Global Accessibility Awareness Day is the third Thursday of May, this year that was May 16th. Across games and beyond, people and organisations celebrate accessibility and use it as an opportunity to learn more about creating experiences more people can enjoy.
For GAAD 2024, Rebellion hosted a whole week of events and campaigns to raise awareness of accessibility. Here’s what we got up to!
Accessibility Expo
In our Oxford office we ran a drop-in expo during the day and over lunch with ‘stalls’ around the room. We invited guests like RNIB, SpecialEffect and Gordon Bicker – a student from Abertay who we’ve been mentoring in accessible level design. The room also included an assistive tech set up, showcase of experimental audio navigation game Blind Bake, our EDI forum and some of our own work. The expo provided a space for developers to learn by speaking with experts and interacting with demos and hardware to get a greater understanding of accessibility and barriers.
Talks
Throughout the week we ran internal lunchtime talks for our developers including:
Accessibility at Rebellion: An overview of accessibility plans across all projects. This helps our developers to see the plans across the company.
Show us the Stats: A statistical review of game settings and difficulty, and how our numbers chalk up with other titles.
Guide Dogs UK: A talk from charity Guide Dogs UK including insights into their work in gaming and lived experience insight from visually impaired gamer, Carlos Rodriguez.
Accessibility Unplugged: A talk from our tabletop team, Rebellion Unplugged, on the work they’ve been doing to enhance accessibility in their products.
Game Accessibility Conference Debrief
During Rebellion’s monthly accessibility meet up, which fell during the week of GAAD, the attendees of the Game Accessibility Conference put together a debrief where we highlighted our favourite talks from the conference and what we learned from them. The conference is available online to watch here.
Developer Testimonials
It was important to us this year to hear from our team who’ve been putting in great work to boost accessibility in our projects. We asked 4 developers for testimonials on how they feel about accessibility and incorporate it into their workflow. These testimonials were shared on LinkedIn.
Sharing Statistics
Finally, following last year’s Sniper Elite 5 statistics, we released even more stats from some of our previous games – Zombie Army 4: Dead War and Evil Genius 2: World Domination – and some updated stats from Sniper Elite 5! Our subtitle usage has gone from 95% last year to 96% this year, and 35% of players are increasing menu text size.
Accessibility is most beneficial when woven into development, and GAAD is a great opportunity to create events and activities that celebrate and promote learning more.
Leading the Rebellion: Questing to Succeed in Work and Life is the new book from Rebellion CEO and Creative Director, Jason Kingsley OBE.
Drawing on Jason’s unique insight from leading a successful games and entertainment company, together with his interest in history, the book explores how modern life and businesses can be conducted in line with the tenets of the medieval Knight’s Code of Chivalry.
Jason founded Rebellion with his brother Chris in 1992. The business is now one of the world’s most successful independent video game developers and publishers.
Leading the Rebellion: Questing to Succeed in Work and Life is a fascinating look into Jason’s business and lifestyle philosophy. It offers a unique modern interpretation of the chivalric code, the moral system which combined a warrior ethos, knightly piety, and courtly manners, all combining to establish a notion of honour and nobility, in a motivational, aspirational take on how to live life to the fullest.
“We have always tried to run Rebellion ethically. Chivalry is a form of ethics and my interest in medieval history made me want to explore if the rules of chivalry can apply to modern business,” said Jason. “For example, these guidelines dictate that you are decent in your dealings with other people, show and respect wisdom and act with sensible moderation. These are all qualities that can transfer to business and improve the way we behave as leaders.
“At times business can be a fight, but you should always fight within the rules. Play to win but play fairly. At its core, it is about doing business in the way that you would like business to be done if you were on the other side of the table. For example, pay your bills on time and deal with people fairly. This will benefit everyone.
“I hope that this book will be insightful and enjoyable for people at all stages of their business journey as well as those with an interest in the medieval period.”
