At GDC 2026, Room 2010, West Hall. Talk starts at 10:30.
Inside Indie (Self) Publishing
Presented by Rebekah Saltsman

How many times have you posed a question like this: "What do indie publishers think about?" "What do the big platforms or storefronts they work with think about?" And most importantly, what does that mean for people who make games? Rebekah Saltsman, who has been self publishing Finji internal development and published titles for 15 years alongside storefronts and platforms big and small, will set a foundation for what dev teams should know about our volatile industry which spans publishing access, available development funds, decreased access to co-marketing agreements and their partners in any business development relationship. She will also describe the how it is necessary that small to midsized developers should understand the skills and principles required to self-publish. This talk stresses the importance that both new devs and experienced devs understand and build these skills to support either their own team with self publishing or their business partner who is bringing these games to the market.

Notes:

• 3 important questions:
  • What do indie publishers think about?
  • What do the big platforms they work with think about (consoles, Steam, Fortnight, Roblox, etc)?
  • What does this mean for people that make games?
• What is an indie publisher?
  • Not wholly owned by a store or platform
  • mostly work with small teams and all genres
  • budgets of 2m or less
  • Much smaller marketing budgets than AAA
  • can also be a developer
  • but is usually not a developer
• Indie publishers think about selling games made by smaller teams with smaller budgets.
• What do publishers think about?
  • How well does the title fit with what else they have published?
  • What kind of audiences or genres can the game connect the publisher to?
  • Whether or not to do business development partnerships with platforms earlier or later than expected.
  • Measuring metrics, numbers, etc. to see how well a game is launching with as little risk as possible.
  • Managing development funds and budgets to make sure the finances work. They are doing the math of how much it will cost if, for example, if development takes longer.
  • We know games rarely ship on time
  • Managing calendar expectations
  • It is never a good time to launch; when is the least bad time to launch?
  • Managing trust between the publisher and team and within the team itself. You don't want the development to blow up between team members after signing. You meed mediator to make sure no one gets hurt or is overworked.
  • They know the needs for storefront assets and localization.
  • Marketing that involves conventions, ads, playtests, PR, media relations, etc
  • Community management is usually left to the team
  • Post launch promotion and distribution deals
  • Brand-building, managing prestige and track record (Devolver is good at this)
  • Possible future licensing opportunities including transmedia opportunities like netflix, comic books, board games, live concerts, etc
• Big platforms think about total sales and users
  • Big companies are hardware companies, because that's what they sell.
  • They still need small games
  • They need depth and breadth, AAA games take a very long time to make
  • They need to be able to sell services like subscriptions
  • They need affordable exclusives, us indies are "cheap dates"
  • Hardware sales are bolstered by large libraries
  • Platform staff love indie content. Reps want games they like on the platform, they are fans
• Indie publishers have little in common with big platforms
• What are imdie publishers doing?
  • Every big platform has different needs and platforms, and looking for matches between that and indie teams
  • Lookimg for overlap on timing and content against hardware cycles, new store initiatives, genre expansions, diversity initiatives, etc
  • leaning on numbers and track record to manage risk
  • Even if indies are cheap, they are still risks
• What are indie publishers looking for?
  • Cool games and teams they like, avoiding drama, looking for good communication
  • Teams and games with workable schedules and budgets, add buffers, VO is really expensive
  • Game makes sense to current audience or next audience
  • Game that fits in with the bigger platform's confidential plans, which they cannot share.
• What should publishing-seeling teams look for?
  • Talk about your schedule im a confident and meaningful way.
  • Check your plans against what others say.
  • Your schedule might accidentally open you up to more funds if it fits into a big platform's plans.
  • Be ready to talk about your budget, find a mentor if you havent done this before
  • Budget will tell your partners if you know how to make games -- not accuracy, but that you even understand how to put one together. Find someone to point out red flags in your budget.
  • What awesome things about your game appeals to your players? They are probably not the same as what you think are cool about that? What unmet needs to players have that your game provides?
  • Be ready to talk about your game's real size and scope.
  • Kmow boundaries of your team, you dont need to know what is trending because the game will be out after the trend is over. Trends only last 6 months.
  • Think about the unmet needs of players in three years.
  • Just because it exists, it is not required to ship your game.
  • Keep up with industry's lingo, watch past talks.
  • It is okay to not be a gamer or play a ton of games, but be able to steer the conversation to something you can talk about.
  • You can ask people to be your mentor.
  • Be ready to make your own Steam page. Know how it all works.
  • You need to be an active participant in how the game is presented on storefronts.
  • Be ready to talk about what makes your game special to strangers. Do it in a way that they can explain it back to you.

Q&A:

• (could not hear) 1-2 person team
  • Publisher can help fill needs for small teams that need more teammates
  • This is possible because Finji is also a developer.
• How do you get started with publishing? Do you need a lot of money?
  • There are a lot of ways, but if you dont have cash or connections, how can you publish? You need to at least have connections, this is what Finji did.
  • At first, did not have a marketing arm to manage relations with consoles.
  • Thinks themselves as a codeveloper, provides community managers, qa, etc.
  • You need a warchest if you want to fund people.
  • Focus on making stuff first, maybe find a job with a publisher.
• What are some pointers to look for in a mentor?
  • #1 thing is a mentor who doesnt give you advice and tells you what to do. You want someone to ask you questions, know what your needs are, be your soundboard, help you feel out your options.
  • There are many choices to choose that are not necessarily always better in all cases. Find the right choice in the right situation
  • Find someone that is thoughtful
• When is it too late to find a publisher?
  • It depends on what the team needs and if the publisher can help with that. Finji normally joins early in the process
  • Usually publishers will want a minimum of 12 months, their calendars will just be full.
• Should you keep trying to find a publisher or self publish, if you can't find a publisher
  • You should self-publish if you can.
  • You will need to do everything that a publisher would do.
• (did not understand)
  • It is not a dealbreaker to have a funder or loan already when finding a publisher.
  • Some publishers will buy out your loan.
  • Outersloth is cool.
  • It depends!
• When scopes change during development, how to navigate with publishers?
  • Only going to talk about the good part of this
  • If you hide something, finji cannot be a partner anymore.
  • Share as much as you can with your publisher, if you want a trusting relationship with them.
  • Find a solution together as a team.
  • Publishers watch for feature creep to make sure things ship on schedule.
  • It is risky to extend development timelines
• If you game covers something that is not very well known, like a niche, would you limiy your search to niche publishers?
  • Look for any publisher, just find someone who will be in your corner. find the most excited partner.
• (did not understand)
  • Some publishers take on games long term or just for console ports.
  • You need more than just your pitch desk or budget. You need as much as possible. Sample steam pages, team breakdown, etc. Be able to answer any questions so you can prove that you can ship.