Before choosing your next game, decide what you want the studio to become. A solo project made on evenings and weekends, a self-published game intended to support a team, and a publisher-backed production call for different levels of risk, staffing, time, and expected revenue. Build the project plan around that intended future—not the other way around.
Start by defining what you want the studio to be
Write down what a good outcome would look like for the studio, not only for the next game. Are you aiming to make games part-time, support a small full-time team, retain ownership of original intellectual property, or combine original projects with contract work? There is no universally best answer; the right choice depends on your creative priorities, financial risk tolerance, and available resources.
A planning framework in The Business of Indie Games contrasts a game meant to fund a 10-person team and a follow-up with a solo project made on nights and weekends. Those are fundamentally different plans, even if both are indie games. Decide which kind of future you are pursuing before committing to a production scope or financing path.
Make the goal concrete
- Creative direction: What kinds of games and work does the team want to make?
- Risk: How much personal or studio money can you put at risk, and how long can you operate without new income?
- Ownership and control: How important is retaining creative control and ownership of the game?
- Studio shape: Do you want a solo practice, a small core team, or a larger production with outside partners?
- Continuity: Should this game fund the next project, or is it a standalone creative or commercial goal?
Choose a project path that fits the goal
Funding and production routes are tradeoffs, not shortcuts to success. Compare them against the same practical questions: who carries the financial exposure, who owns or controls the work, what support is included, and whether the resulting schedule and revenue timing leave room for another project.
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| Path | Potential fit | Key tradeoffs to assess |
|---|---|---|
| Self-funded or bootstrapped original game | A small project or a team able to carry development costs and risk | Can preserve more control, but the studio bears the funding burden and must plan around its own runway. |
| Publisher-backed project | A production that needs outside financing, publishing support, or both | Evaluate the specific agreement, including control, ownership, responsibilities, delivery expectations, and how revenue supports the studio afterward. Terms vary; no universal deal structure is established here. |
| Co-development | Teams seeking paid production work or a way to contribute to another studio’s project | Can provide work and revenue distinct from self-publishing, but assess the partner, scope, staffing demands, and how the work fits the studio’s own projects. |
| Contract work alongside original IP | A studio seeking income from services while developing its own game | Consider whether contracted deadlines and staffing leave enough capacity for original work; revenue and creative control differ from a self-published release. |
These routes can overlap. A studio might use contract income or co-development to support a smaller original project, or pursue a publisher deal for a larger production. The suitable mix depends on the team’s finances, workload, and priorities.
What current industry reports say about funding
Funding patterns show why it is worth weighing more than one route, but survey results do not predict what will work for an individual studio. In the Game Developers Conference’s (GDC) 2025 State of the Game Industry report, 56% of respondents said they had put their own money into game creation, while 28% reported project-based or publishing deals as a funding source. These are respondent-reported figures, not shares of all studios or a forecast of your odds of securing funding.
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GDC’s 2026 State of the Game Industry report is based on responses from more than 2,300 game industry professionals. Separately, GDC’s 2026 GDC Trends Report describes indie funds and co-development as active parts of the financing conversation, noting: “While larger studios face challenges seeking funding through proof-of-concept prototypes (and more), indie game funds are helping to fill the gaps.” That industry observation does not establish that any particular fund or co-development partner is accepting applications or suits your project.
Unity’s 2025 Unity Gaming Report says more than 60% of developers in its survey named extracting more value from each game as a primary strategy in the current industry climate. The figure comes from Unity’s survey and wording; it should not be treated as directly comparable to GDC’s findings or as a guarantee that adding revenue streams will help a particular game.
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Turn the goal into a production plan
Once the studio’s direction is clear, translate it into a project plan. Treat scope, schedule, hiring, and budget as connected decisions: changing the release target can affect milestones, staffing, and what the team can deliver. Revisit the plan when assumptions change instead of treating the first version as fixed.
- Define the target market. Identify the players the game is for and the platforms or regions the project intends to reach. Treat demand as a question to investigate, not a sales forecast.
- Set a deliverable scope. Describe the game the team can realistically build with its available skills, time, and funding. Distinguish essential features from additions that could be cut if production slips.
- Choose an engine and technical approach. Include the engine in the plan alongside the team’s experience, project needs, and available production time.
- Plan localization deliberately. Decide which languages and markets are in scope, and account for localization work in production planning rather than assuming it can be added without schedule or budget impact.
- Build milestones and a release timeline. Work backward from a plausible release window, then check whether the milestones and scope are achievable. If the date changes, review staffing and budget as well.
- Match team and budget to the plan. Estimate the people and costs needed for the planned scope and timeline. If the plan does not fit the studio’s resources or risk tolerance, adjust the project rather than relying on an unsupported sales expectation.
- Review assumptions regularly. Reassess the market, scope, schedule, team, engine, localization, and budget as the project develops. A change in one area may require changes elsewhere.
Plan for the next game before this one is finished
A release is not a substitute for deciding what happens next. The planning guidance in The Business of Indie Games recommends preparing the next project before the current launch cycle fully ends and saving or reinvesting remaining profits. That does not mean every release will produce profits; it means the studio should plan how it would use any money left after obligations and operating costs are accounted for.
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Decide what the studio needs after launch: time to support the game, funds for continued operations, a smaller team, or early development on the next project. Planning this before release helps connect the current game’s scope and financing to the studio’s longer-term direction.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Be cautious about adding merchandise revenue
Merchandise can look like a natural extension of a game, but it also requires learning another business. Before committing to inventory, test whether there is credible demand and whether the expected margins justify the work and financial exposure. Do not treat merchandise as guaranteed extra revenue or assume it will finance a follow-up.
Quick Recap
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