In 2016 Jason’s fascination with medieval history and his research into the period culminated in the launch of his highly popular Modern History YouTube channel, which now boasts over 700,000 subscribers. He owns and trains his own horses, fights and jousts in authentically crafted medieval armour and follows a modern interpretation of the chivalric code in both life and business.
Leading the Rebellion: Questing to Succeed in Work and Life is available in both hardback and eBook now.
Join Rebellion as we celebrate this year’s GAAD (Global Accessibility Awareness Day)! Promoting and contributing to the online discussion surrounding digital access and inclusion, and the more than one billion people with disabilities/impairments around the world.
Did you know that one of the most common accessibility failures online is missing image Alt text? With that in mind…this year, we’re putting YOU to the test with our Alt Text competition!
Craft your best Alt text for the above image and share your results on Twitter using the hashtag #SniperAltLite. Alt text copy can be uploaded using Twitter’s in-built Alt text feature or via the main post copy.
Entries will be judged by @TheWobblyGamer – a visually impaired Streamer, Content Creator, Accessibility Advocate and Consultant and @EveryoneCanUK Ambassador (You might recognise him from playing Sniper Elite 5 for Everyone Can Game Together last October).
The winner of the contest will receive a key for Sniper Elite 5, Sniper Elite 5: Season 2 and a mammoth Sniper Elite 5 merch bundle, complete with a branded Army Rucksack, Ammo Tin, Canvas Map Bag, Dog Tags, A5 Notebook, T-Shirt, Hip Flask and more!
The competition is open to UK residents only and ends on Friday 19 May 2023, 5pm GMT. For information on how to enter and for our full terms & conditions, pleaseclick here.
What is Alt Text?
Alt Text means Alternative text and is text that describes the appearance or function of an image so screen readers (a tool that reads digital screens aloud) can communicate them to the user. People who use screen readers may have visual impairments or blindness, so unless Alt text is provided, they can’t “see” images. This makes them incredibly important!
Rebellion’s top tips for crafting Alt Text
Without Alt Text, this post would read:
Devs gotta do what devs gotta do! Smiling face with sunglasses emoji. Did you find them all? Unlabelled graphic.
For someone with a screen reader, there is no context for what “them” is.
This post does have Alt Text, so it reads:
Devs gotta do what devs gotta do! Smiling face with sunglasses emoji. Did you find them all? Graphic. Meme of Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal in two parts, on the left is an image of Nicolas Cage frowning looking towards Pedro Pascal, text “producer, ok seriously what easter eggs are we putting in our gritty world war two themed Sniper Elite game”, and on the right is Pedro Pascal, smiling widely and looking high, text “devs, what about garden gnomes?”.
Now someone using a screen reader can understand what “them” is referring to and enjoy the meme!
What should Alt Text include?
✅ Content of the image – what’s in it?
✅ Purpose & context of an image – what is important about it?
✅ Text in the image.
❌ Reference to the fact it’s an image, such as “an image of.” The screen reader will already say it’s a graphic.
❌ Information that’s not in the image, such as hiding a joke in the Alt Text.
❌ Be cautious of being overly wordy – often images can be summed up concisely.
Rebellion’s efforts towards more accessible social content
Since GAAD 2022, Rebellion has made strides to improve the accessibility of their social content so that more people can enjoy and engage with the content we produce via our social and community spaces.
We completed a workshop with Accessibility Specialist, Stacey Jenkins, on accessible community management. Here are some quotes from our Community Management team on the value of the workshop.
The workshop reiterated the need to consider accessibility from every angle. It wasn’t just about adding alt text, it was about exploring the various ways all users would engage with a post – and how even with the best intentions, your posts can exclude people from participating in challenges and discussions. The workshop has certainly had an impact on the kinds of social media competitions we’ve run since, as we aim to ensure we’re not excluding anyone from the chance to win keys and giveaways.
A lot of the value from Stacey’s workshop came from understanding where I could better embed myself into the online discourse surrounding accessibility. Stacey was able to share a lot of useful accounts, influencers and resources that I still use on a weekly basis now. As we all know, the accessibility space will continue to evolve and develop so it’s crucial that our ears are always on the ground in terms of how we [Rebellion] move with this change.
