Bringing a game idea to life doesn’t have to be a solo mission. Maybe you’re an indie developer, a startup founder, or a small business thinking about gamification. What do all of those have in common, you might ask? The fact that all of them could recruit a professional game development company to their cause.
Say, you would. You find a vendor, you love their work, their rates are agreeable — great! But how would that process look? If you want to hire a firm for game development services, you need to know what you’re getting yourself into, after all.
This article is here to help. It might be nerve-wrecking when you don’t really know what to expect, but we’ll look into that all, from the first call to post-launch patching. This guide will walk you through every step so that you can start the whole journey with confidence.
So, that being said — where do you start?
Know What You’re Building Before You Build It
Before you reach out to developers, it’s best to figure out the basics of your idea. You don’t need a glitzy game design document (GDD). However, try to pin down the core things like:
- What is the core idea or gameplay mechanic?
- What platform are you doing it on: mobile, PC, console, web, or all of them?
- What’s an estimate for the budget and timeline?
- Do you require end-to-end development or specific services like art, UI/UX, or backend engineering?
The clearer your plans are, the easier it will be for a development company like N-iX Games to give you accurate estimates and valuable suggestions. If you have no idea where to start, don’t worry, though. Studios that provide services for developing games offer consulting that can help you with that.
Different Game Studios for Different Game Aspirations
Not every service to develop a game is the same. It highly depends on the vendor. Depending on the scope of your project, these are the types of partners you might consider:
- Indie studios. Small, flexible teams that often work on innovative, niche games. Ideal for small budgets and prototypes.
- Mid-sized studios. Ideal for mobile, casual, or cross-platform games. They can balance creativity and formality, suited for these types of games.
- AAA developers. Best choice for large-budget, multi-million-dollar games with cinematic graphics and massive teams.
- Outsourcing firms. They can take on the specific parts you need help with, for example, only 2D art of animation for your game.
- Co-dev partners. Collaborate with your in-house team, picking up particular areas like multiplayer, porting, or live operations.
There are a lot of aspects to choosing a team to work for you and with you. Obviously, the skillset matters, and the budget is not made of rubber for it to stretch as much as you would want it to.
It’s more than that, still — it’s about the right fit. Maybe going for a bigger studio seems tempting, but what you really need is a small team to carry out a creatively challenging task. The opposite can also be true. The question is: what does our project truly need?
Your First Contact: What Comes After “Hello”
Once you’ve picked a potential studio like N-iX Games, you’ll have an onboarding process. Here’s what it’s usually like:
- Initial Consultation. You’ll share your game idea and high-level objectives. The majority of the studios will then sign an NDA to protect your concept.
- Project Proposal Document. The studio creates a project outline, timeline, budget breakdown, and tech stack recommendation.
- Meeting with the Team. You’ll meet key people behind the development, such as the project manager, lead developer, game designer, and art director.
- Legal Agreements. You’ll sign a contract. It typically defines project scope, deliverables, payment milestones, intellectual property rights, and termination clauses.
- Kickoff Meeting. You’ll review the roadmap, communication tools, and collaboration process.
With this, you’re ready to start!
Inside the Game Development Process
After kickoff, that’s where the development itself finally begins. Here’s what that typically includes:
1. Pre-Production
This is the planning phase. Designers spend time refining the game mechanics. Artists create early concepts. Technical leads decide on the engine and infrastructure. You’ll see a lot of wireframes, mockups, and fundamental gameplay concepts at this stage.
2. Production
The developers plug in the gameplay systems. The artists create worlds and characters. The sound designers make music. Finally, it starts to take some form. You’ll receive regular updates with incremental builds for feedback. Common workflows involve 1 or 2-week sprints.
3. Testing & Quality Assurance
This stage is all about finding bugs and other issues. Playtesting can be done with real users to adjust difficulty, pacing, and UX. You’ll be responsible for signing off on changes and making decisions on launch.
4. Launch & Post-Launch Support
The studio prepares the game for release — and there’s a lot! Packaging assets, app store page setup, and preparing marketing materials. Some firms help out with publishing or set you up with external publishers.
Once launched, the team can then offer hotfixes, content updates, analytics tracking, or live ops support.
Potential Challenges: Common Bumps in the Road
Even with a great team, the development can have setbacks. Here are some things to watch for — and how to stay ahead of them:
- Scope Creep. Stick to your MVP. Save everything else for future updates.
- Communication Gaps. Language differences, time zones… Just stick to regular check-ins.
- Unrealistic Timelines. Whipping up a game in a hurry only produces a buggy mess. Stay practical and patient. Even Rome wasn’t built in one day — a game certainly wouldn’t be done in a week.
- Version Control Problems. Without backup and proper repositories, work can be lost. Ask how they manage code and asset versioning.
Be proactive. Get answers, request reports, and have an eye on progress.
Final Thoughts: Choose Business Partners, Not Vendors
Creating a game is no small task. There are a lot of sides to this story — from the literal story of the game, to the complexity of technical development, and the pragmatics of project management. It’s one hell of a journey, and to come out as a victor at the end, you’ll need a partner you can rely on.
That’s the studio that will handle the game development for you. Make sure they have the skillset. Take your time to make sure you are on the same wavelength. It’s a creative partnership and a business endeavor you’ll work on together.
