How To Find The Best Publishing Deal For Your Video Game | Louis Rene Auclair

1. Getting the Best Publishing Deal
for your Game
Getting the Best Publishing Deal
for your Game

2. Louis René Auclair, 18 years experience in video
games. Recently acted as Vice President and
Chief Marketing Officer at Hibernum where I was
responsible for marketing and business
development. Also oversees all developers and
publishers relations and plays a major role in the
creative design for all of the studio’s projects.
Louis René Auclair, 18 years experience in video
games. Recently acted as Vice President and
Chief Marketing Officer at Hibernum where I was
responsible for marketing and business
development. Also oversees all developers and
publishers relations and plays a major role in the
creative design for all of the studio’s projects.

3. Evaluate Your ProjectEvaluate Your Project

4. What Are you Making?Let’s Take a Closer Look at Our IndustryLet’s Take a Closer Look at Our Industry

5. Projected Revenues for 2021 in $B with Growth vs 2016
0
23
45
68
90
-10 % 13 % 35 % 58 % 80 %0
Mobile Games
MMO/MOBA Games
Console Games
PC-Hardware
Console
Hardware
Web Games
PC (non MMO/
MOBA Games)
Games Advertising
eSports
VR Hardware
AR Games VR Games
INVESTMENTS
CONSOLIDATION

6. Let’s Focus on the Mobile MarketLet’s Focus on the Mobile Market

7. Top Grossing Charts Have Become Entrenched By AAA Publishers With AAA Budgets.
What It Takes To Compete
● $5MM+ development budgets.
● Branded content.
● multi-year development cycles.
● 3 years live operation plans.
● Multi-million marketing and user
acquisition budgets. Source: AppAnnie
Top 100 Grossing
[USA] [iOS] [2016]
Grossing
IndependentPublisher
Top Grossing - Impossible To Penetrate
90
10

8. Much Easier To Break Into The Top 100 Downloads Than The Top 100 Grossing
What It Takes To Compete
● Virality and social hooks.
● Branded content.
● Adaptation to market changes.
● Simple gameplay loops.
● Platform featuring.
● Simplistic game design.
Source: AppAnnie
Top 100 Download
[USA] [iOS] [2016]
Downloads
IndependentPublisher
58
42
Hope Resides in a Different Metric

9. Source: EEDAR
Easy To Get There, Remaining There Is The Problem
New Games Per Month in Top Download Charts
[USA] [iOS] [Data Starts 4/2015] [New Game = First month in monthly top 100 downloads]
19%
MONTHLY
CHURN RATE
IN TOP 100
However, Churn Rates are AN ISSUE

10. Not a Lot of Options in Mobile
Build a Big Boat or a Small, Agile One!
Not a Lot of Options in Mobile
Build a Big Boat or a Small, Agile One!

11. Or Innovate… But Innovation has a Cost.Or Innovate… But Innovation has a Cost.

12. One Last Thing: Know your Strengths
Analytics
Gatcha
Multiplayer
Social / Virality
QA/Localization
Game Services
Marketing
Customer Support
Notifications
Back-End
Ad Mediation
User Acquisition
Platform Relations
Crash Monitoring
A/B Testing / Insights
ASO
Submissions
KPI Optimization
Legal
Studio Financing
Circle Back: Know your Strengths

13. Your game needs to be good!!!
Now you are Ready to go and Find your
Publishing Partner!
Where do you Start?
Now you are Ready to go and Find your
Publishing Partner!
Where do you Start?

