In this article, we will have a look at what is in-house game development and outsourcing, in-house game development vs outsourcing, their pros and cons, benefits of outsourcing, options for outsourcing, how to outsource, and the cost of outsourcing.
Mobile games are now more famous than they ever were, and the fact that Gross consumer spending reached $112 billion on mobile in 2021, of which $81 billion came from games, supports it explicitly.
Businesses and companies are becoming more and more interested in developing their own mobile game to either profit from them or to use them as a marketing tool.
When they plan to develop their own mobile game, they can either develop the game in-house or they can outsource the game development project to an experienced game development company. Let’s have a look at which option is the better one.
- Outsourcing Vs In-house Game Development
- Pros and Cons of In-house and Outsource Game Development
- Benefits of outsourcing your game development project
- Options for Outsourcing your game development project
- 7 Tips to follow to ensure fruitful results from outsourcing game development services
- How much does it cost to outsource a mobile game development project?
- Wrapping Up
Outsourcing Vs In-house Game Development
In-house Game Development
In-house game development means developing the game in-house with a team that consists of a developer, designer, animator, game tester, content provider, back-end expert, etc. The team will work on prototyping, developing, and launching the game, and after the game is launched, they will also work on maintaining and upgrading the game. The company is required to provide the team with proper office space, tools and technologies, infrastructure, etc.
Outsource Game Development
Outsourcing refers to delegating your game development project to a mobile game development company. You just have to share your ideas and your requirements with the company, and they will develop the game for you within the specified budget and time. The outsourcing company will also provide you with maintenance and updates of the game, however, this will be charged separately.
In-house Vs Outsourcing
| In-House Game Development | Outsource Game Development |
| Seamless communication | Communication via a project manager |
| Limited pool of talent | A team full of talented and experienced developers |
| Better control over the development process | Less control over the development process |
| Higher development cost | Lower development cost |
| Flexible work environment | Less flexible |
| Slower Development process | Faster and on-time development process |
| Immediate access and priority issue solving | No immediate access or priority issue solving |
Pros and Cons of In-house and Outsource Game Development
Pros
In-house
- Full control of the game development process.
- Get customized games based on your company’s niche.
- Seamless and flexible work.
Outsourcing
- A cheaper alternative.
- Apt with all the advanced tools and technologies.
- Proven track record.
Cons
In-house
- Increased overheads for tools and technologies.
- Less experienced in developing games.
- Heavy investment of time and money.
Outsourcing
- Lack of control.
- Difficulties in communication.
- Less Flexible.
Benefits of outsourcing your game development project
Having a team of expert and dedicated in-house developers can be really intriguing and beneficial if you need to develop a mobile app. They will know the ins and outs of your work and they will be better suited to develop the most befitting app for you. They will sincerely work only on your project and you will be able to control everything.
However, when it comes to mobile games, outsourcing game development is a cost-friendly and more effective alternative, as for mobile game development, the developers need no or very little knowledge of your industry, and hiring an experienced game development company will serve as an added bonus.
Here are the core benefits of hiring a game development company:
1. Get the benefit of a proficient and well-structured team
Mobile game development is a process that includes a variety of tasks such as designing, coding, testing, pre-production, etc., and when it comes to game development companies, they have different teams that oversee these processes. Hiring different teams in-house will be very costly. Hiring a game development company will provide you with a proficient and well-structured team at economical rates.
2. No overhead costs
Hiring, training, maintaining, and retaining employees is very costly, and when you wish to get your own team of in-house developers, you have to handle all these processes. On the contrary, when you outsource your game development company, you get a ready-made team that is well-equipped with all the necessary tools and techniques, and thus you do not have to pay any overhead costs.
3. A detailed process
Mobile game development companies are experts at developing mobile games, and they know everything about the same. As you share your ideas or needs with them, the first thing that they do is create a detailed process of the project. They will also assign a project manager that will keep you updated on the progress. They will also set up communication tools so that you can easily get in touch with them.
