Who is a Game Publisher? Game Publisher FAQ

A game publisher is a company that funds a game’s development or helps in the distribution of a game in a market. A game publisher can be a game producer at the same time.

A game publisher can do many tasks, they may have a deal with the developers to fund their game and also help them launch their game in the market.

As most of the game publishers are big companies they can do all work such as managing project, creating a brand of your game, publicity, advertisement, distribution of rights of the game.

No, it is up to your choice and needs. You can also publish your game on steam and other platforms digitally. But with help of a game publisher, you can sell physical copies of your game and they also help in branding, publicity and they will take care of any legal trouble such as game piracy.

Game publishers earn by various methods which mainly include profits from selling the game and selling the rights and licenses related to the game. They may also make money by in-game purchases made and a game’s merchandise.

To become a game publisher you do not need a certain qualification or a degree. But you must have a great knowledge of the gaming industry. You can start by becoming an assistant game publisher.

Game publishing is a very costly affair as it includes development, licensing, marketing, and distribution at a very large scale.

The top game publishers in terms of revenue are Sony, Tencent, Nintendo, Microsoft, NetEase, Activision Blizzard, EA, Take 2, Bandai Namco, Square Enix. Out of these 5 companies are American, 3 of them are Japanese and two are Chinese.

Ownership of a game depends on the type of contract done between the developer and the publisher. In some cases, the publisher is the main owner as it handles the distribution, licensing, and branding of the game. However, in the case of a small indie developer publishing its game on a digital platform, we can say the developer is the owner of the game in this case.

Finding a game publisher for your game is not an easy task. The most genuine method is to discuss with developers about their experiences with different game publishers.

Yes, you can publish your own game, but then you will have to take care of everything such as managing the game, marketing, handling licensing, legal matters, acquiring users. But yes if you plan to do it all by yourself then you can publish your own game.

If you are an indie developer then you can consider publishing your game with help of digital platforms like steam, you will get a place to manage your game and then you can focus on other aspects such as marketing. Also. read their terms and conditions before signing up.