In addition to the impacts of the workshop, we now have live captions on our streams and engage with accessibility fundraising events like One Special Day and Everyone Can Game Together.
In-game accessibility features
Of course, accessibility doesn’t start and end with social media! If you want to find out how we support accessible features in our latest title Sniper Elite 5, head over to our brand new Accessibility Overview page by clicking here.
From Aim Toggle to Traversal Assistance, to our extensive difficulty customisation, Sniper Elite 5 boasts a range of customisable features making it the most accessible title in the franchise. We’re incredibly proud of what we have achieved and we can’t wait to build on this success for future titles.
If you’re interested in getting actively involved in the conversation surrounding Rebellion’s accessibility efforts, join our Discord server where the conversation keeps going all year round.
We regularly share updates and respond to feedback in our #accessibility channel, whilst also discussing crucial in-game accessibility features elsewhere in the server. Share your feedback, chat to developers and have your voice heard!
Can everyone play? Lessons from Rebellion’s Accessibility Journey
Fresh from delivering her talk at this year’s GDC, Senior Accessibility Designer Cari Watterton shares her thoughts on the past, present and future of accessibility at Rebellion via LinkedIn Live Stream.
Giving a sneak peak into Rebellion’s ambitions for a more inclusive future and reflecting on the work we’ve already carried out on existing titles. If you’re looking to inject a more accessibility aware energy into your workforce or if you’re simply interested in how Rebellion approaches accessibility, this is the stream for you!
Come armed with questions, reflections and suggestions on Thursday 18 May, 3pm GMT via LinkedIn. Register your interest via the LinkedIn event page here for a notification when we go live!
Furthering your learning
Whether you’re a gamer, a game dev or someone just passing through, there’s never been a better time to further your understanding of accessibility within the online and gaming landscape. Here are a few of our favourite resources to do just that:
Rebellion is working together with Everyone Can to support their Game Together annual online fundraiser that takes place on the weekend of the 17th & 18th September.
Everyone Can is a charity that specialises in technology that can improve and enrich the lives of disabled people. Through the careful research of both existing and developing digital technologies they’re able to deliver services that can increase the level of independence for disabled people.
Game Together is an annual online fundraiser aimed at helping disabled gamers by spreading awareness and raising much needed funds to provide assistive technology.
Developer Challenges
The event encourages people to stream themselves playing their favourite games and completing community challenges. So, we’ve asked the Sniper Elite 5 dev team to create a list of challenges for seasoned sniper or fresh cadets – varying in difficulty!
They’re Behind You!
During Axis Invasion, get a photo of yourself directly behind your opponent.
Chain Reaction
Kill the most enemies with one bullet.
Sniper Minus Sniper
Complete a level without using your Sniper Rifle.
Nut on my Watch
Only kill enemies with testicle shots.
Gnothing Like a Gnice Gnomish Gname
On Guernsey, only kill enemies whose names begin with G, N, O, M or E.
Don’t Need Guns Where We’re Going
Complete a level without using any guns.
Enhancing Accessibility
To better advocate accessibility in games and spread awareness, we’ve also put together a set of guidelines people can adhere to when playing:
Audio Described
Describe all cutscenes to your audience and, when you can, describe the environment.
Take Control
Play the game with an Xbox Adaptive Controller or other custom hardware that helps players with physical impairments to play more easily.
Visually Accessible Streaming
Have all game text set to the largest it can be, and all text/prompt opacities to 100%.
Tuning In
SightlessKombat (Gamer without sight & Accessible Gaming and Immersive Technologies Research Officer – RNIB) and Cari Watterton (Senior Accessibility Designer – Rebellion) will be streaming this weekend in aid of Everyone Can. The stream will take place at 3pm-5pm on Sunday 18th on Sightless’ channel where they’ll be running a charity raffle for Sniper Elite 5 keys during their stream.
