Why Do Game Developers Need Publishers?

The game industry is tricky business. But what is the purpose of a developer and a publisher? Let's break it down.

[eovgzzt]

If I had a dollar for each time a publisher fucked a good game I would still not make as much as these companys that "need" micro transactions to make money

[ThatComixGuy]

Too often do Publishers get in the way of game developers. Monolith, Bioware, and Bungie are just some of the many great developers that have been hurt by their publishers.

[zylohphone]

The witcher 3 - the best non moneywhore game of all time

[owenfletcher]

Warframe managed to get published without a publisher. So that’s cool. Digital Extremes is great

[badaxtion]

Ok ok I hear you.... but why does Rockstar need a publisher?

[AvengedKyle]

Great video! I always wondered why digital games maintained the 60$ price tag. Have you guys made a video on that? That would be interesting.

Also loved all the falcon faces popping up at 4:44 XD

[georgecataloni]

The biggest problem I have with the current state of video games is the fact that publishers own franchises. This means that when the subject of a sequel gets to the table, it's the not the publishers that are replaceable, it's the developers. If that one thing were changed, we'd see publishers get better through market forces. Unfortunately, that's not the case, so franchises are tied to publishers, creating a love/hate feeling for products (games) in the minds of consumers.

[FCVentura]

Great video. I usually do these researches on my own but it's great to see this from one of my favorite channels.

[Dizastermaster.]

It saddens me when people don't realize why Indie games cost less than AAA titles

[NatrajChaturvedi]

wow this video answered pretty much none of the questions I had and still went on for over 8 minutes... good job

[VanquishSpeed]

Few reasons i can give:

1) Is to help Indies, and other video game developer to publish a game. Sometimes, being an Indie and publishing a game is not enough to distribute a game, and may cost a big lost, if Indies handle it by themselves.

2) To help developers and Indies, advertise their games. Without it, we wont even know about FIFA, Titanfall, Hellblade or even Half Life

3) To earn 50%-70% of profit from developers, that's what a purpose of publishing is about, doesn't matter if they have ridicules schemes like DLCs &, Microtransactions.. but without it, Publishers can go bankrupt,

4) Not all triple AAA publishers are bad, sometimes they do bring good games, and sometimes they do have bad business practices, but we all also have to realized that, cost of living nowadays is getting high, some people are struggling to get the best earnings to survive

[freefaregaming]

Crazy seeing this so many years later right after the release of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2

[TheElusiveness]

I appreciate this channel, team behind it. Great work Falcon. I'm digging the in-depth and thorough explanations you deliver with your personal expression. The heart shows.

[synthetik_soul]

Outstanding topic. People are always hating on the developers when a lot of times their hands are tied. They have to come up with something to make the publisher happy and to add they can’t just back out. They have to fulfill their contract.

[Ali-ofbe]

I have a qeustion why does a digital version of a game cost more then a physical

[Chloroxite]

Let me just take a second to tell you that that is quite possibly the most beautifully accurate thumbnail I have ever seen, and I love you all the more for it.

[lordtachanka]

Microsoft is the real reason why halo sucks now

[biervampir_aut]

I'm a QA for War for the Overworld, their first title.
And yes it is necessery to have a publisher, because who else does the marketing for you, the game is still unmarketed and very few people knowes about it. Further to, they are working on a new Project and they need a publisher, because they need the money to continue working on Games.
So yes, it is necessery to have a publisher, because developers (at least Brightrock Dev's) want to put as much resources in their game, to make it as good as possible, and then they would need something like Marketing in mind, which costs a lot of money, which they could spend into the game to make it better.

[ameribano]

I agree.
I wish Bungee would terminate their contract with Activision and just do the marketing theirselves. Destiny would be WAY better.

[Kardfogu]

Short answer: you don't.
Valve is your publisher, PC is your platform, Steam is your market and developing a good game is your marketing plan.
The rest are just there to waste your money.