For game practitioners, the game distribution model is not a new concept. However, mobile game publishers have become increasingly important due to changing and complex policies, increasing user expectations for localized content, and increasingly disrupted external environments (such as the decline in travel due to the epidemic).
In some markets, partnering with a publisher may be the only option for foreign developers to enter the market. Therefore, publishers who can help developers navigate the local market are an integral part of the mobile ecosystem. We surveyed and interviewed publishers in Asia Pacific and developers working with third-party publishers to better understand and build successful partnerships.
Here's our elaboration of some definitions:
- First-party distribution refers to games released by the developers themselves.
- Second-party distribution refers to publishers working closely with developers through joint ventures.
- Third-party publishing refers to developers developing games and entrusting independent publishing companies to publish games.
In this article, we will focus on introducing you the experience and insights of game publishers, and later, we will also share the views of developers on third-party publishing, so stay tuned.
First, let's take a look at the basics of how game publishers work.
For the 28 publishers surveyed across the Asia-Pacific region, their top priority and biggest challenge was identifying quality games to license and publish.
When publishers look for games, they typically reach out to developers directly from existing sources or through various gaming campaigns, and choose games based on market fit, gameplay, and game metrics. Since the outbreak, this process has slowed down. Once a publisher has identified a game they are interested in, a licensing agreement is usually signed for a two- to three-year period. The agreement typically provides for revenue sharing, a minimum revenue guarantee (the publisher must pay the developer a fee regardless of the actual revenue generated), and an up-front annual licensing fee.
In terms of partnerships, most publishers rely on developers to support technical optimization or troubleshooting. Some publishers are willing to form strategic partnerships with developers, such as providing game design guidelines or even establishing joint ventures to continue collaborative projects in the future.
Below is a summary of our interviews with publishers in the Asia Pacific region, including Gamania (Taiwan), VNG Games (Vietnam), IndoFun Games (Indonesia), Neocraft (China) and Kakao Games (South Korea).
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一个常见的误解是发行商只追求短期效益。虽然有些发行商确实采用了这种策略，但也有一些着眼于未来的发行商对建立长期、可持续的合作关系感兴趣。这意味着游戏将维持运行三到五年或更长时间，并将会扩展到其他市场或合作开发新项目。与值得信赖的开发者保持密切关系符合发行商的最大利益，这样他们就可以优先选择正在开发的有前景的新游戏。
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发行商倾向于专注在特定的类型和市场。开发者可以根据这些信息决定适合的合作伙伴，开发商也可以参考发行商的业绩记录做出合适的选择。
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开发者通常会在他们经验丰富的市场中选择自行发布游戏，而在其他不熟悉的市场中则与发行商合作。对于大型游戏，开发者甚至可以选择在每个市场与不同的发行商合作。在这种情况下，开发者必须与不同市场的发行商保持一致，以便为游戏玩家保持公平一致的定价和营销策略。
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发行商带来的最大价值是他们完善的本地合作伙伴资源。这包括他们与当地 KOL、媒体机构、IP 持有者、本地化代理、客户服务机构和社区的关系和了解。拥有当地的合作伙伴可能非常有帮助，尤其是在某些仍然受疫情影响的地区。
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发行商提供的不仅仅是语言翻译和客户服务。他们还可以就本地用户行为研究、潜在市场规模、营销优化、移动端或互联网规范测试提供建议，并提供定价等获利建议。这使开发者能够专注于他们的核心优势，例如优化产品稳定性和内容。
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发行商通常非常了解业界标准指标和本地游戏玩家对特定市场的偏好。这使他们能够按需调整 LiveOps 活动，打造有意义的社区互动，并为游戏玩法和创意设计提供建议，进而获取更多用户。专业化是开发者以较低风险快速扩展的一种高效方式。
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与任何成功的合作伙伴关系一样，双方都需要经常坦率地交流，并提供基于事实和数据的反馈。开拓新市场并不是简单复制其他地方的做法。它需要创意人员进行多次 Beta 测试、焦点小组、A/B 测试等，以确保内容和游戏玩法是为本地游戏玩家精心设计的。
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过去，MMORPG、SLG 等硬核游戏往往是发行商的首选类型。然而，随着行业的发展，加上游戏玩家的口味更加多样化，市场正在向更多类型开放。这意味着发行商不再只选择拥有强大 IP 或来自大型工作室的游戏，现在他们还会从构建中度和休闲游戏的中小型开发者那里取得授权。
当我们展望行业未来的趋势时，发行公司可能会提供模块化服务，例如社区管理、客户服务或营销，而不只是全套的第三方发行服务。
由于疫情，远程发行可能成为没有本地办事处的开发者的唯一解决方案。然而，这将变得越来越困难，因为游戏玩家越来越成熟，而且当地政策也在不断变化。开发商不太可能成为每个核心市场的专家，除非他们已经达到一定的规模。因此，本地发行商是开发者考虑的重要合作伙伴，尤其是在全球发布初期或没有精力来密切监控和优化某些市场的情况下。
敬请持续关注后续的文章，我们将从开发者的角度回顾调研和采访结果，并分享一份最佳实践核对清单，帮助您更好地识别高质量的游戏和合作伙伴，让您的游戏顺利发布，并减少潜在问题。
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