Game investment deals often borrow from venture capital but some carry unique terms shaped by creative risk and uncertain returns. Sophisticated investors in this space know that the success rate for new titles and studios is low, but the upside can be significant. Developers, in turn, look for deals that provide breathing room to create …
What Terms Are “Normal” in Game Investment Deals? Read More »
“It doesn’t matter what language they speak, it doesn’t matter what walk of life [they’re] from . . . they all have the same shared interest and passion [in this community].”— John Choi, on the Fighting Game Community In an era when many corners of the esports industry are freezing over, the fighting game community …
Fighting Game Community: Grassroots Resilience Amid an Esports Winter Read More »
Crowded convention aisles often feature tables piled high with vivid prints of iconic game protagonists, anime heroines, and nostalgic cartoon mascots. Shoppers delight in seeing fresh artistic spins on familiar favorites, and individual artists rely on those sales to recoup travel costs, or even finance full-time creative careers. Yet every charming mash-up or stylized portrait …
Fanart for Sale: Navigating Copyright and Trademark Risks Read More »
As artificial intelligence tools become increasingly integrated into creative workflows, content creators face a growing need to formalize their internal practices. Even when AI-generated content doesn’t appear in the final product (and the prevailing sentiment among creators generally leans against its use in finished work) most creators or their teams are leveraging AI tools at …
Why Every Creator Needs an AI Policy for Their Team Read More »
Many early-stage game studios look for ways to manage costs while moving projects forward. The idea of using unpaid interns often comes up during these conversations. It might seem like a win for both the unpaid intern and the studio, but the legal reality around unpaid internships is strict, and mistakes can become expensive. In …
Every U.S. company is required by law to designate a registered agent in each state it operates in. However, a registered agent’s role extends past just fulfilling a legal requirement. Why Is A Registered Agent Needed? Registered agents receive: Missing a time-sensitive legal notice can result in default judgments, fines, or administrative dissolution of a …
Many studios, especially early-stage studios, rely heavily on the services provided by independent contractors. Contractors may provide anything from commissioned art, to administrative services, to programming services for studios. No matter what services are being provided, there are some core ingredients any studio should want to see in written agreements with these service providers: First …
What Every Studio Needs in a Contractor Agreement Read More »
In the push to meet milestones and impress publishers, development teams often treat intellectual property (IP) as a box to tick rather than a strategic asset. The result can be costly detours exactly when momentum matters most: disputed titles, ownership surprises or stalled funding rounds. Understanding where misunderstandings typically arise helps studios safeguard creativity, preserve …
Many budding entrepreneurs know that starting a successful venture requires creating a legal entity and drafting the associated paperwork, but those documents leave many questions unanswered: What role will each founder play in the new business? How will smaller operational decisions, like whether to sign a contract, be made? Can founders “moonlight” and work other …
“It’s hard being an indie game developer” is an understatement. This is especially true for developers embarking on the indie dev journey for the first time, whether on their own or through a newly formed studio. In addition to juggling the demands of game development and publishing, indie developers must now worry about accounting, marketing, …