The Realtionship Between Publishers And Developers

Being in the military for a few years now I have learned the value of coffee. When I am not in the middle of a training cycle I show up to work during the week and hobble around for the first hour looking for a cup of coffee to get my day started. Just the sweet aroma alone is enough to start to make my senses tingle as they begin to wake up.

Depending upon what is on my plate for that morning I usually sit down at my desk, login to my computer, and start reading through all the various blogs and gaming sites that I try to keep up to date with while drinking my coffee.

As I was drinking my nectar of the gods on a particularly hot day here in the desert, I came across an article on Kotaku. Sometimes, you never know what you are interested in until it is presented to you.

Ever wondered how the workings of a contract are made between a publisher and a developer? Well, you can check out the rather large pile of information from 38 Studios, a failed development company founded by MLB player Curt Schilling in 2006. For those who do not know the company, 38 studios was the one that released the RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

The Rhode Island Superior Court has released all of the information pertaining to an ongoing legal battle between publisher Electronic Arts and the developer 38 Studios.

While I could bore you with all the details I supplied the link for you to investigate if you wish to sift through the thousands of documents released. Instead, I want to talk about the interesting relationship that publishers and developers now have, and the pros and cons of having one.

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After reading into some of the documents released, reading several others’ opinion on the matter, and various articles, I started to look deeper into the gaming industry of today, and thought to myself, if I were a developer, why would I need a publisher?

The obvious answer I can give is that publishers offer the funding backbone that developers require. Not just to develop the game, but for advertisement and distribution as well. In the gaming industry today it is all about making money and being a publisher is where it is at.

Think of it like this. You have a fair bit of cash on hand and you see someone with a great idea who does not have all that money that you do to make their dream come true. So you invest in the idea and in turn hope to receive more than you gave.

For publishers this comes out of royalty fees and certain rights to some of the Intellectual Property. However, it seems the publisher makes more than the developer, essentially putting a leash on them. Ultimately the developer becomes entirely dependent upon the publisher.

This is where I start to see the problem with the relationship between the two, and also why games today are in such poor shape—save the few jewels that come out every now and then. The moment that contract is made (depending upon the publisher) the developer becomes pinched. The publisher does not care about the game itself; they only care about it making money for them. While understandable, as anyone who invests in something obviously wants a profitable return, it puts pressure on the developers to make their game.

They now have to reach certain deadlines, make changes if their publisher does not agree, release information for advertising and build hype for a game that is not complete yet. And sometimes that preemptive advertising is not even relevant. Often times, the game is released without it being what the developers had envisioned it to begin with. Changes were made, only for the sole purpose of trying to make more money.

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Again, understandable from a businessperson's point of view, but as gamers we feel betrayed. I myself have been playing Star Wars: The Old Republic—quite often recently—and Eve Online. The difference between the two’s development is readiy apparent.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is in constant development by BioWare, but while BioWare makes the game, their publisher Electronic Arts is at the helm steering the direction of it. In Eve Online, it is developed by CCP Games, with no publisher to get in their way. Granted, it can be argued many of CCPs design choices could use a lot of refinement. But they at least still have the final say in what they want to do with their game.

That said though, Eve Online was a fluke success, giving CCP the opportunity to skip the whole publisher process. In BioWare’s case, the situation was different. They had an ambitious project they wanted to undertake but needed a large lump sum of cash to get the ball rolling. Those voice actors have to be paid somehow.

While many argue that BioWare should have stayed out of the MMO scene, and stuck with their single player track record, the overall success of Star Wars: The Old Republic is evident, especially after it went free-to-play. Although, I cannot help but feel like the game would have been much better had BioWare made the game without the backbone of a publisher. While the funding was nice, as well as all the various other aspects of support, I still feel as though it is only making them drag their heels in the dirt as they continue to try and develop their game.

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With the ever growing popularity of crowd funded games—popping up every month it seems—it would appear that my opinion on the subject is not alone. That said, however, I still feel as though there is a place for a publisher in the gaming industry.

It is a double edged sword if you ask me. On one side, you can receive the funding you require to make your game, but on the other, you are now bounded by a contract which ultimately puts the games progress in the hands of the people who invested in you—the publisher.

With crowd funding the current fad right now, only time will tell if the need for a publisher will be needed in the future of gaming.

I am definitely interested in reading everyone’s thoughts on the matter however, so please leave a comment!

Drink up,
The Scruffy Pirate