Mobile-first publisher Sandy soft A new survey finds that the vast majority of mobile developers are working on new titles despite the ongoing wave of layoffs.
In partnership with Atomik Research, the Publisher Perception Report interviewed 454 mobile game developers in the US, Spain and France with at least five years of experience in the sector. Of these developers, 70% work at 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 testing the market and the rest have already soft-launched their projects.
While developers are optimistic about these upcoming projects, they are also well aware of the challenging market. About half of mobile developers surveyed expect more layoffs in the gaming industry, while two-thirds are concerned about their own job security. Furthermore, 44% of developers pointed to overhiring or mismanagement as the main cause of the wave of layoffs in the gaming industry.
In this uncertain environment, mobile developers are exploring the value that publishers provide. Perhaps unsurprisingly, developers had mixed opinions about publishers, with overwhelmingly positive views on unionization. A third of mobile developers said publishers provided a valuable service, while 27% said publishers take more than they give. In contrast, 60% had a positive view of unionization, compared to just 3% with a negative view.
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“In a market where launching new games is extremely difficult, publishers need to be a force for good 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 findings because we want to see success for the entire mobile games industry, which means helping developers and other publishers better understand how they can work together in the future,” said David Fernández Remesal, CEO of Sandsoft.
“If you take one thing away from our Publisher Perception Report, it would have to be that positivity and optimism persist among developers, despite the obvious challenges. In the quest to create fun and engaging experiences, nothing could be more important than that,” he said.
Why Mobile Game Developers Partner with Publishers
Sandsoft's report found that mobile developers work with publishers for a variety of reasons.
When considering a publishing deal, two-fifths of mobile devs said the terms of the deal were the most critical factor. They also considered a publisher’s capabilities (35%), reputation (32%), and access to capital (31%). Additionally, 88% of developers said it was quite or very important for a publisher to have a diverse team.
On the other hand, mobile developers said the biggest reason for pursuing self-publishing was agreeing on deal terms (20%). Other key factors were losing creative control (18%), finding a partner in the first place (16%), and giving up a share of revenue (16%).
Once a deal is closed, developers also provided insight into the services they valued from publishers. One in four of these developers said marketing support was the most valuable service, followed by strategic advice (20%) and access to capital (19%).
Devs almost unanimously said localization and culturalization are important. While this service isn’t the reason devs chose a specific publisher, 50% of devs said they’d pursue a regional publisher deal rather than a single global publisher deal.
Furthermore, this regional approach is not limited to emerging markets. 84% said they have considered a publishing deal to reach gamers in top-tier Western markets.
Sandsoft's full Publisher Perception Report is now availableThe study includes additional insights from mobile developers on regional markets, top genres, and emerging technology.