Indie Game Publishing

A Practical Guide for Videogame Developers

By: Odile Limpach

Narrated by: Carol Scheider

Indie Game Publishing is the essential guide for indie game developers seeking to put their game into the hands of players. Whether you decide to self-publish or find a publisher to partner with, this useful guide will take you through each step of the process and thoroughly prepare you for success. This revised edition has been redesigned and tailored specially for the audiobook listener.

Hear from experienced developers and expert publishers how they successfully released their games. You will find clear explanations of how partnerships and contracts work, learn about critical sales and marketing aspects, various possible funding models for games, and ultimately develop your own unique publishing strategy. Everything you need to successfully publish your game is in this audiobook! Topics covered include:

• Understanding what publishers do and who they are
• How to self-publish your game
• Marketing
• Sales
• Distribution
• Funding
• Contracts

Also included is a detailed case study example of how rhythm platformer game Vectronom grew from a from student project all the way through to being published on PC, mobile, and Nintendo Switch, winning multiple awards and prizes along the way.

The author of this audiobook, Professor Odile Limpach, teaches economics and entrepreneurship, is co-founder of a game business accelerator, and previously was managing director of Blue Byte in Dusseldorf, Germany.

©2020 Odile Limpach (P)2021 Adventurous Media

Exactly what I needed

I rarely write reviews, but given the specific nature of the book, I thought it might be helpful. If you’re like me, an indie developer who has already prototyped your game and is trying to decide whether or not to self publish, read this book. Before I read it, I was intent on doing the work to self-publish, but after listening, I’ve changed my mind.

I think I’m going to pursue a publishing partner after all so that I can focus my efforts on development and gain quick access to key players and services in the industry without having to build a social presence by myself. The benefits seem to be worth the opportunity cost in my case.

In your case, listening will at the very least provide some perspective on making that decision. I feel lucky that there is even a book in such a niche genre!

Full of interviews. Not very actionable

As an indie developer looking to publish my first fully independent game, I had high hopes for this book to provide clear steps and valuable insights into the publishing process. Unfortunately, the book fell short of my expectations.
While it contains numerous interviews with indie gamedevs and publishers, the content often felt sanitized and stilted. The writing is generalized and not useful. Instead of actionable advice, the book frequently offered vague statements like "there are no one-size-fits-all solutions," which made it difficult to extract practical steps for my own journey.
The marketing case study given at the end of the book, Vectronom, appears to have been a commercial failure (see Steam results via vginsights.com), rendering it an ineffective case study. This was despite the game's excellent Steam reviews and being signed by ARTE, the European culture TV channel, and getting multi-channel coverage.
I was seeking a guide with concrete steps and strategies to navigate the challenges of publishing independently, but this book did not deliver on that front. It felt more like a collection of stories rather than a practical manual, making it less useful for someone looking for direct, actionable advice.