Good Luck
If you wish to take part in the Game Together weekend, you can sign up here
Don’t forget to tag us on our usual social channels if you’re taking part. You can also connect with fellow Snipers to share all the latest tips and tricks on completing these challenges via our official Discord server.
Audiomotion is moving! The award-winning VFX facility, specialising in full performance capture and production has vacated its premises in Wheatley, South Oxfordshire where it has been since 2013.
As part of Rebellion Group, Audiomotion has collaborated on a wide range of incredibly exciting projects in the last few years, including AAA video games, commercials, film, productions, broadcast TV and virtual productions.
Beyond Rebellion’s own in-house projects such as Sniper Elite 5, Audiomotion has supported on capture for Horizon Zero Dawn, Forza Horizon 4, Ready Player One, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, World War Z and many more.
Now, not only is Audiomotion celebrating over 25 years in the VFX and Mocap industry, but it has also established a new 11m x 16m volume facility (AKA the capture space) at Rebellion Film Studios, equipped with a Vicon Vantage Motion Capture system.
The move provides access to Rebellion Film studio’s diverse collection of stages and filming spaces that make up over 40,000sqft of shooting space. With 30 years of games production experience and two decades at the forefront in performance capture technology, Rebellion Film Studios is the perfect space to house the growing Audiomotion team.
Producer Sarah Whiting commented on the move: “We’re so excited to bring our extremely talented animators and ambitious team to Rebellion Film Studios. With a stream of very exciting upcoming projects, we can’t wait to share just what we are working on.”
The studio is a stone’s throw from Didcot Parkway Station, which provides 36-minute train links from London Paddington. The site also has over 100 parking spaces on site, 24-hour security, and loading bays, providing space for catering trucks and large vehicles if required.
Stay tuned via the official Rebellion and Audiomotion channels to find out more about upcoming projects:
Whilst I share the core arguments of your recent presentation on STEAM subjects and the computer games industry, I must ask you to rethink your characterisation of what is a hugely successful industry as “spotty nerds.”
I’ve got nothing against anybody who is in fact spotty or a nerd, and whilst I appreciate that sometimes one needs to ‘exaggerate for effect,’ your statement is something that has never been true about the massively valuable games industry even in its nascent days, and is still even less true now.
It is simply counterproductive to stigmatise our highly technical and creative industry with terms like this. Many of my colleagues come from arts and technical backgrounds, sometimes a combination of both. To belittle pure academic achievement with words like nerd or geek is something done by bullies, and is surprising coming from someone in a position to influence the career choices of many young people, some of whom respond to social pressure in ways that may not benefit them in the future. To be a nerd is to be passionate about something, and surely we should want everyone to be passionate about their career?
I’m pretty sure you’ll apologise, and that you didn’t really mean the words you said. It is essential that this country celebrates all types of academic and non-academic achievement, and belittles none. Our industry needs multitalented people from all walks of life and from all backgrounds.
Equality of opportunity is what I hope we offer in the games industry. Not everybody can be successful, but all can try.
By the way, I’m a games designer,
artist, boss of Rebellion, jousting knight with warhorse, lance and
sword, Oxford full Blue, international sporting competitor and trustee
of Her Majesty’s Royal Armouries, as well as Chairman of TIGA, the trade
body that represents the games industry.
I would hope I deserve a broader description than “spotty nerd.”
As our CEO Jason Kingsley explains below, self-publishing Zombie Army Trilogy was a risk for a studio like Rebellion, but it was a risk we could control. And the game has proven to be a stellar success. With that in mind, here are the three key lessons we learned from self-publishing Zombie Army Trilogy.
The early results are in for Zombie Army Trilogy, Rebellion’s first self-published console title. I’m pleased to say we are on track to make double our costs back in 12 months or less – a return rate that, if you’re a venture capitalist, you’d be more than happy with.
The goal of these articles has been to share some of the insights I’ve uncovered and, with this being the final piece, here are the key lessons we’ve learned.
1. Cut your coat according to your cloth
Self-publishing was a risk, but we felt we could control that risk. We took confidence from our track record, and that the investment required for the game was relatively modest.
