind of deep technical know-how that helps complex assets run smoothly and fit right into any pipeline.

Movement, timing, and expression come to life with our Animation Director

You can model the coolest dragon ever, but if it walks like a penguin, something’s wrong.

Harvey Newman is our Animation Director. He’s worked on Warships: Jolly Roger, Dune: Awakening, and more, making sure characters move in a way that feels believable and fun to watch.

He leads the team responsible for how characters move, fight, and interact with the world. That includes close collaboration with both the client’s animation leads and our in-house rigging and tech art teams to keep everything aligned and consistent.

Want to get to know Harvey better? We wrote a whole article about him! Check it out to hear his story, career tips, and thoughts on game animation.

Behind every smooth pipeline is a smart Chief Technology Officer

Every solid video game studio workflow needs someone thinking three steps ahead.

That’s Flavius Alecu, our Chief Technology Officer. He’s worked on iconic games like Resident Evil, The Last of Us Part II, and Grand Theft Auto, and he leads the tech strategy that keeps our teams moving.

Flavius helps shape how we operate across projects and teams, so our game production workflow stays reliable and ready to scale.

The VP of Production is the one keeping everything on track

You can have the most talented artists and developers on a project, but without strong production, things can quickly go off course.

Ira Vishnetskaia runs the show behind the scenes. She has led production for major titles including League of Legends, FNAF: Security Breach, and Guild Wars 2.

As our VP of Production, Ira is the steady hand behind the scenes. She keeps timelines in check, teams aligned, and conversations flowing. She’s also the one making sure deadlines are met, expectations are clear, and no detail falls through the cracks.

Want to see how our production team pulls it off? We broke it down here. and see how they keep things moving and projects on track.

How We Communicate with Studios

Clear communication is everything. Our game studio team roles aren’t isolated, we’re constantly working side-by-side with studios through shared tools like Slack, Jira, and weekly check-ins.

We assign dedicated producers to each project, ensuring all updates, questions, and feedback go through a single, clear point of contact. Meanwhile, our directors stay closely in sync with the game studios’ leads so nothing gets lost in translation.

It’s a system that works. Some teams bring us in as their full external game art team, handling everything from concept to final assets. Others tap us for support on specific characters, props, or environments.

So… How Do You Actually Build a Game Dev Team?

A strong game development team structure is key to delivering great results. At Devoted Studios, we help studios quickly scale their teams by plugging in the right game development team roles at the right time. Our flexible model works for everything from full co-dev partnerships to targeted support.

We start with the scope. What does the studio need? Full co-development or targeted art support?
We build the team. Using our roster of 3000+ vetted artists, producers, and tech specialists, we assemble a team with the right experience.
We help game studios stay flexible. Our game co-development model allows game studios to scale up or down depending on the project’s phase.
We keep it human. No silos. No miscommunication. Just real people collaborating across time zones, tools, and disciplines.

Why Our Structure Works

Our success comes from structure. We’ve built a game development process that balances speed with quality. When game studios work with us, they work with real people who care about the outcome and know how to deliver.

Our game production team is agile, responsive, and experienced. We know how game studios work from the inside, and we build teams that reflect that.

A great example of this is our ongoing work with Obsidian Entertainment on Avowed. Over four years, we partnered with multiple teams on 2D concept art, 3D characters, large-scale environments, and hero props. We became their go-to team not just for delivery, but for reliability, style alignment, and cross-team collaboration.

“The Obsidian team has been completely satisfied with Devoted Studios’ performance in all aspects – art quality, time management, adherence to style and timeline, communication quality control. Devoted does an excellent job and never hesitates to run the extra mile to guarantee the best outcome. They are always punctual, have impeccable production management skills, offer high quality services and reasonably priced.”

— Chris Naves, Lead Art Outsourcing Manager at Obsidian

We’re proud to be an outsourced game development team that doesn’t feel outsourced. You get the flexibility of a service with the consistency of a long-term partner. We call it external game development with a feeling of belonging.

At the End of the Day, It’s All About People

Building games is a people business. The tools evolve, the pipelines improve, but it’s the team that brings everything together.

From producers to artists to tech leads, strong collaboration is what makes it all work. At Devoted, we build teams that understand the craft, the challenges, and each other.

Dev

20.11.2025

The Role of Co-Development in Scaling Game Projects

3 months

Scaling a game project is exciting, but we all know that it can also feel like trying to build a rocket ship mid-flight. Deadlines move faster than your team can catch up, bugs pop up out of nowhere, and there never seem to be enough hands on deck.

In the game industry, game co-development is becoming one of the most reliable ways to handle large-scale projects. It’s not just a backup plan. It’s a smart, flexible approach that allows studios to stay creative, stay focused, and meet their goals without burning out.

