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Creating your own gaming business: How viable is it?

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Lots of people who love gaming dream of working in the industry someday. While there are lots of roles you can pursue in the gaming sector, some would rather start their own business. The excitement of developing their own products and pushing them into the market is certainly appealing, but how viable is it?

Starting any sort of business is complicated but a gaming business is a different beast entirely. Before you begin pursuing a gaming business, it is important that you know all the different moving parts and how feasible it will be.

Marketing
Although it's not the first thing most entrepreneurs think of, planning ahead and deciding how to market your game is important, even early on. Large gaming studios have millions of dollars to spend on digital and physical marketing, but smaller companies have to get creative if they want to stand out. For instance, many successful online casinos such as Golden Panda employ savvy marketing strategies, such as offering promotions, collaborating with influencers, and engaging with their community to attract players. These tactics can be adapted to promote your gaming project effectively, even with a limited budget.

There is always the chance that your project will take off via word-of-mouth, and while you should encourage players to share the word with others, this cannot be your main source of publicity. You also need to be realistic about how well your game will likely do. According to statistics, a majority of indie games don't bring in more than $4,000 in revenue. So, as you pursue a gaming business, you need to be prepared for some setbacks.

Funding
When starting virtually any business, the first thing you'll want to secure is funding and in gaming, there are several routes you can pursue. For example, the use of crypto in your project opens up a new avenue for fundraising. If you host a presale for your gaming project's token, you can raise funds through it while also getting the public excited about it. For example, a crypto presale can be held for every type of project, including gaming.

Creating your own gaming business: How viable is it?

Another option would be traditional crowdfunding, which includes showing some early versions of your project to the public. If they are impressed, they can contribute towards its development. And what's more, you don't need to sell off a portion of your business' ownership.

You can also take the corporate route and opt for venture capital or equity crowdfunding. In this case, a corporate entity will buy a portion of ownership in your business and give you non-financial support to get you started.

Various countries and non-profits offer grants for indie game developers and this can be the push you need to get on your feet. All these funding methods come with their own pros and cons as some take longer to realize and each has its own chances of success. But if you're going to start a gaming business, you need to decide how you will initially fund it.

Product Development
Of course, getting funding is far from the last step in creating a gaming business. You'll have to actually make the game and this can be very taxing, in terms of both time and money. Making an indie game has been pegged as costing between $10,000 to $1 million depending on several elements and this is where the aforementioned funding comes in. But even if you have the money for the game, you also need time and skills.

If you develop the game solo, you'll have to work as the core developer, writer, graphics designer, lighting and sound expert, and much more. It's also been estimated that creating a game can take anywhere from 6 to 18 months. If you also work a full-time job, you can expect to spend longer on the game but if it is your only responsibility, it can be done in a shorter period. But, of course, you'll need the necessary skills to do this all by yourself. If you don't have these skills, you'll have to bring in others and this also has a cost implication.

If you have business partners who are willing to work for free as part of their duties, you can save a lot of money. If not, you'll have to pay experts to help you.

Conclusion
Owning a gaming business is a dream for many but its viability can be a tricky subject. On the one hand, there are many different avenues for finding funding and for promoting the project once it is finished. On the other hand, there are several potential roadblocks, including a lack of skills, the expenses involved in making the games, and the highly saturated market that is the gaming space.



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