The game development industry is profitable. However, developing high-quality games is quite a lengthy task and is intensely competitive. Moreover, businesses should have a skilled professional team of experts to keep up with the latest game development trends. It’s quite a hassle! To keep up with the increasing demand, several gaming studios are turning towards game development outsourcing firms to expedite their game development projects.
Outsourcing gaming projects is a viable solution and has numerous advantages. Let us first take a quick look at them.
- Once you partner with a game development company, businesses get access to a team of specialized professionals with lower overhead.
- The outsourced team possesses the relevant skill and experience to implement the latest game design and development technologies such as AR and VR technology, 2D and 3D, and many more to add.
- Working with an outsourced team can help a gaming business save up on factors like searching, hiring, and onboarding IT professionals.
- Sometimes, a business may lack the bandwidth to complete a game development project within a stipulated time frame. Collaborating with an external agency can help them fetch the best team of developers, programmers, and QA specialists to get the job done.
- Once an organization outsources a gaming project, it can rest assured of its deliverables within a set timeframe.
- Flexibility comes as bliss when you decide to work with an outsourced company. The experts can stretch their working hours to complete a project if their work demands a strict deadline.
Types of outsourcing:
Onshore outsourcing
When you choose to delegate your game development project to a local company, it is called onshore outsourcing. You have the flexibility to visit the office, meet the team and explain your requirements in person.
Nearshore and Offshore outsourcing
When you choose a neighboring country to do your project, it is called nearshore outsourcing. But if you choose a company located far from your location, it is known as offshore outsourcing.
However, before outsourcing a game development project, a few factors must be taken into consideration. A well-chosen outsourced company should ensure the success of your gaming project within the fixed budget and timeline.
Following are some of the questions to consider to selecting a game development outsourced company-
Is the outsourced company well established in the market?
A reputable IT company has an extensive audience base and a team of specialists. But how do you choose them against a hugely competitive market? You may refer to data-driven platforms like Yelp, Clutch, Google Business Profile, Facebook Page review, Angi, etc., and check the company website to find relevant information about them. These platforms provide information about the outsourced IT companies and show their ratings, reviews from authentic customers, and the number of employees working with them. In addition, the platforms keep monitoring and reviewing the data collected to ensure that these are genuine and unbiased.
How long has the company been active in the market?
It is significant to find out how many years of experience the company has in the game development realm- the longer the experience, the higher the quality of their service. An experienced game development outsourcing company has the means to understand the requirements of a project at every stage. They are competent enough to execute the right technology and suggest strategies to achieve super fast success.
Does the outsourced company offer the services you require?
Before eyeing the best game development outsourcing agency, you must look into the kind of services they offer. Check out whether their services come aligned with your requirements. Game development projects are often complex, so it is imperative to determine whether the company renders the type of work you want them to do.
What engagement models does the company offer?
A renowned IT company will have multiple engagement models to offer its clients. It means you can choose the best option for your game development project. Typically, the engagement models include
Fixed price model: Under the fixed price model, the team operates under a fixed and sanctioned budget with well-defined project goals and timelines. The cost and the project specifications are agreed upon signing the contract. The project is delivered according to the terms mentioned in the agreement.
Time and material model: The time and material model is preferred when the scope of project work isn’t fully defined and requires continuous evolution. One of the significant benefits of working with this model is the flexibility it offers in project evolution and completion against the changing and competitive technological trends and business precedence.
Managed services: This engagement model allows the vendor to manage your services holistically. Managed services are responsible for implementing the best practices required in the project. They involve the right staff to work on the project, maintain documentation and generate project reports. This model is suitable for those companies that primarily focus on their core business.
Milestone-based model: This model is suitable for process-oriented organizational arrangements. The primary aim of this model is to deliver specified milestones in a project. It could be the start and end dates for project phases, obtaining stakeholders’ approval to allow for the next phase of the project, or the milestone could include important meetings, deliverables, and organizational events. To make this engagement model work well, the game development project’s milestones should be well defined with no uncertainty.
How does the company manage its workflow?
Often, it is difficult to understand the workflow of an organization. You should ask the following questions during the interview to understand how the team executes their work and how well they carry out their work responsibilities-
- How do you communicate with your clients?
- Is it possible to replace, change, add or remove any team members during the ongoing project?
- How frequent are you with your feedback and consent sessions?
- What are the project management tools?
- During an emergency will I be able to contact the team apart from the scheduled call time?
- Is there any staff flexibility during the project work?
- How open is the outsourced team to any revision?
- Do you offer quality testing?
What are the other specifics of the company?
Besides the above mentioned factors, you must check the following specifics while outsourcing your gaming project:
- Does the outsourced company have a secured and steady internet connection?
- Does the company work during national holidays or weekends?
- Whether the company ready to do overtime in case of tight deadlines?
But how do you know whether you are dealing with a reliable game development outsourcing IT Company?
All you have to do is execute small research in the following areas:
- Search for the development cases and the client testimonials on the company website. In short, evaluate their portfolio to identify its positive and negative aspects.
- While establishing a partnership with a game development outsourced company, ask for client reviews to understand their work specifics.
- Conduct an online interview with the design and development team to understand which tools and technologies the company uses in the project development.
Conclusion!
Game development is one of the promising and booming sectors of the entertainment industry. Both large-scale and small-scale businesses gain generous revenues with a successful game development project. However, this involves huge investments and time. Therefore, businesses choose to outsource their projects to curtail their expenses and develop innovative and high-quality games.
