Why Big Gaming Companies Rely On Indie Developers

The group of businesses that make the heart of the gaming industry are small in number, but they control a large majority of the money. Most of us refrain from giving any praise to the big players because they seem to be struck with corporate greed. We feel they don’t always cater to our wishes, and they aim to put the little guys out of business. I am personally guilty of bashing companies like EA and Microsoft when I don’t agree with their actions, but now I have less reason to whine.

For independent developers, the insane success of larger studios can be intimidating. Every title a major studio releases comes with the recognition through branding, while the indie titles are fighting to make a name for themselves. The saga of AAA versus indie games looks like a battle on the surface, but it actually plays out more like an improbable love story.

In the past, companies like EA and Microsoft were notorious for buying out smaller studios with big ideas. A small company operating out of a spare room or small office would develop a brilliant game, only to self destruct when it failed to make sales.

No matter how amazing the game, the studio would not become successful unless they could connect gamers with their creation. When an offer came to sell the rights to the game or become a subsidiary of a larger studio, the smaller studio would almost always accept. The larger studios would walk away with a great game at a great price.

For gaming console companies, it was the success of the Steam Store that motivated them to begin wooing indie developers. Steam’s indie-friendly community encouraged small game makers to use their platform during development and into the release. Xbox and PS had their own indie development program, but recently changed their terms to offer a better deal to those smaller studios. Now, the indie developers are given all the tools they need to comfortably migrate their game to consoles including support from Xbox and PS representatives. Developers retain the rights to their work, release in the online marketplace for either console and give up a small portion of their sales in exchange for their space.

For some studios, the right to sell their game on any platform without breaking their agreement with another is key. It allows them to reach the maximum number of gamers while still using the support of each platform.

In recent years, the rising popularity of indie gaming has forced large development studios and gaming platforms to sweeten their offers. Although a bigger studio would win any day in a head-to-head competition with an indie studio, it is the influence of thousands of indie developers that distracts the paying customers away from their competitors. Rather than purchasing the exclusive rights to the game, companies like EA are now contracting third party studios to furnish the majority of the game development. The studios keep their names associated with the games they develop, and their larger partners carry out the marketing, server maintenance and publishing. Often, a smaller studio will be introduced to a whole new world of opportunities if their first assignment goes well, ensuring a future of success.

The real question is what does this mean for racing games? Developers on racing titles are already using multiple studios to speed the production and provide more input. Forza 6, for example, is developed by Microsoft Studios, a group of 19 smaller studios and counting. Beginning early in development, the game was not just handled by Turn 10 Studios, but also a handful of third party partner studios.

The newest trend in developing racing games, due to the incredible amount of data that must be sorted, is to enlist indie studios and crowd support. Project CARS and The Crew were mass developed, proving thousands of individuals can actually work together and complete a common project. Moving the work away from a single studio and placing it into the hands of real gamers may be the exact change we were looking for within the industry.