Business Model for Indie Studios in Game Software Ecosystems

Abstract

The games industry is constantly growing. The emerging players are mostly software developers who join together with professionals from different fields to form independent (or indie) studios. This movement has resulted in an exponential amount of new products, and some big game companies have adopted a differentiated strategy to capture value in this scenario. This innovative strategy, explored with the concept of Software Ecosystems (SECO), led to the development of common technological platforms where players integrate their products. The competition between the players, the constant technological changes and evolution, and the need for agile and high-quality production due to the demands of the consumer market and the long-term financial sustainability bring challenges to the independent studios regarding their business planning. This chapter aims to present one of the grand research challenges on games and digital entertainment, more specifically related to business modeling for independent studios that work in Game SECO (GSECO). By presenting a unified agenda, we expect that the digital games industry and academia actors could join efforts to propose and validate solutions, leveraging the growth of the digital games’ scenario.