So, what is co-development in games? And how can it help your studio scale up without breaking the bank? Let’s get into it.

Let’s Start With the Basics: What is Co-development?

Game co-development (or co-dev) means two or more studios working together on a game. This can include everything from character design and environment art to engineering support and live ops. It’s a deeply collaborative process that integrates an external game development team into your pipeline.

The main studio typically owns the vision and creative direction, while the co-dev team helps bring it all to life.

It’s not the same thing as outsourcing game development. With co-development, the external team becomes part of your workflow. You collaborate closely, share updates regularly, and build something together. It’s more like adding a powerful extension to your internal team than handing off tasks into the void.

Why More Studios Are Turning to Co-Dev

The game industry is more complex than ever. Games are bigger, players expect more, and timelines aren’t getting any longer.

The 2025 GDC State of the Industry report shows how tough the landscape has become for game developers. Over half (56%) of developers said they’ve invested their own money into their projects. For indie developers, that number jumps to 82%. Even 29% of AAA studios are self-funding in some form.

When investment is tough to find, studios need flexible, smart ways to get work done. This is where game co-dev studios step in. They help studios increase output, keep quality high, and avoid the long-term commitment of full-time hires.

Here’s how co-development in the game industry supports that goal:

Scale Fast Without Long-Term Hiring

Hiring full-time staff takes time and adds long-term costs. A co-development partner gives you access to ready-to-go teams. You can scale up for a big push and then scale back when the job is done. This flexibility is a huge asset for game project scaling

Keep Your Core Team Focused

Your internal team doesn’t need to do everything. With the right co-dev support, they can focus on the big-picture creative work, while experienced partners handle asset creation, technical support, and other production-heavy tasks.

Move Faster and Reduce Bottlenecks

Large-scale game production can easily hit snags. Co-development gives you more flexibility. You can assign tasks to a dedicated external team and keep the pipeline moving without missing key milestones.

Get Access to Specialized Talent

Some parts of game development require specific expertise, like motion capture, UI systems, stylized animation, and more. A game co-development studio often has those specialists ready to plug in. That saves you time and gives your game a professional edge.

Save on Overhead

One of the biggest benefits of game co-development is cost control. Working with a co-dev team helps you manage costs more effectively. You avoid full-time salaries and still get high-quality work.

Let’s Bust Some Myths About Co-Development

We’ve seen a lot of conversations online about outsourcing and co-development. Some of the posts on Reddit are helpful, but others spread confusion. Let’s clear up a few common myths about co-dev—because they might be holding some studios back from scaling effectively.

#Myth 1: “Bigger Teams = Faster Games”

Credit: r/gamedev on Reddit

✅ Reality: Bigger doesn’t always mean better.

In large teams, things can actually slow down. Too many opinions, too many meetings, and not enough focus on execution. It happens in game development just like it does in corporate offices. More time is spent talking than building.

At Devoted Studios, we don’t believe in throwing more bodies at a problem. Instead, we build lean, strike teams that align with your vision from day one. That way, you get the firepower you need, without the chaos. Our producers work closely with your internal leads to keep things moving quickly, clearly, and without decision fatigue.

#Myth 2: “Any studio offering co-dev services is legit.”

Credit: r/gamedev on Reddit

✅ Reality: Not every team is ready to support large-scale production.

There are groups that look like studios but don’t have the structure, experience, or people to deliver. Some teams may disappear mid-project. Others may lack the skills needed to work with new tech like AR, VR, AI, or blockchain.

We’ve seen that happen too. That’s why our teams are vetted, trained, and experienced. From games like Palia to Risk of Rain 2, our clients count on us to deliver consistent, reliable support with real technical depth.

These myths can make teams hesitant to collaborate, which is totally understandable. But a good partner won’t slow you down or take over, instead they’ll plug in where you need them and help move things forward with support.

Our Game Co-Dev Portfolio

We’ve built our process to support studios at every stage. Our model is flexible, reliable, and built around transparency. From one-time help to full-cycle support, we provide game development support services that grow with your needs.

Here’s a look at some of the projects we’ve supported through co-development:

PALIA

Palia is a life simulation massively multiplayer online game.

TEAM ROLE

Co-development, Engineering, Tools & UI
Primary Objective: Implementation of meta-game features
Secondary Objective: Bug Fixing

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

Created player house with plot customization
Debugged Party/Navigation system
Integrated chat system with in-game emojis
Developed in-game photography with creative filters

SPECTRE DIVIDE

An innovative free-to-play 3v3 tactical shooter

TEAM ROLE

Devoted Studios’ engineering team contributed significantly to the early version of Spectre Divide, helping to bring this unique concept to life.

