Posted by WHAT IS GAME PUBLISHING?
Game publishing is the process and industry of producing a video game. It usually involves financing the video game development, either by obtaining appropriate staff or hiring developers. These developers can either be from the same company or from an independent game development company. In most cases, game developers must conceptualise the ideas for the game. After all the processes are done, the game will then be published to the public and provide distribution channels either physically or digitally.
There is a significant difference between game development and game publishing. Game development involves creating the game from an artistic perspective such as the style, tone and storyline whereas game publishing involves the financing, marketing, supporting and the distribution of the game.
WHAT DO GAME PUBLISHERS DO?
Game publishers are usually large companies that use their resources to finance, support, market and distribute video games. The specific duties of a game publisher may vary depending on the company but may some include:
- Recruiting and hiring internal video game developers
- Finding and working third-party video game developers
- Acquiring intellectual property rights from other media such as film and literature
- Providing the financial resources needed to conceptualise and produce a video game
- Providing input to help conceptualise a video game
- Determining the specifications for the video game such as the target audience and age classification
- Exercising executive creative control to direct game’s direction and plan
- Providing technical support to video game developers
- Carrying out quality assurance testing
- Finding and purchasing rights to the video game by third-party developers
- Creating and executing a marketing plan before distribution
- Distributing physical copies to stores
- Maintaining servers to host the video game digitally
- Providing consumers with technical support
- Managing communities of players for the video game
The publishers will usually receive revenue from game sales until the product has earned a certain amount to be put into its development and marketing. Then, the revenue will then be split according to the royalty agreement between the publisher and developer. The publisher usually also acquires the copyrights to the video games they market and distribute.
3 MAJOR GAME PUBLISHERS
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Activision Publishing
Activision Publishing is a publishing subsidiary of Activision Blizzard Inc. which is a video game holding company that has owned various popular gaming franchises such as Candy Crush, World of Warcraft (WOW), Diablo and Overwatch. The parent company’s history goes back to 1979 where it was still an independent third-party game developer under the name Activision.
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2. Bandai Namco Entertainment
The publishing division of Bandai Namco Holdings is called Bandai Namco. Bandai Namco Studios, an internal development studio for this Tokyo-based business, has worked on a number of well-known video games, including Tekken, Dragon Ball, and Pac-Man. The company has worked with Vibe Inc, BXD Inc and BB Studio.
3. Capcom
Capcom has released numerous games as both a publisher and a developer, including Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and Devil May Cry. This company, which has a unique look and feel, was established in 1979 in Osaka, Japan.