4. Cross-platform Game Development
When you hire in-house developers, you have to be thorough about their cross-platform game development skills, however, game development companies offer cost-friendly cross-platform game development services, and thus you can get the benefit of the audience of all the platforms that you wish to target.
5. Quality Assurance
Quality is the key essence of the services of a game development company. They have a dedicated team that works towards the quality assurance of the game after the pre-production stage and the production stage. In outsourcing, you are assigning your work to a secure, reliable, and talented team that will deliver the best game to you.
Options for Outsourcing your game development project
There are two options for you when it comes to outsourcing your game development project. Let’s have a look:
1. Hire a Game Development Company
There are multiple options out there to hire a game development company. You can hire local companies, or you can also hire companies from across the world.
The advantages include:
- A full-fledged team of game developers.
- Experience in developing various games.
- They have all the necessary tools, technology, and manpower.
- They have the cost and timeline beforehand.
Disadvantages:
- A company will be more expensive as compared to a freelancer game developer
- Their process is pre-determined and the targets are set at an early stage, and thus they will be less flexible.
2. Hire a Game Development Freelancer
Various platforms like Upwork, LinkedIn, and many more can be used to find a freelancer to develop your mobile game. Research their portfolio and expertise carefully before hiring them.
The advantages include:
- There are many talented freelancers that you can get in touch with.
- It is cheaper when compared to hiring a game development company.
- The freelancer will be more flexible.
Disadvantages:
- Lack of specialization of platform or experience in developing games similar to your game.
- There won’t be a project manager in the team, and this will result in communication issues if there is a difference in time-zone.
- There will be no guarantee of the end result.
The option that you will choose will depend on your budget, your game’s scope, and the game genre. If your game is a simple one and is not too complex, going with either option will work, however, if you wish to develop a complex game with AAA-quality graphics and gameplay, choosing a well-established game development company is preferable.
You can choose any of the two options, however, when it comes to outsourcing your game development project, it is suggested that you follow a proper process before doing so. This ensures that you find the right freelancer/game development company for your project.
7 Tips to follow to ensure fruitful results from outsourcing game development services
1. Know your requirements
The most satisfying result is the one that we wanted. And to make that happen, you will first have to list out all your requirements.
If you know what you want, this will make things a lot easier and help you effectively communicate your requirements to the developers.
The requirements can be the features that you want, the dimension of the game (you can also opt for AR/VR Game), the UI and UX of the game, Character of the game and how it should look, the environment of the game, the user experience that the game delivers, etc.
The more precise you are about all your requirements, the better results you will get. Here is a list of questions that will help you in figuring out your requirements:
- Who will be the targeted audience?
- Purpose of your game
- What graphic quality do you want?
- Game target platform
- What will be the main features of your game?
- What makes your game unique?
- If your game will be free or paid?
- What will be your monetization strategy?
- Do you want advanced games like AR/VR games or do you want simple 2D or 3D games?
Even if you cannot finalize your requirements, don’t worry. Having just an idea will work. The Mobile Game Development company/Freelancer will help you figure out all the requirements to transform your idea into a chartbuster game.
2. Choose the outsourcing type
Once you have figured out all your requirements, now you can choose the type of outsourcing that feels suitable. There are two main types of mobile game development outsourcing:
- Onshore Outsourcing
If you choose any local mobile game development company/freelancer, then it is known as onshore outsourcing. You can visit their office and discuss all the details and requirements or in person.
- Offshore/Nearshore Outsourcing
If you hire a game development company/freelancer from neighbouring countries, it is known as nearshore outsourcing. If you choose a company/freelancer from countries far from yours, it is called offshore outsourcing. There are no language or timezone barriers in nearshore outsourcing. However, you may find mobile game development costs to be lower in some countries.
3. Find the right game development company/freelancer
Once you have finalized the type of outsourcing, now is the time to choose the right mobile game development company/freelancer for you. The simplest way is to Google it. The IT directories and Linkedin are flooded with mobile game development companies/freelancers. You can also post your requirements on Linkedin and let the companies/freelancers contact you.