14. Welcome to Publisher Shopping!Welcome to Publisher Shopping!

15. Competing
Accommodating
Avoiding
Compromising
Collaborating
Negotiation TechniquesNegotiation Techniques
• Competing
• Accommodating
• Avoiding
• Compromising
• Collaborating

16. • On paper from the very beginning
• Set in stone once signed
• Initial terms mirror final terms
• Evolves with negotiations and
production needs
• Can be amended throughout the
relationship
• Final terms are subject to change
FlexibleUnchanging
Philosophy of the Deal
• On paper from the very beginning
• Set in stone once signed
• Initial terms mirror final terms
• Evolves with negotiations and
production needs
• Can be amended throughout the
relationship
• Final terms are subject to change
FlexibleUnchanging
Philosophy of the Deal

17. Upside: benefits or income
as a result of the deal
Parties want to maximize
upside
Risk: exposure to the
chance of loss
Parties want to avoid risk
Sharing Risk and UpsideSharing Risk and Upside
• Risk: exposure to the chance of
loss
• Parties want to avoid risk
• Upside: benefits or income as a
result of the deal
• Parties want to maximize upside

18. • What do you bring to the table?
• What does the other party provide?
• What would make you end negotiations?
Using Your Leverage
• What do you bring to the table?
• What does the other party provide?
• What would make you end negotiations?
Using Your Leverage

19. Ownership of Assets
Marketing
Termination
Revenue Split
Specific Common IssuesSpecific Common Issues
• Approvals
• Ownership of Assets
• Marketing
• Termination
• Revenue Split

20. • Budget as a recoupable advance against royalties
• Publishers handled all development related expenses
• No royalties until development budget fully recouped
• Could result in development budget being kept artificially low to increase
royalties and decrease payout timeline
“Traditional” Model“Traditional” Model
• Budget as a recoupable advance against royalties
• Publisher handles all development related expenses
• No royalties until development budget fully recouped
• Could result in development budget being kept artificially low to increase
royalties and decrease payout timeline

21. “Break-Even” Models
Disadvantages
Advantages
Disadvantages
Advantages
“Break-Even” Models
• Feels more like a true partnership
• Quicker potential to royalties
• Feels more like a true partnership
• Quicker potential to royalties
• Feels more like a true partnership
• Quicker potential to royalties
• Potentially lower royalty rate
• Lower dev rate to get to break even
point faster

22. “Burn Rate” Deals
DisadvantagesAdvantages
“Burn Rate” Deals
DisadvantagesAdvantages
• Feels more like a true
partnership
• Quicker potential to
royalties
• Lower risk of studio
running out of cash
• Ability to focus on the
game and not cut
corners
• Feels more like a true
partnership
• Quicker potential to
royalties
• Potentially lower
royalty rate
• Gives a lot of visibility
to the publisher over
the developer

23. DisadvantagesAdvantages
Dev Fee/Financing HybridsDev Fee/Financing Hybrids
DisadvantagesAdvantages
• Potentially lower
royalty rate
• Lower dev rate to get
to break even point
faster
• Potentially lower
royalty rate
• Lower dev rate to get
to break even point
faster
• Studio brings more
leverage to the table
• Quicker
reimbursements of
dev fees for royalties
• Revenue are split
with more partners
• Decrease of focus
from publisher if
royalties are too low

24. Disadvantages
Advantages
Pure Financing (with No
Publishing Obligation)
Disadvantages
Advantages
Pure Financing (with No
Publishing Obligation)
• Potentially lower
royalty rate
• Lower dev rate to get
to break even point
faster • Potentially lower
royalty rate
• Lower dev rate to get
to break even point
faster
• More liberty to run
your studio and game
• Allows team and
studio to grow on
multiple fronts • Lack support and
help
• Removes focus from
game

25. Or Innovate… But Innovation has a Cost.
Whatever you Decide, Keep your FocusWhatever you Decide, Keep your Focus

26. Louis René Auclair, 18 years experience in video games.
Recently acted as Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
at Hibernum where I was responsible for marketing and
business development. Also oversees all developers and
publishers relations and plays a major role in the creative
design for all of the studio’s projects.
Using Your LeverageLet’s Talk!
Louis René Auclair
President & Founder
louis@rocketjumpgames.co
+1 (514) 679-1440