I greetings to all those who are not indifferent to IT technologies and computer games. We continue to get acquainted with one of the directions in the entertainment industry – Game Development. With a direction that everyone, without exaggeration, has in plain sight. We encounter their products daily, which has become commonplace for us. Video games have become an integral part of modern communication devices – smartphones. Anyone can buy a stationary computer on which you can run the vast majority of games, even a person with a low income. GemDev experts claim that computer games are played by 40% of the population of our planet, and the average age of the player is over 30 years old.

Games contribute to the progress of a reaction, attention, and motor skills of the child’s hands. Researchers note that after action games, children read faster and learn better what they read. People who often play are distinguished by great perseverance in achieving the goal of solving their professional problems.

For an initial understanding of the Game Development industry, we need to go through the player – publisher – developer chain. The players are you and me; we know ourselves better than anyone. Publishers are companies that are engaged in the production of their games and their promotion in the game market and in the publication and promotion of games by third-party developers. Game developer – is directly engaged in creating games composed and invented by talented people.

The leading publishers of games

It is impossible to provide a detailed description of the top game publishers for the entertainment industry in this article format. The reader can find information about other publishers from open sources. Therefore, a superficial acquaintance with the top three monsters of the entertainment industry is enough. So,

1. Sony Interactive Entertainment, a subsidiary of the conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, is a publisher, developer of computer games, and manufacturer of the well-known PlayStation game consoles and games for them and Windows OS. Net income for the financial and calendar periods 2020-2021 is USD 25.0 billion.
2. Tencent is a Chinese private equity holding company. Tencent’s subsidiaries, both in China and elsewhere, specialize in various high-tech business areas, including mobile and online gaming. Since 2004, video games have become one of the company’s main activities. Net income for the financial and calendar periods 2020-2021 is $13.9 billion.
3. Nintendo is a Japanese company specializing in creating video games and game systems. In addition to game consoles and various entertainment products, Nintendo is engaged in producing interactive simulators for the shooting training of military personnel. Net income for the financial and calendar periods 2020-2021 is $12.1 billion.

As it is easy to see, the companies presented above also have game development units. Vertical integration (from the idea of the game through its development for its own hardware to the consumer) of all stages is characteristic of a large business.

The financial side of game development.

However, video games are still a relatively new, developing sector overgrowing. The video game development industry involves developing, producing, and selling video games that combine various advanced technologies.

1. Information – software development, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence.
2. Art – – visual arts, music, animation, scripts, and game design.
3. Marketing – marketing strategies, sales models.

As such, the game development industry is at the forefront of technological innovation, artistic creativity, and new business models.

Prices for developing AAA games have increased five to ten times since the nineties. Technologies are developing, costs are growing, the required number of employees and their salaries are increasing. But the prices of the games don’t change.

The number of games purchased by console players for total price per year is falling, and development costs are rising. Developers have to come up with new ways to make games pay off. Major publishers have been trying to solve this problem for over a decade.

In the early 1980s, after the advent of the first home computers and game consoles, a single programmer could manage almost all the tasks associated with game development. Developing modern games involves a wide range of skills and support staff. It takes entire teams to work on a single project. A typical current development team usually includes representatives of different specializations:

1. one or more producers;
2. designers;
3. artists;
4. programmers;
5. sound engineers;
6. composers;
7. testers.

For all technology companies, the personnel issue is in the first place. Highly qualified specialists are the main potential in this business. And to increase the staff of the game development unit, spend resources on selecting the right specialists, and then, when all the artwork is completed, reducing them is not the best solution.

Game outsourcing.

And a way out was found. Large projects for developing AAA class games began attracting small art studios on outsourcing rights. Game development outsourcing involves the development of 3D and 2D game characters, where there can be tens and hundreds of THOUSANDS of them. Create level maps, and fill these maps with various details – such as trees, vegetation, animals, and so on. And it is also necessary to present them all in dynamics, “revive”, accompanied by sound effects. All of these characters and details are called digital assets.

This approach saves money for large game developers and minimizes fixed costs. And one more aspect. Small game developers can produce exceptionally high-quality work that is difficult be made within a large company. It’s easier for a small team to move from one project to another or wait for a new project. And the company will not have to worry about the current project since the contractor will perform this task. As a result, large game manufacturers retain the main functions – top management, game design, and art direction.

To date, game outsourcing is an integral part of the development of any game project. According to analysts at the External Development Summit, between 81 and 97% of games are used by contractors. With engines like Unity or Unreal, it’s convenient to create assets remotely and integrate them on the developer’s side. In the next five years, the market should grow further – primarily due to the fast Internet, the total globalization of the world, and the complication of game production, which stimulates to delegate more and more content to outsourcing.