This has to be reflected in the price, which is why Zombie Army Trilogy retails for a third less than the £45 (and up) that new-generation console titles tend to start at. This reinforces the view that there’s a market in-between mobile games and full-priced console releases – perhaps the mid-tier is making a comeback. Basically: we weren’t over-ambitious or greedy, either.
2. Happy fans and strong sales beat critical acclaim
When we made the first Nazi Zombie Army game, there were no plans for a sequel, let alone two of them and a console version. But the franchise found an audience – a keen fanbase for what is unashamedly a tongue-in-cheek, gory, WWII zombie shooter.
Part of the decision to self-publish came from knowing that there was a fanbase who wanted more. We didn’t over-analyse the market opportunity – we simply made a great game that we thought others would like to play.
I’ve spoken before about the disconnect between professional game reviews and consumer purchasing decisions, and that disconnect has been apparent again with Zombie Army Trilogy. That’s not to denigrate anyone; it’s simply that that the game was never designed to win a BAFTA, and with my CEO hat on, and my responsibility to pay our 200-plus staff, it’s sales that keep the lights on, not review scores or awards (though they are always welcome). My advice to other developer-publishers is not to be unduly fearful of reviews – and I say that as Rebellion’s creative director and a vociferous proponent of the artistic and cultural value of our medium. Creativity and innovation matter a lot – however, knowing what you do best and if there is a market for it, and then delivering what that market wants – is more important for a sustainable business.
3. Decide quickly and share early
If there’s anything I will do differently next time, it’s making key decisions faster – such as how we’re going to get a game to market.
It’s surprising just how many emergent and unexpected issues there are. For example, with Zombie Army Trilogy, whilst it’s clearly an 18-rated game, if you want your game on supermarket shelves, then the cover needs to be appropriate. That skinned, burnt, Nazi skull represents the game’s tone and content, but may give a buyer the heeby-jeebies.
Also, direct access to the PlayStation and Xbox platforms is wonderful, but brings with it a number of production and approval processes, which can take far longer than you think.
Ultimately game developers should take heart – self-publishing is a viable and profitable route if you’re prepared for everything that comes with it.
This is the fourth and final part of Jason’s series on self-publishing, as originally published by MCV. If you’re just joining us, be sure to go back and read parts 1, 2 and 3. And keep reading the Rebellion blog for more great content in the coming weeks and months.
“Never assume you know everything – because you don’t – and be willing to invest in the right people.”
As originally published on MCV, Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley continues his series on self-publishing. In this column, Jason explains how Rebellion went global with the launch of grindhouse compilation Zombie Army Trilogy.
Self-publishing involves a lot more complexity than work for hire. With work for hire you normally have one deal with one partner; it’s straightforward and you don’t have to worry about how this deal might affect any others.
As a developer-publisher, however, there are a lot more moving pieces to track, and they all interact with one another – like one of those sliding block puzzles.
Retailers and distributors still have a lot of input over how and where your game is sold, and they have a lot of people in their value chain that they need to protect and consider. It’s only right that everyone should be paid fairly, but with rapidly changing market conditions in our sector, tensions can arise which are difficult to balance.
Whilst retail is still an extremely important component of the overall sales mix, it’s now not the only game in town and it’s fair to say that, due to the shift in the landscape towards digital, the terms on offer have changed a lot over the past five years. From the perspective of a self-publisher, this has been a welcome development.
Critical to managing multiple agreements is staying calm and checking your obligations. People can often get their nose put out of joint, and as a self-publisher you have a lot more people to keep happy. Remind yourself that everybody wants to sell your great project, even if they pretend they don’t think it’s any good. Have a realistic level of confidence in your title and don’t be frightened to politely disagree.
Evaluating the sticky bit of a contract, being clear on what you are trying to protect – and what the other party is trying to protect – will often get you halfway towards a resolution.