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

Comprehensive Tool Prototyping: Developed tools for Level, Weapon, Ability, Customization, Rigging, and Debugging.
Art and Animation Pipeline Optimization: Optimized the workflow from Maya to UE4, including shader testing and UE4 Animation Controller setup.
Integrated chat system with in-game emojis
Developed in-game photography with creative filters

RISK OF RAIN 2

Escape a chaotic alien planet by fighting through hordes of frenzied monsters

TEAM ROLE

Co-dev & Porting to Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S.
Integration of all network features.
Rendering optimization.
Support for DLC.

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

Boosted FPS performance by 57% on all levels.
Introduced Multiplayer to PS and Xbox platforms, featuring 4-player coop.
Prepared the game to certification. As part of “Survivors of the Void” DLC
DLC certification passed on all platforms from the 1st try.

Five Nights at Fredy’s: Secret of the Mimic

VR survival horror

TEAM ROLE

Co-dev
Engineering
3D Tech Art
Art Production

PLATFORM

Unreal
PS5
Steam
Epic Games Store

We’ve worked with indie teams, mid-size studios, and AAA publishers. No matter the scale, our goal is the same: deliver work you can rely on, with communication you can count on.

Ready to Scale Smarter?

If you’re trying to figure out how to scale game production, co-development might be the answer. It gives you the flexibility to grow without the stress of hiring, the speed to meet your deadlines, and the support to keep your team focused.

At Devoted Studios, we make that process easier. From day one, you’ll get a responsive partner, clear delivery plans, and access to top-tier talent that fits your project’s style and needs.

All content

20.11.2025

5 Hidden Clauses in Publishing Contracts That Can Break Your Game Studio

3 months

A publishing deal can look like a dream for many game studios. The publisher gives you money, support, and a way to get your game out to players.

But here’s the problem. One small line in the contract can cost you everything.

In Devoted Speakeasy Episode 36, Ninel Anderson, our CEO, spoke with Brandon Huffman, a lawyer from Odin Law and Media. Brandon has worked with Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and Netflix, and he knows the fine print that can make or break a studio.

Why This Matters for Game Studios

Game development is risky enough. Missing milestones, staff turnover, platform delays. Those are already hard to manage.

Imagine this:

Your game sells $10 million
Your royalty is 50%
You expect $5 million

But you get zero.

Why? The contract says the publisher collects all costs first, from your share.

This happens. And it’s only one of the risks Brandon warned about. Here are 5 of the most important clauses to watch out for.

Milestones That Block Payment

Most publishing deals pay after you hit milestones: alpha, beta, final.

The trap for studios:

Publishers redefine “done” and delay payment.
Extra feedback sneaks in as mandatory work.
You burn time and budget but still fail the milestone.

👉 Tips for game studio: Make every milestone clear in writing. Add rules for what happens if the publisher changes scope. Avoid vague language like “meaningfully consider feedback.”

Recoupment That Leaves You With Nothing

Recoup means publishers take back their costs before you get royalties. Some contracts apply this only to the developer’s share.

The trap: some contracts recoup 100% from the developer’s share. So if your game sells $10M and your royalty is 50%, you still see zero until all costs are cleared.

👉 Tips for game studio: Negotiate for shared recoup (costs split across both sides) or put a cap on recouped expenses. Always ask for transparent reporting.

Termination for “Convenience”

Some contracts let the publisher cancel whenever they want, with no payout.

The impact on studios:

Your team is left unpaid mid-project.
The publisher may keep the IP.
You have nothing to cover staff or overhead.

👉 Tips for game studio: Push for “termination for cause” only, or require the publisher to pay a fee if they cancel early.

Losing Creative Control Without Realizing

Publishers sometimes take creative control without calling it that. Clauses like “Publisher approval required” or “Feedback must be implemented” give them the power to dictate changes.

👉 Tips for game studio: If you’re working on your own IP, their role should be advisory, not controlling. Don’t sign away the right to decide how your game plays or looks.

Strategic Rights That Hurt Your Next Game

Publishers may ask for rights that reach beyond your current game:

Right of first refusal (ROFR): They get the first chance to publish your next game.
Last-look rights: They can match other offers.
Territory rights: They automatically get certain regions.

👉 Tips for game studio: Be careful. These clauses can scare away future partners and limit your studio’s growth.

Lessons From Devoted Speakeasy Ep. 36 With Brandon Huffman

Don’t sign anything you don’t fully understand.

One line in a contract can decide your studio’s future.

Things to check before signing:

Be clear on what each milestone means so payments don’t get delayed.
Make sure recoup costs are shared or capped so you aren’t left with nothing.
Push for fair termination terms so they can’t just walk away.
Keep creative control if the IP is yours.
Watch out for rights that tie up your future projects or deals.

Publishing contracts are survival documents, not just legal forms. If you don’t read the fine print, you risk losing your royalties, your freedom, or even your studio.

