Contents
Having secured their A-Round investment earlier this November as part of a merger with Celebrity Games, the independent games platform VoxPop Games has announced a new tool that they hope will address the two of the most critical challenges that game developers face: limited financial resources and the need for specialized expertise.
Empowering Developers with Collaborative Solutions
The VoxPop new Middleware Toolset is a hiring platform designed for developers and specialists to collaborate on projects, similar to Fiverr or Upwork, but with a twist: instead of upfront fees, developers take a share of the game’s revenue.
Developing games normally means constant spending until the game is finished, and the biggest cost is payroll. Whether the release comes in six months or six years, the developers won’t see a penny back until after the game goes up for sale. Not only does this make game development prohibitively expensive, but it also drastically increases the financial risk developers take when starting new projects. For independent productions, in particular, expanding their teams. So, instead of having specialists with specific skills, everyone is forced to do a little bit of everything, reducing the overall quality of the work.
By allowing developers to pay using shares of future revenue, VoxPop essentially helps offload some of that upfront cost to until after the game is done, freeing up resources and helping developers find the specialist help they need. Whether that’s 3D artists, programmers, or composers, VoxPop’s platform can help developers find them.
Once the game has started getting sales, collaborators automatically receive a share of the game’s sales based on their share. This model not only alleviates financial pressure but also fosters a sense of shared investment and teamwork.
Boosting Game Visibility
For similar reasons, budgeting for marketing is also a particular struggle for independent developers.
The bulk of marketing necessarily comes quite late into development, which means that if there may not be much cash leftover from the actual development of the game. And yet, if you can’t get your game noticed in the crowded video game market, all of your hard work might go to waste. This is where VoxPop’s toolset comes in handy, helping developers focus on marketing strategies that can increase their game’s visibility and reach a wider audience.
VoxPop collaborates with a network of streamers to showcase games to wider audiences, ensuring that months of hard work receive the attention they deserve. This strategy was effectively demonstrated with the game Outer Terror, developed by Salt & Pixel, where VoxPop played a crucial role in QA testing, translating, and even content creation, supported by a campaign involving over forty streamers.
As Lawod, we also have taken a look at Outer Terror, which you can find in the link: Outer Terror review.
Looking Ahead with Disaster Golf
VoxPop Games has already announced one of the first games that will be coming through this program: Disaster Golf by Hippo Havoc. The game is set to benefit from this innovative middleware approach, with more details to be released soon. This move demonstrates VoxPop’s commitment to the world of indie game development, providing a platform where creativity, collaboration, and visibility combine to redefine what is feasible for indie game creators.