Ultimately, contracts are there for everyone’s protection and benefit so, if you’re honest about what you all want and willing to insert a clause, search for a solution and compromise where necessary, then there are very few roadblocks that cannot be overcome.
Sometimes people have ‘red-line’ terms they aren’t able to cross, but remember that sometimes these red-lines are negotiating tactics, too. Try to see the issues from the other side, and if their point is reasonable, then agree to it.
Find your harbour master
UK developers make games for a global audience, but when it comes to physical and digital sales, it’s not easy to work out who distributes where – with some people operating ‘globally’ and others saying they are ‘global, except for China’. There are also huge legal variations by country, on top of the differences between consumer protection and business-to-business laws.
The upshot is that you need help. You need to find your harbour master, someone who – in travel or seafaring terms – knows all the regulations and operational procedures of a particular port, in order to ensure safe travel. For Rebellion’s Zombie Army Trilogy, that was Garry Williams from Sold Out, who helped us navigate these channels. If you don’t know someone who can help you in this respect, then get networking.
Never assume you know everything – because you don’t – and be willing to invest in the right people. As the old Red Adair quote goes: “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”
Mistakes can be expensive, in both financial and reputational terms. When it comes to everything from legal to distribution counsel, control the scope of what you’re asking them about – it saves a lot of money if you know the specific areas where you need input.
That said, don’t be afraid to ask if there’s anything else you need to know. With lawyers in particular, I find they have a healthy pessimism that often provides hard-charging games entrepreneurs with a valuable reality check.
Be sure to check out parts 1 and 2, and look out for the fourth and final part on the Rebellion blog later this week.
In the second part of his series (originally published for MCV), Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley says that when it comes to self-publishing, when you launch is key. Also, Jason says, the best way to minimise surprises is to be ready for them.
Adapting your business to the self-publishing model requires a number of practical changes.
You need someone who can handle PR, manage an internal marketing team or someone that can hire in and manage freelancers.
Finding someone externally to make assets like trailers can be costly so, if you can’t afford dedicated teams, think about hiring individual artists and video editors who can help with communications.
This all needs to be done a long way in advance, as planning and creating the content needed for sales, marketing and media channels takes a great deal of time.
Timing is Everything
As a developer-publisher you have to make the call on when to launch.
This means considering when you realistically expect to complete project milestones, checking resources like MCV’s release schedule and making sure you’re not going to market jammed in between two franchise behemoths. As an indie publisher, you’ll want as much clear space around your release as possible.
With massive games these days initial release dates can slip, and feature sets can often change or be dropped. It’s therefore best to keep your ear to the ground for insider news. It’s also worth looking at the track record of those making a potential competitor. Some dev teams hit dates, others don’t. With Zombie Army Trilogy, we had one eye on The Order: 1886 and Batman Arkham Knight. The Order turned out to not have multiplayer and Arkham Knight got pushed back to June, which worked out well for us.
Knowing the genres of games you will be competing against is important; with Zombie Army Trilogy we wanted to avoid other major shooters, but Forza Horizon and Just Dance were less of a concern.
Being an indie publisher you have to accept that there will be, in many cases, an enormous disparity in the scale of resources at your disposal.
Rebellion is now relatively large, yet we are aware we’re still competing with titles that cost at least ten times as much to make and have more than 20 times our marketing budget. So you need to have talented people who can spot an opportunity and make it count.
We have to be very targeted in our more traditional marketing activity, using social media intelligently and choosing only a handful of important voices and trusted media partners with whom we have a longstanding professional relationship. For us, TV spots are out of the question, but short, effective bursts of video pre-roll ads on Twitch and YouTube aren’t. Focus your resources where you can, and where you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck. Be sure to review the data afterwards to find out what worked.
Minimise the Surprises
If you are making your first foray into publishing then my top piece of advice would be to communicate honestly and as far in advance as possible with your partners. Problems can and will emerge, and you will need other people’s help to address them.
As a publisher you are more dependent, compared to a developer, on a wider array of other businesses to do your job – whether they are retailers, manufacturers, design agencies, merchandising support, legal counsels, journalists, or banks.