These five are the most common traps, but they’re not the only ones. From scope creep to dispute clauses, there’s a lot more hiding in the details.

That’s why Brandon’s full breakdown in Devoted Speakeasy Episode 36 is so valuable. He explains the strategies, the questions to ask, and the warning signs every studio needs to know – and there’s more of it.

Watch the full episode here to protect your game and your team.

Gamedev

20.11.2025

How Smaller Teams Are Solving Big
Game Development Problems

3 months

How Smaller Teams Are Solving Big Game Development Problems

You’ve probably heard the phrase “all hands on deck,” but what happens when your hands are already full?

Game development is never a straight line, especially as you get closer to launch. Tasks pile up, deadlines tighten, and things start to shift quickly. Features that were once “almost done” now need urgent attention.

That’s when studios start looking for support. Not just more people, but the right kind of help. Skilled, fast, and focused.

This is where a strike team comes in.

We, Devoted Studios, are that strike team.

But, what exactly is a strike team? How does it work? And why do so many game studios (from indies to AAA) rely on them, especially in the final stretch?

We’ll explain what that means.

What is a Strike Team in Game Development?

A strike team is a small group of developers from different specialties like art directors, technical leads, or producers who come together to solve one specific challenge in the game.

Unlike traditional departments that work separately, strike teams unite people across roles to focus on a shared task. That might be fixing a bug, polishing a feature, or finishing a key system before launch.

Strike teams are temporary. They’re formed when there’s an urgent need and usually finish their work within a few weeks. Once the task is done, the team wraps up.

This model offers speed, clarity, and adaptability—all things game studios need to stay on track in a fast-moving industry.

Harvey Newman, Animation Director at Devoted Studios, explains it well on his YouTube channel,

“Normally, a team works together within their department—the art team, animation team, design team, etc. But toward the end of a game, we usually create what we call strike teams… Instead of just the animation team working together, all of a sudden you have an animator, an engineer, an artist, and a sound designer… trying to tackle a problem within the game that needs to be solved in order for us to progress forward.”

So basically: when something needs to be fixed fast, and cross-discipline knowledge is required, a strike team forms.

Why Strike Teams Work So Well

Despite the scale of AAA projects, with teams of 100 to 500 people across programming, art, design, audio, QA, and production, things can still slip. With so many teams working in parallel, staying flexible becomes harder, especially as launch day gets closer.

As Harvey Newman, our Animation Director, explains on his video, even at big studios like EA and SEGA, teams usually stay within their departments. But near the end of production, more and more features start needing extra attention.

Studios form these small, cross-discipline groups to solve specific problems quickly. Each person brings a different skill, but they all work toward one clear goal. Communication is faster, decisions are easier, and progress is more focused.

When pressure builds, this is where a strike team can help game studios stay on track.

Speed and precision	Strike teams don’t need long onboarding or training. We get into your pipeline quickly, understand what needs to be done, and start solving problems from day one.
Tailored expertise	Every strike team is built based on what you need. Maybe it’s animation polish, gameplay scripting, or final lighting work. Whatever the task, we bring together the right experts to get it done.
Cross-discipline collaboration	Unlike traditional teams that work within one department, a strike team blends roles. This lets us tackle problems from every angle—technical, visual, and design-related—all at once.
Support without long-term headcount	You don’t have to expand your full-time team. Strike teams provide the support you need, for as long as you need it, and then step back when the job is done. It’s a flexible way to boost your game development team without taking on more overhead.

This cross-functional setup helps teams solve problems faster. Everyone involved understands the goal, shares ownership, and moves quickly without needing long onboarding or constant handovers.

When to Use a Strike Team

Strike teams can help at any point, but they shine in moments when timing and focus are critical. For example:

You’re a few weeks from launch and a major feature still needs tuning
A gameplay bug is blocking the next milestone
You’re heading into console certification and need extra eyes on performance
Your internal team is swamped and can’t take on more
One part of the game is “nearly finished” but needs polishing

In all these cases, a strike team can come in, take ownership, and solve the problem without sidetracking the rest of the game development team.

What Our Strike Teams Look Like

At Devoted Studios, we’ve built our service model around this concept. We support game studios by becoming the strike team they can rely on—an extension of their game development team.

Here’s how we work:

The result? You get focused progress where it matters most, without needing to manage another full-time team.

A Real Example of a Strike Team at Work

Let’s say a studio is preparing a new level for launch. The environment looks great, but the lighting isn’t consistent. QA starts flagging visibility issues. The internal lighting team is busy on another feature and can’t switch tasks without slowing things down.

That’s when we get called in.

We bring in our senior producer, a technical art director, and a QA specialist. The producer coordinates priorities and keeps communication clear, the technical art director reviews asset performance and visual consistency, and the QA specialist tests for any gameplay or visual issues. Together, they troubleshoot, adjust, and validate the fixes. The process stays fast, focused, and collaborative.

