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The Number One Educational Resource for the Game Industry

Session Name: Independent Games Summit: How Publishing Agreements Go Wrong (and How to Fix Them)
Speaker(s): Kellen Voyer
Company Name(s): Voyer Law
Track / Format: Independent Games Summit

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Overview: You received a publishing agreement. How do you spot pitfalls? Indies are at an informational disadvantage when negotiating with publishers, as developers may not have a strong grasp of key publishing agreement clauses and where problems can occur. By drawing on over 10 years' experience negotiating publishing agreements and witnessing relationships between publishers and developers break down, this session leverages stories of failed relationships and conflict to educate developers on risks in publishing agreements and how to avoid repeating them. This session will educate attendees on 5 key publishing agreement clauses and "gotchas" to watch out for - illustrated with real-world examples - and how to avoid similar issues in their own publishing agreements. Attendees will learn about issues that occur with license, revenue share, marketing, DLC and intellectual property clauses with the aim to put publisher and developer on a level playing field when negotiating a publishing agreement.

Game Developers Conference 2023

Kellen Voyer

Voyer Law

free content

Independent Games Summit

Independent Games