Mobile-first publisher Sandsoft has found in a new survey that the vast majority of mobile developers are working on new titles despite the ongoing wave of layoffs.
In collaboration with Atomik Research, the Publisher Perception Report surveyed 454 mobile game developers in the US, Spain and France with at least five years of industry experience. Of these developers, 70% work in studios with more than 50 employees and 81% are developing new titles. About 60% of developers working on new games are testing prototypes, a third are conducting market testing and the rest have soft launched their projects.
While developers are optimistic about these upcoming projects, they are also well aware of the difficult market. About half of the mobile developers surveyed expect more layoffs in the gaming industry, while two-thirds are worried about their own job security. In addition, 44% of developers said that overstaffing or mismanagement was the main cause of the wave of layoffs in the gaming industry.
In this uncertain environment, mobile developers are examining the value that publishers provide. Perhaps not surprisingly, developers have mixed opinions about publishers and mostly positive views on unionization. A third of mobile developers said publishers provide a valuable service, while 27% said publishers take more than they give. In contrast, 60% had a positive view of unions, while only 3% had a negative view.
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“In a market where launching new games is extremely difficult, publishers need to be a driving force if they want to provide value to game developers. We wanted to better understand the needs, hopes and concerns of mobile game developers across the industry, so we asked them directly. We’re sharing the results because we want to see success for the entire mobile game industry. That means we want to help developers and other publishers better understand how they can work together in the future,” said David Fernández Remesal, CEO of Sandsoft.
“If there’s one thing you can take away from our Publisher Perception Report, it’s that despite obvious challenges, positivity and optimism prevail among developers. In the quest to create fun and engaging experiences, nothing can be more important than that,” he said.
Why mobile game developers collaborate with publishers
Sandsoft’s report found that mobile developers collaborated with publishers for different reasons.
Two-fifths of mobile developers said that the terms of the contract were the most important factor when considering a publishing deal. They also considered the publisher’s capabilities (35%), reputation (32%) and access to capital (31%). In addition, 88% of developers said it was fairly or very important for a publisher to have a diverse team.
On the other hand, mobile developers said the most important reason for self-publishing is to agree to contract terms (20%). Other important factors included losing creative control (18%), finding a partner (16%) and giving up a share of revenue (16%).
Once a deal is agreed, developers also provide insight into the services they value from publishers. One in four of these developers say marketing support is the most valuable service, followed by strategic advice (20%) and access to capital (19%).
Almost without exception, developers said localization and culturalization were important. Although this service is not the reason developers chose a particular publisher, 50% of developers said they would seek a regional publishing deal rather than a single global publishing deal.
Moreover, this regional approach is not limited to emerging markets, with 84% saying they have considered a publishing deal to reach players in key Western markets.
Sandsoft’s full Publisher Perception Report is now available. The study includes additional insights from mobile developers on regional markets, top genres and emerging technologies.