This is the kind of support that can turn stressful situations into smooth progress for any game development team.

Strike Teams Are Built for Today’s Game Industry

Games are getting more complex. Teams are more distributed. And production timelines are always shifting. Studios need partners who can jump in, solve problems, and make things happen without adding friction.

That’s what we do.

The need for flexible support is clearer than ever. According to the 2024 GDC Survey, 41% of game developers reported being affected by layoffs in the past year. One in ten were laid off themselves, with narrative roles hit the hardest at 19%. In a climate like this, studios are being asked to deliver high-quality games with fewer resources and more pressure.

Strike teams help fill that gap. At Devoted Studios, we take this approach even further.

We build custom strike teams based on exactly what your project needs. By blending top individual talent with specialized team structures, we create a workforce that adapts to your game, and not the other way around. This model gives studios access to skilled support without expanding full-time headcount.

Let’s Talk About Your Next Milestone

If your studio needs help getting a game across the finish line, handling last-minute challenges, or simply adding a burst of production power, we’re here to help.

We’re the strike team you can trust.

All content

18.11.2025

Howtofixmygame.com: Turning Steam Reviews into Actionable Game Dev Insights

3 months

If you’ve released a game on Steam, you know how fast feedback comes in. Thousands of players share opinions, ideas, and frustrations. But making sense of it all can feel impossible.

That’s exactly the problem Flavius Alecu, our Chief Technology Officer at Devoted Studios, set out to solve. His new tool, howtofixmygame.com, helps developers turn thousands of Steam reviews into clear, prioritized improvement lists. So they can focus on fixing what actually matters to players.

Flavius Alecu, one of Devoted Studios’ technical leads, built the tool based on what he’s seen in years of game production.

Many teams, even well-organized ones, struggle to keep up with player feedback after launch. Flavius wanted a faster way to turn that noise into something developers can act on.

Flavius is also a key member of Devoted Studios’ strong and innovative management team, highlighting the expertise behind the company’s technology leadership that clients and partners can rely on. His work reflects Devoted’s broader commitment to building practical tools that make co-development smarter, more transparent, and easier to scale.

The Problem: Steam Reviews Are Hard to Use

Steam reviews are full of useful information, but they’re rarely structured.

Developers spend hours scrolling through player comments trying to answer questions like:

What’s actually frustrating players?
Which bugs or systems get mentioned most often?
Are negative reviews pointing to one major issue or ten small ones?

For developers, this means hours of reading, tagging, and trying to find patterns. Larger studios might use internal tools or analysts, but smaller teams often rely on gut feeling, which makes it easy to miss what players are actually saying.

How Howtofixmygame.com Works

The idea behind howtofixmygame.com is simple: take all that unorganized player feedback and make it readable.

Here’s what it does:

You enter your Enter your Steam App ID or store URL to get started.
The tool scans reviews and groups recurring themes automatically.
It creates a list of issues or suggestions, sorted by how often they appear and how strongly players feel about them.

What you get is a short, prioritized list that helps decide what to fix or improve next, without spending days reading every review.

Why It’s Useful for Developers

Most teams already track community feedback through Discord, Reddit, or social media, but it’s easy to lose track of the bigger picture.

Howtofixmygame.com gives developers a quick overview of what players talk about most, and how those topics change over time.

It helps teams:

Spot repeating technical or gameplay issues
Organize bug-fixing priorities
Understand what players appreciate most
Plan updates with better context

For small and mid-sized studios, it’s a practical way to get structured insight without extra resources.

A Glimpse Into the Future of Game Feedback Analysis

Tools like howtofixmygame.com represent a broader shift in how the industry handles player feedback. Rather than treating reviews as anecdotal, developers can now use them as structured input for data-informed design and production decisions.

When teams understand exactly what’s frustrating or delighting players, they can make better design calls, plan updates more efficiently, and deliver games that resonate more deeply with their audience.

As games become more service-oriented, with frequent patches and evolving content, tools like this may soon become essential for post-launch success. And that’s good for both players and developers.

Try It Yourself!

If you’re working on a Steam title, check out howtofixmygame.com. It’s free, simple to use, and built by someone who understands the developer’s perspective firsthand.

And if you’re a studio looking for a co-development partner that brings the same kind of technical clarity to your projects, Devoted Studios can help. Our team combines engineering expertise, production efficiency, and player-centric insight to help studios scale smarter.

3D Art

22.09.2025

The Houdini Generation: How Procedural Workflows Are Changing Game Development

5 months

For years, 3D artists worked in a world of rigid, destructive workflows. You model something, you commit to changes, and every new revision means hours… sometimes days of rework. But a change is happening in how modern artists approach their art.

