Launched Gamatier Takes a New, Beneficial Direction with Games Publishing

In the world of publishers and developers, game leasing is happening. But what in the world is game leasing? Well, game leasing is the answer to retaining ownership of an IP. Gamatier--keep in mind this isn't 100% polished--is the first new product available that allows such, offering bespoke usage options that will suit both publishers and developers. In other words, publishers will be able to decide how they want to access a game, while developers will be able to retain ownership.

Currently the service is only available for Android games, but iOS, Windows, and online platforms will be coming soon. This new product is in hopes of providing an alternative to the traditional model of selling games. So with Gamatier, everyone wins, as both parties will be empowered with real-time  management, advertising, analytics, and distribution tools.

Created by a UK Development team who studied with Train2Game, a Games Development course provider, Gamatier aims to create a more effective way of distributing and managing online games. Though the platform has just launched, the team is seeking investment to expand rapidly and take the platform to the next level.

Basically, this is how it works: Game developers, if they wish to do so, can put their game up for lease rather than for sale, for anywhere between 3-12 months. There's standard leasing, which allows multiple people to lease a developer's (or publisher's, if the publisher decides to purchase the game) game. The publisher's brand and ads will remain so people will know it's the developer's game. However, the multiple people that lease a game will have some control over said game. Premium licensing, on the other hand, are treated as exclusives, meaning that one person has all the rights and controls to a game, even if the game is already on tons of sites. You'd take control over the games ads, analytics, and branding for the duration of the lease. Both ways would guarantee money back and hopefully a sweet profit, but basically you own the rights to advertising of a game.

Quoting Founder John Esslemont on the birth of Gamatier:

"I have been selling games for a long time and that's how I came up with Gamatier. I was getting frustrated because once I developed a game and given it to a publisher, it was gone and no longer owned my creation. There was no platform for management; it was bad news for a developer, often not getting a share of a product's success."

"That's when I created Gamatier; I wanted to give developers the power to keep making money from their games after they were released. I came up with the concept of leasing games through an online platform. Why sell your game when leasing will let you retain ownership of the IP and you can continue to control your product?"

"Using Gamatier there are huge benefits for publishers too, they have a store filled with games that they can choose from and many options of how they want to buy or lease games. Leasing allows for reduced initial outlay and management of further investment in a game. The options available to publishers allow the most effective way to gain revenue based on analytics and implement changes using the platform in real time, such as: exclusive leasing, advertising, and other monetisation options."

"The unique SDK (devkit) we've developed provides extensive, innovative and intuitive options and services, which integrate into our hosting platform. Developers retain ownership of their title and how it is used. Publishers who buy or lease games achieve control over the game's ads, analytics, branding, in-house ads and lots more via our real-time-dashboard."

"One thing that has been essential to getting Gamatier off the ground is Train2Game; we would not be making our dreams come true if not for its guidance. We think the Gamatier method of leasing games is more efficient, manageable and cost effective. We predict our product will dramatically change how publishers and developers buy and sell games."

The bottom line of it all is the fact that this could prove to be very beneficial for publishers and developers, especially developers who want to retain their own IP rights. There's also a demo up for those wanting to lease or buy and gain an understanding of the platform, which offers different methods of advertisement and branding settings. Do you think this new approach to publishing and advertisement would reach out to larger companies like Square Enix or Blizzard? 

Either way, it's not a bad idea in the slightest, especially if developers get the opportunity to retain the rights to their own IP. Hopefully this platform will become bigger and better in no time.