Companies like Sony and Microsoft are huge, with complex structures and in spite of large budgets in places, a lot of restrictions. It is vital to cultivate relationships here – you will need friends in high places, and the best way to win new friends is to be honest and ask for help when you need it. The biggest corporations are run by busy people and behaving like an aggressive so-and-so won’t win you any favours.
When plotting your project timelines, be sure to overestimate how long everything will take and give yourself an extra week here and there – the extra time will be used up in ways you didn’t expect.
Ultimately, things will happen, but by minimising the surprise as much as possible, you give your partners the time they need to help you address the challenges.
Look out for more from Jason’s series on self-publishing on MCV and here on the Rebellion blog. And be sure to follow Jason on Twitter: @RebellionJason
When it hit stores in March, Zombie Army Trilogy became the first console game Rebellion had ever self-published in its long history. This was a huge and exciting decision for us, but as our CEO Jason Kingsley explains in this piece (originally published on MCV), it was one we came to after a whole lot of thought.
There are advantages and disadvantages to developers self-publishing.
The complex decision as to whether we should self-publish happened over an extended period of time and a series of long conversations. Ultimately, the decision will depend on the weight each different studio gives the risks and rewards.
Basically, it will depend on how deep your pockets are, how confident you are in your game-making and scheduling skills, and where your company is in its employee structure. Publishing is not easy, nor is development, and each discipline has its own set of skills. I’d encourage any budding developer-publisher to think over their own situation carefully.
Here are the key questions I would recommend addressing:
How strong is your cash flow and project pipeline?
Working with a publisher can provide a solid underpinning for a game development business, as long as you have steady flow of projects with minimal downtime in-between and a publisher that is financially stable.
Gaps in the production pipeline mean an interruption of cash flow, which needs to be planned for and, if unexpected, can be deadly for any business. Hitting development milestones on time, as agreed with your publisher, is also essential; if you miss them repeatedly, it’s likely you won’t get paid.
We were in a fortunate position; we own our own IP and have multiple sources of revenue, plus expert teams who make great games again and again to deadlines. As such, we’re well positioned to take advantage of the increasing options available to those looking to self-publish.
Do you have the capacity and capability to pick up the publishing workload?
When you self-publish there are a lot more tasks you have to take on, such as approvals, retail and platform-owner negotiations and packaging design. In addition, there’s marketing, PR and community management.
This is easier for purely digital PC releases. Digital-only removes the complexity and scheduling hassles of the physical manufacture of discs and boxes, and also means you don’t have to manage approvals, age ratings, distribution schedules and inventory – it’s just a case of getting the message out there and hoping people download your game.
After analysing how the workload is or has been historically split between you and your publisher, if you find you have been doing much of the publisher-side tasks yourself already, and already have the staff and knowledge – or can cost-effectively hire them – then it may make sense to consider self-publishing.
How strong is your business track record and experience?
Publishers always take a risk when they back a developer, just as you are taking a risk in backing yourself. Ultimately the decision whether to self-publish or not comes down to a balancing of risk versus reward.
By choosing to self-publish Zombie Army Trilogy, Rebellion added more risk to the project, as nobody else was paying us to do the work; crucially, though, we think it’s risk we can control.
It’s still just as essential to set dates and stick to them, otherwise you risk letting your ‘increased freedom’ cost you more in expensive delays.
Data is also a benefit. With work-for-hire, the feedback on how your game is performing can take many months, if not years – especially when it comes to physical retail. By self-publishing, you can see on a daily basis what revenue is coming in, and what you’ll be receiving in the future, allowing you to manage post-launch investment in terms of game updates and marketing.
Self-publishing is an exciting new direction for Rebellion. We’re keeping our fingers firmly crossed, and I look forward to sharing more of the experience as we progress towards the launch of Zombie Army Trilogy – and beyond.
Look out for more from Jason’s series on self-publishing in the coming days, right here on the Rebellion blog. And be sure to follow him on Twitter: @RebellionJason
