A business development toolkit designed for Quebec’s video game studios. It brings together practical insights and reliable resources to help studios understand the key challenges of building and growing a business, and know where to find additional guidance.
The Game Studio Toolkit
1.1 Defining Your Business Concept
Defining Your Business Concept
Before choosing a legal structure, seeking funding, or hiring employees, the founding team must clarify what kind of business it is actually trying to build.
A studio developing its own games, a service-based studio, and a hybrid business will face different decisions. Their funding needs, risk levels, team sizes, and revenue models will vary.
The goal is not to predict the next five years. It is to establish a clear enough direction to guide upcoming decisions.
Key Takeaways
- A game project and a business venture are two different things. A great game alone does not determine how a studio will operate or sustain itself over time.
- The business model directly influences cash flow, staffing, financing, and the level of control the studio can retain.
- A studio’s initial strategy is a working hypothesis. It should be clear enough to guide decisions while remaining flexible enough to adapt as circumstances change.
Why It Matters
Many studios start the same way: a few people come together with the goal of creating a game.
It’s a great creative starting point. But it’s not yet a business venture.
Before long, other questions arise. How long can the team operate before it needs to generate revenue? Is the goal to build a company around multiple games or to complete a specific project? Is the studio willing to take on contract work to finance its own intellectual property (IP)? Does the team want to remain small or eventually grow the business?
The risk isn’t not having all the answers from the beginning. It’s having founders move forward with different expectations without realizing it.
This first step is therefore about establishing a shared direction that is clear enough to guide the decisions ahead.
Ressources
La Guilde Service Partners Who Can Help
SIXØCINQ provides strategic consulting services to businesses and organizations in the creative and cultural industries. The firm can help founding teams define and structure their business strategy or business plan, facilitate strategic planning sessions, and develop their business venture.
OnCompte helps startups and SMEs understand and plan their financial operations. Its budgeting, cash flow forecasting, and on-demand financial management services can help teams assess whether their business plans align with the financial resources needed to bring them to life.
Tools and Templates
SADC and CAE Network | Business Model Canvas
A practical canvas for defining the key components of your studio’s business model, including target customers, value proposition, revenue streams, resources, and partners. Useful for comparing different approaches, such as developing original games, offering services, or adopting a hybrid model.
Additional Resources
BDC | How to Design a Business Model
A practical introduction to business models, exploring how a company creates value, generates revenue, and organizes its core activities. A useful starting point for defining a studio’s initial business assumptions before developing a more detailed business plan.
In this episode of Could Be Better, produced by La Guilde member Lovelace, Pierre Moisan from CEIM shares his experience with the decisions, risks, and realities that influence a video game studio’s long-term sustainability. The discussion offers valuable insights into thinking of a studio as a business beyond its first project or game.
CEIM | Commercial Potential Validation and Strategic Support
A Quebec-based entrepreneurship support organization with expertise in the video game industry. Its services can help studios refine their market positioning, assess their commercial potential, and validate their business assumptions. Access to these services is subject to an eligibility assessment.