> I'm confident that creators of distinctive, original games will be able to find other publishers.
That confidence is (partially) misplaced. It's a really rough world out there for indie devs, and if you do find a publisher, many times they are not interested in paying as much attention to your title as you are.
Exactly, and if you take stray or Neon White as examples, part of the reason they got so much attention was the reputation that Annapurna Interactive had gained by publishing a game as excellent as Outer Wilds. So people took much more notice of those games than they might have done coming from some random indie publisher with no track record. As excellent as those games are, this might have made a very big diference to the traction they got at the start.
That’s definitely one of those easier said than done things, that someone who’s never tried to do will think.
Publishers have benefits, there’s a reason some game, developers, and other type of media creators will eagerly sign away a big chunk of their revenue. Not true for every media or genre, but there’s a reason these companies exist.
most publishers dont give money without seeing a fairly elaborate demo. And making games is something that can be done with zero budget unlike endeavors in many other industries.
