Indie devs: any of y'all ever gone with a publisher, and did you feel you came away from it doing ok?

idk, the idea of compounding Steam's already ridiculous 30% cut with a publisher cut on top of that feels like a recipe for getting bilked. But I'd be happy to be wrong.

On the one hand, see above

On the other... a publisher would have greater reach than I could achieve on my own/with my PR budget. So ⚖️

The consensus seems to be that I'd probably be better served by hiring a PR firm than trying to go with a publisher. So I guess I'm doing some research this week, to see if I can find something that looks good, and that I can afford (which ain't much).

One more thing on the pile 😅

I was considering Apogee, btw.

But nah, I think the best publisher option at this point is "me."

@ClarusPlusPlus there are at least a few stories where it came to disputs related to publishing versions early on platforms agaist the will of the developer. Also they might stop early with any marketing if their numbers are not promising enough, and then its hard to get back out of the contract.
@ClarusPlusPlus all of my peers have been saying lately that publishers are less use than ever and if you can self publish to just do that. However, that does mean paying for your own PR, so the marketing lift from a publisher may be beneficial to you, even now that they're less effective for that
@eniko Yeah, I think I'm gonna not bother with a publisher at this point. I am interested in doing some PR, because I really need every shot I can take at making this thing a success. Definitely time to do research on what's out there, who's good, what I can afford, etc., because I have no idea what I'm doing. Or even where to start tbh.

@ClarusPlusPlus @eniko "consider whether there's a major game launching in your own launch window" is something I've seen happen to people here.

Ahem. Sorry. Eniko was, I think, one of those people.

@ClarusPlusPlus

These are general marketing points that seem like good general advice. You need to get an early version of the game in to streamers' hands and attending some trade shows like PAX would be good. It's all about word of mouth and getting people talking.

https://www.helpshift.com/blog/the-only-guide-you-need-for-effective-indie-game-marketing/

How to Market an Indie Game in 2025: Complete Guide

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