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I wonder how I can become a game publisher locally. For example, I know a Japanese game that I want to publish in India, where I live.

How do I acquire a license to do this? I tried emailing the Japanese game company, but they didn't reply. I also asked if they need to know my company size or credits in India before proceeding with a contract, but they also keep silent.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about game development. To make an analogy signing a building rental agreement isn't about baking cakes even if the goal is to open a bakery in that space. Or alternatively ordering bread to sell it in your convenience store isn't about making the bread. \$\endgroup\$
    – Stephane Hockenhull
    Commented Jan 11, 2018 at 23:14
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    \$\begingroup\$ @StephaneHockenhull According to the help center, publishing is officially on-topic. That's why we have a publishing-tag with 71 questions. If you would like to change that, please lobby for it on meta. \$\endgroup\$
    – Philipp
    Commented Jan 12, 2018 at 12:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Philipp You have a point. We might need to open a meta Q on this nuance. The way I see it: it's under the section "project management" which I assume means publishing one's own game, not running a publishing house. A quick look through the publishing tag shows these question to be about publishing one's own game, not acquiring and negotiating rights to another game for which the game development has already been done. My view is this is no different than negotiating & acquiring rights to publish a movie, book, music album. The question also falls under the "how to get started" clause \$\endgroup\$
    – Stephane Hockenhull
    Commented Jan 12, 2018 at 14:45
  • \$\begingroup\$ Game development isn't about **how to ** 's ? Publishing a game isn't for its development ? \$\endgroup\$
    – Black cowgirl
    Commented Jan 12, 2018 at 14:50
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Blackcowgirl It's a good and interesting question and it relates to video games. However it may not relate strictly to creating (developing) video games but rather "business development". We're trying to figure out if it's on or off topic. It's pretty much on the line. (Congratulation BTW, we get to debate this because this is an interesting topic on many levels) Also, "How do X technique" is on-topic, "How to get started" is not. And questions that don't have clear answer, that require "Opinion-based" answers are also considered off-topic. So the Q may require further edit to be on-topic. \$\endgroup\$
    – Stephane Hockenhull
    Commented Jan 12, 2018 at 15:11

2 Answers 2

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First, you need to clarify what you mean by publish locally:

  • What services are you providing to the license holder?
  • Why should they choose you over others (possibly even themselves) for the services provided?
  • What do you want in return for your services?

If you can't give clear, compelling answers to the above, you're unlikely to make progress.

Next, you need to contact the right party. The terms of contracts vary. Just because a given company published a game doesn't automatically mean they have the rights to negotiate publishing it in other markets. Unfortunately, because of all the possibilities, there's not a single absolute answer as to which party to contact & it make take some combination of investigation as well as trial & error. Also, check how you're making contact. It's not uncommon for things to be departmentalized. Do not assume that if you blindly send your request to the wrong department that someone will fix your mistake & forward it for you.

Finally, nobody has any obligation to agree with you, or even reply. Expect to get some rejection (possibly silent rejection) until you have a proven history of being able to deliver value to others. It may be in your interest to start small and/or locally to build up a good reputation before trying to land a larger and/or foreign title.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you for your guidance. I only want to publish Final Fantasy VII here and I wanted to contact them and asked them about any chances they would offer the license contract. I know I have to pay the license fee likely monthly (?) and for any new updates. \$\endgroup\$
    – Black cowgirl
    Commented Jan 11, 2018 at 19:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ I also want to contact South Korea's Nexon but they seem not to have clear contact detail, except [email protected], which I think may be, as you said, a dead mailbox of a wrong department. Do you think it is rude of me to directly call them ? \$\endgroup\$
    – Black cowgirl
    Commented Jan 11, 2018 at 19:58
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Blackcowgirl There are thousands (literally!) of independent game developers in desperate need of someone who takes care of the marketing side of selling games. Why don't you try to collaborate with someone smaller first before going for the big studios? \$\endgroup\$
    – Philipp
    Commented Jan 11, 2018 at 21:32
  • \$\begingroup\$ Really ? I am now interested in online PC games. Could you give me links to their companies ? By the way I am very serious about agreements for game licensing and publishing. \$\endgroup\$
    – Black cowgirl
    Commented Jan 12, 2018 at 14:30
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Blackcowgirl I'm sorry, but comment fields are limited to 600 characters, so I can not copy&paste the URLs of thousands of game developers. Also, connecting developers and publishers is not the purpose of this website. Please do your own research to find promising indie game projects which could benefit from your publishing services. \$\endgroup\$
    – Philipp
    Commented Jan 12, 2018 at 14:49
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As I know from my personal experience, the most important thing is to prove devs that you are able to bring revenue and keep players happy.

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    \$\begingroup\$ This answer would be better if it provided a recommended means to do this. \$\endgroup\$
    – DMGregory ♦
    Commented Apr 18, 2019 at 10:26

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