We’re entering the Houdini Generation. A growing wave of artists, designers, and technical directors who see proceduralism not as a specialty skill, but as the foundation of their entire creative process.

This isn’t just about using Houdini, the software. It is about thinking in a procedural way, where assets can be adjusted at any time, and every stage of the work can adapt to changes without breaking. This is, of course, transforming how games and other 3D projects are made.

Let’s First Understand What Houdini Generation Is

In traditional modeling and animation pipelines, artists work step-by-step, “baking in” decisions as they go. Need to change something halfway through? That’s usually a backtrack to square one. You can save multiple file versions or try to undo certain changes, but the process is inherently destructive.

Houdini’s node-based, procedural workflows solve this problem. In Houdini, every action is stored as a node in a chain of instructions. You can go back to any node, change it, and the results update across the entire project.

This makes changes easy at any stage. You can add detail, adjust proportions, change materials, or alter environments without starting over.

What Makes the Houdini Generation Different?

The Houdini Generation isn’t defined by age or years of experience. It’s defined by attitude.

They…

Think in systems rather than steps
Plan for change from the start of a project
Automate repetitive tasks such as UV unwrapping, scattering, or terrain creation
Use Houdini alongside other tools such as Unity, Unreal, Substance Designer, Substance Painter, and 3D Coat

This mindset thrives in modern game production, where rapid iteration is the norm and creative pivots are inevitable. When your pipeline is procedural, you’re not starting over, you’re adapting.

How Procedural Workflows Are Used in Game Development

For many outside the industry, Houdini is synonymous with blockbuster visual effects like explosions, particle systems, complex simulations. While that’s true, the Houdini Generation is proving that proceduralism is just as valuable for everyday game development tasks.

Modeling

Instead of locking into a fixed geometry, Houdini assets can be resized, reshaped, or even turned into completely different objects quickly. A table can become a chair in minutes, ready to be placed in the game engine.

Rigging and Skinning

Bones can be added to a rig without redoing all the weights and animations. This saves time when adding props or making character adjustments.

Texturing

Procedural materials built in tools like Substance Designer evolve alongside the asset. Change the mesh? The textures adapt automatically. No more repainting entire surfaces for every tweak.

Level Design

Procedural environments mean a single desert level can become a snow biome in minutes. Houdini Engine integration lets level designers make these changes directly inside Unity or Unreal, even in real time.

Procedural Thinking Saves Time and Money

From a production standpoint, procedural workflows aren’t just faster, they’re safer. Every change is reversible. Every asset can be regenerated with new parameters.

That means:

Fewer delays in production
Lower risk from last-minute changes
Small teams producing large amounts of content
Consistent quality across all versions of an asset

With this approach, it is possible to complete multiple complex assets in a single day, including modeling, rigging, skinning, UV mapping, texturing, and testing in the engine.

Why the Games Industry Is Embracing the Houdini Generation

Game development is notoriously unpredictable. Creative direction shifts, platform requirements change, and gameplay mechanics evolve mid-production. Studios that cling to rigid workflows often find themselves burning time and budget just to keep up.

Proceduralism offers an insurance policy against that chaos. By building flexibility into the assets themselves, teams can pivot without derailing production.

This is especially critical in areas like:

Live service games, where content updates are constant.
Multi-platform releases, which require rapid optimization for different hardware.
VR and AR experiences, where performance constraints demand fast iteration.

Because of this, many studios are now seeking artists who understand Houdini and procedural workflows, not just for visual effects but for core production work.

Houdini Generation Means A Generational Shift in Mindset

The Houdini Generation is a movement toward procedural literacy rather than simply a collection of power users. Just like coding literacy changed the role of designers in the web era, procedural literacy is changing the role of 3D artists.

This literacy means:

Understanding how to break problems into modular, repeatable processes.
Thinking ahead about how assets might need to change.
Collaborating with technical artists and programmers in a shared language of parameters and dependencies.

The gap between traditional and procedural workflows will keep growing. Artists who understand procedural tools will have a clear advantage.

The Future of the Houdini Generation

Looking forward, proceduralism will only become more central to game and 3D content production. As engines like Unreal Engine 5 and Unity expand their support for procedural pipelines, and as more studios adopt cross-tool workflows, the gap between traditional and procedural artists will widen.

We can expect:

Deeper engine integration so Houdini assets update in real time without exports.
More artist-friendly tools to lower the learning curve for procedural modeling.
Hybrid roles where artists and technical directors share the same toolset.
Procedural VFX in-game without heavy pre-baking.

Ultimately, the Houdini Generation isn’t just about using one piece of software—it’s about building a culture of adaptability in digital art. Whether you’re creating stylized indie environments or photoreal AAA worlds, the ability to revise without starting over is becoming the gold standard.

