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Publisher or self-publishing for your indie game?

, founder of NextWishlist · Updated · 3 min read

~50/50the most common split after recoupmentRami Ismail, 2022
$100to self-publish a game on SteamValve rule
30%Steam's share, publisher or notValve, 2018
On this page
  1. What a publisher can bring
  2. How the money works: upfront, recoup, split
  3. Read the definitions
  4. When self-publishing makes sense
  5. Make yourself worth signing

Short answerSign with a publisher if it brings something you can't get alone: money to finish the game, marketing reach, ports or localization. Read the recoupment terms first: Rami Ismail notes that about 50/50 after recoupment is the most common split, and that the upfront money matters most.

Self-publishing on Steam has never been more open: a $100 fee and a store page. So a publisher has to earn its share. Here is what publishers actually bring, how their deals work, and how to judge an offer.

01What a publisher can bring

  • Money: an upfront advance, paid in milestones, that lets you finish the game. It's the one thing you can't replace with time.
  • Marketing reach: press and creator contacts, showcase slots, a following that buys its games, trailers and ads.
  • Services: QA, localization, console ports, ratings, community management.
  • Experience: someone who has launched dozens of games and knows the calendar.

If an offer brings none of these, or only "promotion", it isn't worth a large share of your revenue.

02How the money works: upfront, recoup, split

Rami Ismail's guide to deals breaks them down this way (2022):

  • Upfront: money paid before release, whatever the game sells. Your safest revenue.
  • Recoupment: the publisher earns back its investment (the upfront plus costs such as marketing, localization or QA) from the game's revenue first.
  • Pre-recoup split: how revenue is shared while it recoups, for example 70/30 in the publisher's favor.
  • Post-recoup split: how revenue is shared afterwards. About 50/50 is the most common, about 60/40 for the developer with strong leverage, about 40/60 when the developer has little.

His advice: negotiate the upfront first, then the post-recoup split. A higher pre-recoup share only gets you paid sooner if the game does well.

03Read the definitions

  • What counts as revenue: Steam's 30% is usually taken first, and platform deals may or may not count.
  • What counts as a recoupable cost: marketing spent by the publisher can be recouped from your share.
  • Rights and duration: which platforms, which territories, for how long, and what happens to the game if the publisher stops supporting it.
  • Termination: how you get your game back.

Model three cases before you sign: the game sells nothing, the publisher just breaks even, the game sells three times the investment. Have a lawyer read the contract.

04When self-publishing makes sense

If you can finish the game with your own money, and your genre's players can be reached through festivals, creators and your Steam page, self-publishing keeps your revenue and your rights. Steam keeps 30% either way (how much Steam takes), and its own tools (wishlists, Next Fest, themed fests) work the same for everyone.

What you take on is the work: page, demo, festivals, creators, press and launch. The Steam game marketing plan lays it out month by month.

05Make yourself worth signing

Publishers look at the same signals players do: a page that converts, wishlists growing, a demo people finish, a genre that sells. A Steam page with a few thousand wishlists and a clear trajectory is a stronger pitch than a deck. NextWishlist tracks those signals every day against similar games, which is also what you'd show a publisher.

Publisher or self-publishing for your indie game?: quick answers

Should I get a publisher for my indie game?

If it brings money to finish the game, marketing reach or services you can't get alone. If it brings only promotion, a large revenue share is hard to justify.

What is a normal publisher revenue split?

Rami Ismail describes about 50/50 after recoupment as the most common split, 60/40 for the developer with strong leverage. Before recoupment, splits such as 70/30 for the publisher are common.

What does recoup mean in a publishing deal?

The publisher earns back its investment (the upfront and recoupable costs such as marketing) from the game's revenue before the post-recoup split applies.

Can I self-publish on Steam?

Yes. You pay a $100 Steam Direct fee per game, recouped after $1,000 of revenue, and Steam keeps 30% of sales as it does with publishers.

Sources

Valve's rules can change: the official Steamworks page always wins. Practitioner benchmarks are surveys of developers, given as ranges.

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