Video game publisher

Short description: Company that publishes video games

Part of a series on the:
Video game industry

Activities/jobs

* Video game design
* Game art design
* Game development / Game developer
* Game modification
* Game producer
* Game publisher
* Game journalism
* Level design

Development

* Interaction design
* Game programming
* Level design
* Video game design

Types

* Casual game
* Indie game
* Interactive art
* Interactive movie
* Serious game

Topics

* Digital rights management (DRM)
* Outsourcing
* Software license
* End-user license agreement (EULA)
* Video game preservation

Lists

* List of indie game developers
* List of video game developers
* List of video game industry people

* v
* t
* e

A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer.

They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer (the publisher calls this external development) and sometimes by paying an internal staff of developers called a studio.[1] The large video game publishers also distribute the games they publish, while some smaller publishers instead hire distribution companies (or larger video game publishers) to distribute the games they publish. Other functions usually performed by the publisher include deciding on and paying for any licenses that are used by the game; paying for localization; layout, printing, and possibly the writing of the user manual; and the creation of graphic design elements such as the box design. Some large publishers with vertical structure also own publishing subsidiaries (labels).

Large publishers also attempt to boost efficiency across all internal and external development teams by providing services such as sound design and code packages for commonly needed functionality. Because the publisher often finances development, they usually try to manage development risk along with a staff of producers or project managers to monitor the developer's progress, critique ongoing development, and assist as necessary. Most video games created by an external video game developer are paid for with periodic advances on royalties. These advances are paid when the developer reaches certain stages of development, called milestones.

In recent years, the rise of digital distribution platforms such as Steam and console-based online stores has somewhat reduced the impact of seasonal sales cycles, allowing publishers to release titles throughout the year rather than focusing solely on the holiday period.[2]

* The industry has become increasingly "hit-driven" over the past decade, meaning that a small number of best-selling titles account for a large share of total revenue.[3][4][5]

Consumers tend to purchase the most heavily marketed titles rather than those of highest quality, resulting in fewer sales for other games within the same genre. This dynamic has contributed to rising development budgets, as publishers compete to dominate key market segments. It has also encouraged the prioritization of sequels to successful franchises over new intellectual properties, a trend for which publishers such as Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts have faced criticism.[6][7][8]

* Current generation consoles have more advanced graphic capabilities than previous consoles. Taking advantage of those capabilities requires a larger team-size than games on earlier, simpler consoles. In order to compete with the best games on these consoles, there are more characters to animate; all characters must be modeled with a higher level of detail; more textures must be created; the entire art pipeline must be made more complex to allow the creation of normal maps and more complex programming code is required to simulate physics in the game world, and to render everything as precisely and quickly as possible. On this generation of consoles, games commonly require budgets of US$15 million to $20 million. Activision's Spider-Man 3, for example, cost US$35 million to develop, not counting the cost of marketing and sales.[9] Every game financed is, then, a large gamble, and pressure to succeed is high.

* Contrasting with the big budget titles increased expense of "front-line" console games is the casual game market, in which smaller, simpler games are published for PCs and as downloadable console games. Also, Nintendo's Wii console, though debuting in the same generation as the PlayStation 3[10] and the Xbox 360,[11] requires a smaller development budget, as innovation on the Wii is centered around the use of the Wii Remote and not around the graphics pipeline.

## Contents

* 1 Types of game publishers
* 2 Investor interest
* 3 Publishers
* 3.1 List of largest video game companies by revenue
* 3.2 List of video game publishers
* 3.3 List of largest video game employers
* 4 References

## Types of game publishers

AAA game publishers produce and create games that are high budget and groundbreaking. They are advanced in technology and forward the boundaries of technology and creativity in the video game world. AAA game publishers often produce popular and blockbuster games. These publishers have the financial resource and means to fund large game development projects. These publishers implement and fund marketing and distribution to guarantee reach and exposure for their games.[12] With their funds to market they are able to advertise and reach a wider consumer pool and have access to distribute to a big network. Although they have creative constraints within game development and marketing, they often focus and follow market trends. They have a higher demand to attain commercial success. Examples of AAA video game publishers are Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Activision.[13]

Indie game publishers are companies that work with independent developers. Their focus is on developing games that promotes creativity and originality. Developers have creative control over their games. These publishers implement intimate collaborations between the publishers and the developers. Often stand out in the video game market due to the more unique genres.[14] Indie game publishers have restrict marketing budgets and have small audience reach and visibility.[15] Examples of Indie video game publishers are Devolver Digital, Annapurna Interactive and Raw Fury.[13]

Mobile game publishers produce and specialize in video games on smartphones and tablet devices. They take advantage of the widespread appeal and rise of mobile gaming. These publishers enhance games for touch based interfaces and devices.[16] They are proficient in designing monetization tactics for mobile platforms. Mobile game publishers have a comprehensive understanding of the mobile gaming market. They have proficiency in strategies for engagement and user acquisition for mobile sites. For mobile gaming there is access through app stores for distribution channels. There are obstacles with monetization due to lack of in-app purchase and free-to-play(F2P) models. Examples of Mobile game publishers are Supercell, King, and Zynga.[17]