So What Does the Houdini Generation Mean for Your Pipeline?

The Houdini Generation is setting a new standard for how 3D art and games are made. This way of working allows changes at any time, speeds up production, and keeps quality high.

In a creative industry that changes quickly, procedural workflows give artists and studios the flexibility they need to succeed. From characters to environments to effects, thinking procedurally is becoming the key to staying competitive.

Gamedev

28.10.2024

Why Should You Outsource Game Development?

1 year

Developing a game can be an exciting yet challenging process. It involves everything from creating art and animations to coding and testing, all while keeping the end-user experience in mind. And with the fast-growing gaming industry, companies need to keep up. So, should you try to do it all in-house, or is it better to outsource the work to a game development studio?

In recent years, more businesses have been opting to outsource game development. Partnering with a specialized game development company does offer many benefits, from accessing top talent to saving time and money. But why game outsourcing? Let’s break it down.

Making Life Easier for Your Team

Game development outsourcing is when a company partners with an external studio to handle parts, or all, of the game creation process. Think of it as an extension of your own team! Instead of trying to do everything in-house, you collaborate with skilled professionals who specialize in areas like coding, design, art, or testing.

This way, you can scale your team up or down as needed, without the long-term commitment of hiring full-time staff. Working with a game outsourcing studio means you get the extra help you need, while still keeping control of your project and vision. It’s like adding more hands to your project, giving you flexibility and access to expert talent.

Why Do Companies Start Outsourcing Game Developers?

Now, let’s talk about why outsourcing has become an increasingly attractive option for the gaming industry.

Access to Top Global Talent

One of the biggest perks of outsourcing game development is that you can work with talented people from all over the world. When you collaborate with a game outsourcing studio, you tap into a wide pool of artists, designers, developers, and other experts who have tons of experience. Whether you are building a mobile game or a console title, these professionals have seen it all and know how to get the job done.

At Devoted Studios, we work with creative professionals from different backgrounds and specialties, which means we can bring unique ideas and solutions to your game. Instead of being limited by the skills of your in-house team, outsourcing lets you access a broader range of expertise.

Cost Savings

Building and maintaining a full-time game development team can be expensive. especially when building an in-house team. You’re not only paying for salaries but also for benefits, office space, equipment, and ongoing training. These costs add up fast!

However, by outsourcing to a game development studio, you can manage your budget much more effectively. You only pay for the services you need, when you need them. This flexibility ensures you don’t overspend on resources that may not be required at every stage of development, making it a more cost-efficient option for many companies. Below is a table of how much it costs to build a game.

Below is an estimation of how much it costs to build a game.

S. No.	Type of Mobile Game	Development Cost
1	Mini-Game	$2,000 to $10,000
2	Simple 2D Game	$10,000 to $20,000
3	Social Game App	$18,000 to $30,000
4	Mid Level Mobile Game	$10,000 to $50,000
5	Business Mobile Game	$5,000 to $1,00,000
6	3D Game	$30,000 to $60,000
7	AAA Game	$300,000 to $500,000
8	Real Money Game	$10,000 to $100,000

Source: appstudio.ca

Outsourcing your game development is a smart way to keep these costs under control, no matter the type of game you’re building. By partnering with a game outsourcing studio, you can access global talent without the high overhead of maintaining an in-house team. Need a simple mini-game for $2,000? Outsourcing can connect you with the right developers quickly and efficiently. Developing a more complex 3D or AAA game? Outsourcing gives you the flexibility to scale your team without long-term commitments, allowing you to adjust based on your project’s needs.

Scalability and Flexibility

Every game is different, and each project comes with its own set of challenges. Some games require large teams, while others might only need a small group of developers. When you work with a game outsourcing studio, you get the flexibility to scale your team up or down based on the needs of the project.

Let’s say you are building a game for a major console launch. You might need a large team to work on complex elements like animation, level design, or multiplayer features. An outsource video game development studio can quickly gather a team of experts who know how to handle large-scale projects. On the other hand, if you are just developing a simple mobile game, you might only need a small group of developers.

Outsourcing game development gives you the freedom to adjust your team size without the long-term commitments that come with hiring in-house employees.

Faster Time to Market

In the gaming world, timing is everything. Whether you are creating a mobile game or a large console project, getting your game to market quickly can make all the difference. By working with an experienced game development studio like Devoted Studios, you can speed up your development process.

Outsourcing means you can bring in extra hands whenever you need them, which helps prevent bottlenecks and keeps your project on track. If you try to do everything in-house, you might find that you need to hire more people or wait for your current team to complete other projects before they can work on your game. That slows everything down. But when you outsource mobile game development, you can have multiple teams working at once, which gets your game out the door faster.

