At Pocket Gamer Connects London 2016, Ella Romanos, Commercial Director of Strike Gamelabs, gave a talk on the different types of funding that are available for the different needs of developers.
She offered four different examples of situations where developers may look for investment, and how they might go about getting their hands on that money.
The first situations was the case of a developer who needs a small amount, e.g. £30,000, and is working solo while using freelancers.
Romanos recommended asking friends and family, working with an accelerator, and applying for the UK Games Fund to fund this level of development. She also suggested bringing the freelancers in on the project to bring down overall costs.
Secondly, there was the case of a developer who needs £250k, who doesn't have a prototype but does have experience working in a studio.
While it's difficult to get funded without showing you can match the funding, there are options out there such as working with Curve Digital, Kuju or eventually with Rovio Stars if the game is soft-launched and "shows good numbers".
But as Romanos said, "it's unlikely you're going to get £250k day one and start working on your game," so it's better to get a prototype done first, to prove that the idea works. This could be funded using the options available in the first situation.
Thirdly, there was the example of a developer looking for £750k for a prototyped game using a licensed IP with a team of ten people, which could be funded through Kickstarter because of its lack of risk.
Finally, there was the case of a developer looking to cover initial start-up costs for a clear idea, but may need millions down the line for marketing and maintenance.
Romanos suggested that these developers could work with venture capitalists, but stressed that you shouldn't sell too large a share straight off the bat.
Summing up, Romanos pointed out that there are so many different options available to developers, that it really comes down to"sifting through the minefield of funding options", a lengthy process that is well worth the effort.
