Publishers can be a daunting thing if you’re just starting out on your video game journey. But you don’t have to be afraid to reach out to them at all. It is their job to review games and to talk to devs day by day. They are always looking for the next big thing and yours might be exactly what they were waiting for. But having your proposal accepted can be rather difficult. You have to put a lot of time and effort into your pitch to get through to them. We’re going to guide you through those steps and show you how to find the right publisher for your game.
Forging A Partnership With A Publisher
Like with all relationships in life, there is no such thing as the perfect publisher for everyone. Maybe you have some colleagues who have succeeded in finding a publisher for their game. But even though you did the exact same thing… Your game didn’t make the cut. This could have a multitude of reasons. Maybe your game doesn’t have the genre or style they are looking for? Or it could also simply be the wrong time or place at that moment? But whatever the reason, don’t give up. Instead, analyze why they could have rejected you. Let’s take a look at the most common pitfalls and what you can do to avoid them.
Research The Publisher
Before you even apply for a publisher, you should take your time and look into them. Figure out what kind of games they are releasing, where they are located and what kind of services they provide to support developers in their endeavor. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to try to pitch your game to a publisher that only sells realistic FPS games when your own game is a stylized puzzle RPG.
Furthermore, you want a publisher that supports you in development. A lot of publishers offer your team services like helping with development, translation, or porting your game to different platforms. This can definitely be handy, especially if you’re just a small team of artists and developers. Or maybe you want a publisher that is strictly business and only focuses on marketing & distributing your product? The choice is yours
Another thing you should consider is if your game needs funding or not during development. Some publishers offer funding while others don’t. If your game is already done, you probably don’t really need it. But if you are still developing, it would definitely help a lot to get some extra support.
While you’re researching the different publishers, make sure to create a list of potential candidates. Create a spreadsheet and compare them with each other to make sure to pick the best ones. During my own research, I stumbled across this amazing list by Alan D where he gathered information about almost 300 different publishers. Feel free to use it and also go follow him on X!
Prepare Your Pitch
Now that you’ve narrowed down possible candidates, you can finally begin to prepare your pitch. But I have to warn you. Making a list of all the amazing ideas you have and presenting them to a publisher is not going to do you any favors. It might even hurt your reputation. It can come across as rather indecisive and confusing. Why would they trust someone when they can’t even be sure if you’re serious enough about any of them? Rather than that, pick the one you think has the most potential and work on that. But no matter how cool and how ambitious your idea is… An idea is just an idea if you don’t take action.
Instead of simply preparing a slide show of what your game could be… Take the time and make a demo and let them play it themselves! Not only does it get the idea across a lot better but it also shows them how dedicated you are to your project. A lot of beginners never make it out of the planning stages or when they finally do, they suddenly discover that the idea they had doesn’t even work in the first place. This is why publishers are very careful with whom they are going to pick. After all, more often than not… They make a heavy loss when investing in certain projects.
Keep It Short & Simple
Another thing that is very important when it comes to creating a pitch for your game is to keep it as short as possible. Those people have to review dozens if not hundreds of applications every week. So make sure you can describe your game in just a few sentences and also provide them with a link to your playable demo. Make sure that everything is going to work fine and if your game only works on certain operating systems, tell them! Or if you’re there in person, have it up and running on your own laptop. This way they don’t have to go through any troubleshooting but can hop into the game right away.
The other reason why you should keep your pitch short & simple is that you’ll never know when you might get the chance to present your game. If you’re at a conference and you happen to get a hold of a representative of a publisher you’re interested in, you often don’t have much time to talk to them. So being able to explain what your game is about in just a few short sentences is a skill many have yet to master!
Don’t Forget To Network
Making connections whenever you can is one of the most important things. If you manage to befriend someone who is working for a publisher, they are definitely going to recommend you or tell you when there’s a good time to pitch your game. Going onto connections, talking to other game developers… Everyone that could open a door to a publisher is a person worth keeping.
It is also important to figure out who you have to talk to or befriend in order to get your game approved. It may not be the smartest idea to try and get the CEO on the line in order to pitch your small indie game. Figure out if there is a person or even a whole department in charge of the type of game you plan to release. Maybe you even can talk to interns or people in the lower ranks to figure out what’s the best way to tackle this.
Let People Play Your Game
If you plan to go spend on convention, you can set up your own booth to introduce people to your game but this can be quite pricey. But a good and cheap alternative would be to simply carry around a laptop or tablet that you can set up anywhere you go. You can even have the game up and running, that way you only have to open the device up and people can already start playing.
No matter what your approach is, make sure people are going to remember you and your game. Back in the days people used to hand out demo CDs for people to play at home but this practice is rather outdated. You could give them a business card with a link or a QR-Code on it that lets them play or download the game as soon as they have time.
You can even use streamers and other influencer to generate more interest for your game. This also shows publishers that there is an actual market for your game. In general you should develop your game in public instead of keeping it hidden behind closed doors. Who knows? Maybe a publisher is going to reach out to you one day.
Keep Trying Even If You Got Rejected
If you’ve followed our tips, made a great pitch and a fun demo that is going to knock them off their socks and you still get rejected… Don’t give up. Try to find out why your game got rejected either by asking them directly or analyzing it afterward. Maybe the publisher isn’t the right fit? Or maybe a competitor was faster and they are going to release a rather similar game soon? Either way, while it’s not very encouraging to get rejected over and over again, keep trying. The more you get rejected, the more experience you gain from it.
In case you don’t hear back from a publisher, don’t be afraid to reach out to them again. Maybe you’ve simply sent it at a rather busy time and it somehow got lost in the void. Of course don’t expect them to already get back to you after a week or two. Wait for around 6-7 weeks before writing them again so you don’t seem pushy and you can also show them the progress you’ve made since then which shows your dedication to the project.
Finding a publisher is a rather time-consuming task and you can’t expect it to happen overnight. You have to take your time to prepare a proper pitch along with a demo and the reviewing process itself can also take a few weeks if not months until you get a reply. Building up a trustworthy relationship is the key for your application to go through. If you can show them that you’re serious and that your idea is unique and fun, you will definitely find someone who is willing to publish the game for you!
If you’re looking for a publisher but can’t find anyone that’s to your liking or who is willing to publish your game, you might also want to look into how to release a game on Steam yourself:
From Dev To Steam: How To Release A Game On Steam In 2024
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