Focus on What You Do Best

Developing a game requires a lot of focus and time. If your team is tied up with coding, art creation, and testing, they might not have the bandwidth to work on other important areas of your business. By outsourcing to a game development company, you free up your internal team to focus on what they do best, whether that’s marketing, business development, or managing other key projects.

For example, if you specialize in mobile app development, it might make more sense to hire a game outsourcing studio to handle the game development side of things. That way, you can focus on growing your mobile apps while letting the experts create your game.

Mitigated Risks

When you outsource game development, one of the key benefits is mitigated risks. Game development is a complex process that comes with many potential challenges, like budget overruns, missed deadlines, or technical issues. By partnering with a game outsourcing studio, you reduce these risks because you’re working with experts who have the experience and processes in place to handle such challenges.

Outsourcing teams are skilled at managing unexpected hurdles, such as staffing changes or technical bugs, without affecting the overall project timeline. They typically use proven workflows and risk management strategies to ensure that problems are identified early and addressed quickly. This reduces the likelihood of costly mistakes and helps keep your game on track.

Ready to Outsource Your Game?

Outsourcing your game development can be a game-changer, but how do you know if you’re ready? First, consider what parts of the project you need help with—whether it’s coding, art, animation, or the entire game. Make sure you have a clear vision and scope for your game. Once you know the skills and resources you need, it’s time to start looking for the right game development studio. You will want to partner with a team that understands your goals and can deliver on time and within budget.

Ready to get started? Let Devoted Studios turn your game idea into reality, faster and more efficiently!

Gamedev

Publisher vs. Investor: Which Door to Open?

Valuation & Dilution: Don’t Let Big Numbers Fool You

SAFEs vs. Convertible Notes

Anti-Dilution: Know the Two Terms

Control Terms: Where Founders Need to Push Back

Strategic Investors: Double-Edged Sword

Founder Equity: Vesting and Buybacks

Drag-Along & Tag-Along

Bad Fit? Getting Rid of an Investor

Investor Checklist (Founder-Friendly Version)

Brandon’s best reminders!

Work with Devoted Studios

Game Budgets Are at All-Time Highs

What’s Driving the Cost Increase?

Content Complexity

Market Pressure

Talent and Team Growth

Executive Pressure

And Yet… Players Are Playing Less

What Can Studios Actually Do About It?

Embrace Strategic Co-Development

Plan Smarter, Not Just Bigger

Delay the Right Way

What This Means

Why Publishing Terms Are Changing in 2025

Funding is recovering but still conservative

Private equity backed publishers demand higher returns

Publishers require more advanced builds before funding

Milestone pressure is higher than ever

The Publishing Red Flags: What You See vs What You Actually Get

Above the Surface: What Looks Great in a Publishing Deal

Below the Surface: What Developers Do Not See Right Away

🚩Red Flag 1: Vague Milestones and Risky Acceptance Terms

🚩Red Flag 2: Recoup Clauses That Block Revenue for Years

🚩Red Flag 3: Rights and IP Creep

🚩Red Flag 4: Termination Clauses That Put All Risk on the Studio

🚩Red Flag 5: Marketing Promises Without Marketing Commitments

🚩Red Flag 6: Reporting, Transparency, and Audit Limitations

When a Publishing Deal Is Actually Worth Taking

Co-create with Devoted

Devoted Studios Core Team: Your Dream Game Makers

The Executive Creative Director makes sure ideas are clear and ready for production

The creative lead behind the visuals is our Visual Art Director

Blending design and function is what our Tech Art Director does best

Our 3D Tech Art Director keeps complex assets running smoothly

Movement, timing, and expression come to life with our Animation Director

Behind every smooth pipeline is a smart Chief Technology Officer

The VP of Production is the one keeping everything on track

How We Communicate with Studios

So… How Do You Actually Build a Game Dev Team?

Why Our Structure Works

At the End of the Day, It’s All About People

Build Smarter with Devoted Studios

Let’s Start With the Basics: What is Co-development?

Why More Studios Are Turning to Co-Dev

Scale Fast Without Long-Term Hiring

Keep Your Core Team Focused

Move Faster and Reduce Bottlenecks

Get Access to Specialized Talent

Save on Overhead

Let’s Bust Some Myths About Co-Development

#Myth 1: “Bigger Teams = Faster Games”

#Myth 2: “Any studio offering co-dev services is legit.”

Our Game Co-Dev Portfolio

PALIA

TEAM ROLE

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

SPECTRE DIVIDE

TEAM ROLE

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

RISK OF RAIN 2

TEAM ROLE

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

Five Nights at Fredy’s: Secret of the Mimic

TEAM ROLE

PLATFORM

Ready to Scale Smarter?

Build Smarter With the Right Co-Dev Partner

Why This Matters for Game Studios

Running Low on Time or Resources?
Let’s Fix That