When engaging a publisher of any of these types as a studio or developer, there will be a publishing agreement set in place. Receiving an offer from a publisher needs careful reviewing and understanding the publishing agreement before signing. A publishing agreement defines your entire working relationship with the publisher. Since the draft is usually prepared by the publisher’s lawyer, the contract will naturally be written to protect the publisher’s interests first.[18]

## Investor interest

Numerous video game publishers are traded publicly on stock markets. As a group, they have had mixed performance. At present, Electronic Arts is the only third-party publisher present in the S&P 500 diversified list of large U.S. corporations; in April 2010, it entered the Fortune 500 for the first time.[19]

Hype over video game publisher stocks has been breathless at two points:

* In the early 1990s, the introduction of CD-ROM computer drives caused hype about a multimedia revolution that would bring interactive entertainment to the masses. Several Hollywood movie studios formed "interactive" divisions to profit in this allegedly booming new media.[20] Most of these divisions later folded after expensively producing several games that were heavy in "full-motion video" content, but light in the quality of gameplay.
* In the United States, revenue from the sales of video and computer games exceeded revenue from film box-office receipts for the first time in the dot-com days of the late 1990s, when technology companies in general were surrounded by hype. The video game publishers did not, however, experience the same level of rise in stock prices that many dot-com companies saw. This was probably because video game publishing was seen as a more mature industry whose prospects were fairly well understood, as opposed to the typical exciting dot-com business model with unknown but possibly sky-high prospects. While many technology stocks were eventually destroyed in the dot-com crash in the early 2000s, the stock prices of the video game publishers recovered as a group; several of the larger publishers such as EA and Take-Two Interactive achieved historical highs in the mid-2000s.

## Publishers

### List of largest video game companies by revenue

### List of video game publishers

Main article: Company:List of video game publishers

### List of largest video game employers

Main article: Company:List of largest video game employers

## References

1. ↑ "An Overview of Video Game Publishing for Developers" (in en-US). October 10, 2021. https://www.aspectlg.com/posts//an-overview-of-video-game-publishing-for-developers.
2. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (November 20, 2017). "How digital distribution changed game release seasons". https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/20/16674844/digital-distribution-video-game-release-schedule.
3. ↑ Matthews, Matt (April 19, 2012). "Has video game retail become an entirely 'hits driven' industry?". https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/has-video-game-retail-become-an-entirely-hits-driven-industry-.
4. ↑ Hennings, Nate (August 12, 2013). "'White space' helps us understand the strategic direction of gaming mergers and acquisitions". https://venturebeat.com/2013/08/12/white-space-helps-us-understand-the-strategic-direction-of-gaming-mergers-and-acquisitions/.
5. ↑ Messina, Judith (July 31, 2013). "Color Zen throws spotlight on city's games scene". http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20130731/TECHNOLOGY/130739971.
6. ↑ nofi (June 28, 2012). "Activision Reduces Prototype Devs To "Support" Role, Significantly Reduces Staff Levels". TheSixthAxis. http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2012/06/28/activision-reduces-prototype-devs-to-support-role-significantly-reduces-staff-levels/.
7. ↑ Snider, Mike (June 28, 2012). "Activision cuts staff at 'Prototype' video game studio". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2012/06/prototype-studio-staff-trimmed-/1.
8. ↑ "Why Video Games Are Getting More Expensive to Make". 11 April 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68520168.
9. ↑ Sinclair, Brendan (September 14, 2006). "Activision exec prices PS3 games". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-exec-prices-ps3-games/1100-6157548/.
10. ↑ "PlayStation Official Site – PlayStation Console, Games, Accessories". http://ru.playstation.com/ps3/.
11. ↑ "Why Xbox 360". http://www.xbox.com/ru-RU/xbox-360/why-xbox-360.
12. ↑ Nieborg, David B. (2021). "9. How to Study Game Publishers: Activision Blizzard's Corporate History". Game Production Studies. pp. 179–196.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Tran, Binh (2023-07-17). "Types of Game Publishers: The Major Players in Game Publishing?". Gamespublisher.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
14. ↑ Heineman, David S. (2015). Thinking about Video Games: Interviews with the Experts. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-01715-4.
15. ↑ Johnson, Lindy L.; DeBoeser, Elizabeth (2017). "Review of Inside, Playdead". Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 61 (3): 340–341. ISSN 1081-3004.
16. ↑ Steirer, G., & Barnes, J. (2019). Angry Birds: Mobile Gaming. In M. T. Payne & N. B. Huntemann (Eds.), How to Play Video Games (Vol. 1, pp. 216–223). NYU Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv12fw8tn.30
17. ↑ Tran, Binh (2023-07-17). "Types of Game Publishers: The Major Players in Game Publishing?". Gamespublisher.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07
18. ↑ Otto, René (7 November 2025). "The Game Developer’s Guide to Publishing Agreements". https://deviantlegal.com/guide/game-developers-guide-publishing-agreements/.
19. ↑ "Electronic Arts Breaks Into Fortune 500", Leigh Alexander, April 26, 2010, gamasutra.com. Fetched from Web on April 26, 2010.
20. ↑ Clark, Willie (2016-08-18). "Disney's many, many attempts at figuring out the game industry" (in en-US). https://www.polygon.com/2016/8/18/12514296/disney-game-industry-history.

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