To make things easy and save your efforts, try Capermint Technologies Pvt Ltd, The Leading Mobile game and game development company with headquarters in India and Canada. Do visit the Capermint website to find all the services provided and to have a look at the portfolio.
Simply visit the Capermint website, fill in your ideas and requirements, and outsource your mobile game development to a team of effective and expert mobile game developers.
4. Check the company’s/freelancer’s experience and portfolio
Once you find a suitable company/freelancer, the first thing that you should do is to check their experience, portfolio, and achievements. This will give you a better idea if this is the right choice for you or not. Check the portfolio to see their work and to find if they have worked on a similar game as yours or not.
If the company/freelancer does not have experience working in the same industry or genre as yours, consider finding another company/freelancer that has worked on similar projects.
5. Talk to their previous clients
This can be a little hard to follow. The easier way of doing so is by looking at the testimonials of the client. However, the testimonial is often written by the company/freelancer themselves, although only after the client’s concern, but the appealing words in the testimonial are not always the client’s exact words.
Have you ever heard “Learn from the mistakes of others”? This step will help you in doing so. Contact a few clients of the mobile game development company/freelancer to get their honest reviews.
6. Finalize the Pricing Strategy
Once you are satisfied with the client reviews, it is time to give this company/freelancer a shot. Contact them and share all the details of the game along with your requirements.
Now choose the pricing strategy for outsourcing. Here are the two types of pricing strategy you can choose from:
- Fixed Price
If all your requirements are clear, you can opt for this pricing strategy. The fixed price strategy is suitable for mobile game development projects that do not require any changes. Moreover, you can still ask the mobile game development company/freelancer to make changes, but this will increase the game development deadline and price.
- Flexible Price
This model is based on the time spent on developing and the resources used. If the requirements cannot be finalized and frequent changes and additions are to be made, this is a more suitable pricing strategy. This strategy offers total flexibility.
7. Request a project plan
The project plan will be the ultimate timeline for your mobile game development with the cost breakdown.
This will keep you and the mobile game development company/freelancer in the same loop. The most used project method for flexible price strategy is Agile, and Waterfall is for the Fixed price strategy.
It is a good idea to form the project plan before starting the project to have set clear expectations and deadlines.
How much does it cost to outsource a mobile game development project?
Outsource game development processes can cost around $10k to $30k for a single platform (Android or iOS) with basic functionality. If you wish to develop a game with all the advanced features and functionalities, with support for multiple platforms, it may cost up to $500k.
Game development cost also depends on game genres and level of functionality difficulty. Below we have listed out some standard price of gaming costs.
-> Mini-game development cost
Even a simple mini-game like Soduko or Pac-man will cost somewhere around 3k-10k for a single platform. If you want advanced features and multiple platforms, it can cost up to 20k.
-> 3D game development cost
Games like 3D shooting and Tennis Clash, which come with excellent graphics, can cost around 30k-60k for a single platform. The price can rise up to 80k for advanced features and multiple platforms.
-> Mid-Level game development cost
Mid-level games like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope can cost around 60k-90k for a single platform. For advanced features and multiple platforms, the price can rise up to 120k.
-> High-End game development cost
Games like PUBG, Call of Duty: Mobile can cost around 120k to 200k for a single platform. The price can rise up to 250k for multiple platforms and advanced features.
-> AAA-quality game development cost
AAA Games like GTA and FIFA are among the costliest games. The development cost for such games starts from 300k.
-> Real money game development cost
Real money games like real money ludo, real money road rash can cost around 120k-150k for a single platform. The cost can go up to 200k for advanced features and multiple platforms.
More detailed cost breakdown check here, mobile game development cost calculator.
Wrapping Up
Outsourcing the Game Development process will allow you to get your game developed by experts. Firstly, it is a cheaper alternative when compared to in-house game development. Secondly, it comes with a fair share of benefits like the proven experience of the company, getting your game developed by a team of experts, and so on. In conclusion, Outsourcing the game development project will let the experts do their work, and therefore you can focus on forming marketing and advertising strategies for the game.
Follow the tips mentioned above to ensure that you find the perfect mobile game development company for outsourcing your mobile game development.