The Very Big Indie Pitch — Top tips for pitching your game

• Hone your pitching skills
• Showcase your game's future and profit potential

When it comes to giving a pitch, there is a lot that needs to go into your presentation and pitch deck.

The Very Big Indie Pitch (VBIP) is a fantastic way for you to practice your pitching skills, as these pitches are quick, giving you the opportunity to streamline what you want to say. Having a succinct way to pitch your game can be found with practice. 

Pitch what you aim to create

When you are pitching visuals are important. If you do not have much done in your game at the time of pitching, pitch what the future of your game is going to look like.

Get some mock-ups made and ensure the presentation is eye-catching and engaging. Showcase what your aim is, even if it’s not what you currently have.

Know your money

A lot of pitching does come down to two things: the game itself and how you are going to monetise.

Whether it’s investors, publishers, or the judges at the VBIP, they want to know how you plan on making money with your project. Having a game plan for how you are going to launch your game is exactly what people want to hear in your pitch.

“Adopting a market-first approach and prioritizing early game releases has been pivotal for us," says Surendran R winner of the VBIP Dubai of 2023 with Gravity Shooter.

"This strategy allows us to gather valuable player feedback, iterate quickly, and align our products more effectively with market demands.”

Make sure your stats make sense

Often, we find at pitching events that statistics used for backing up information are either irrelevant or just don’t make sense generally.

If you are making a platforming game, you do not need to include stats on how often people purchase platforming games. This just isn’t relevant to your own game nor does it help keep investors interested.

You want to make sure that if you include stats, they make sense to your pitch.

Practice, but not too much!

When going into a pitch, you do want to make sure you have dry-run your pitch in front of someone else. This could be a friend or a colleague.

If the pitch itself is timed, you want to make sure you can pace yourself properly. At the same time, you don’t want to practice to the point where you sound like a robot or don’t have room for the person you are pitching to to interrupt. It’s a balancing act that takes a bit of practice. 

Ask for feedback

After you have pitched, whether it’s to a publisher or investor, once you have the results you should ask for feedback. One of the great things about the Big Indie Pitch is the feedback that’s gained and sent to every single pitcher. 

“The feedback we received was instrumental in identifying what aspects of the core gameplay resonated with players and what needed improvement," says Adriaan de Jongh, currently working on Riff Riff and previous VBIP Winner in London of 2023. 

"This insight has been invaluable in refining the overall player experience.”

Want to practice your pitch and gain feedback? We host Very Big Indie Pitch events throughout the year, so be sure to keep an eye out on our events page for an event near you. 

The next Very Big Indie Pitch will take place at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2025 on January 20th to 21st.