The video games industry is home to some of the world’s biggest studios, including Sony, Tencent, Activision Blizzard, EA, Ubisoft, among many others. Some of these names are giant multinational corporations with revenues of hundreds of millions of dollars. Competing with these big names as a small-time studio or an individual developer seems formidable. However, we come across several success stories like Minecraft and Angry Birds that had modest beginnings. There must be something that those people did right, and we, Gamecloud Technologies, are here to tell you what that was.
Take a slow and steady approach
Competing with big studios is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ll have to plan for the long run and execute your plans accordingly. You lack the precious resources that those studios have in abundance, so your priority should be judiciously using the resources at your disposal. Even if you manage to develop a hit game, keep working to stay relevant in the industry. If you’re an indie developer, do some contract work or work on creating small games to gain experience.
Most importantly, you should be prepared for uncertain events that might appear abruptly and harm your business. For instance, the Covid-19 pandemic brought on unforeseen changes into our lifestyle and caused entire industries to belly up. However, the impact on the gaming industry was milder compared to others. Many developers have reported a decrease in their business and admitted that the pandemic had caused delays. In contrast, others have seen a growth in sales, as people now have more time and prefer to stay home.
Outsourcing and Cost Reduction
Cost management is the most critical factor if you want to compete with big studios. They can afford to have in-house technicians for every aspect of their game development, which you cannot. So, outsourcing non-development tasks makes a lot of sense. Not only will it help you save financial resources, but it will also unburden your already over-allocated team of technicians.
Functions like game testing and QA can be outsourced very easily. By hiring a third-party testing agency like us, Gamecloud Technologies, you can expect a dramatic reduction in costs and improved efficiency at the same time.
Keeping a full-time testing team like big studios will drain your resources in no time, and soon you’ll find yourself in debt or out of business. Moreover, hiring an external game QA partner will give you a valuable second opinion about your games. They work with numerous studios like you, and you could benefit from their expertise in this regard.
Focus on Game Quality
This is where you can hurt the big-name studios. Most gamers don’t really care about the studio as long as it is enjoyable and of high quality. If your game is entertaining and makes no compromise on quality, gamers will buy it over any subpar game from a big studio. However, many times, despite the game being fun, it leaves a negative impression due to low quality, leading to declining sales.
So, we suggest your priority should be to maximize game quality by rigorous testing and game QA. Testing reveals the unwanted bugs and glitches and ensures a smooth gaming experience. Again, it would be helpful if you went for an external testing agency so that you can focus on the developing part and making the game more fun to play.
Conclusion
Competing with a multinational corporation is a daunting aspiration, irrespective of the industry. However, it can be done if you play all the cards right. There are indie developers and small-time studios who give these big studios a run for their money. At Gamecloud Technologies, we believe that the key is to manage your resources more carefully and plan for the long run.
