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Business Model for Indie Studios in Game Software Ecosystems

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Grand Research Challenges in Games and Entertainment Computing in Brazil - GranDGamesBR 2020–2030 (GranDGamesBR 2020, GranDGamesBR 2021)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1702))

Abstract

The games industry is constantly growing. The emerging players are mostly software developers who join together with professionals from different fields to form independent (or indie) studios. This movement has resulted in an exponential amount of new products, and some big game companies have adopted a differentiated strategy to capture value in this scenario. This innovative strategy, explored with the concept of Software Ecosystems (SECO), led to the development of common technological platforms where players integrate their products. The competition between the players, the constant technological changes and evolution, and the need for agile and high-quality production due to the demands of the consumer market and the long-term financial sustainability bring challenges to the independent studios regarding their business planning. This chapter aims to present one of the grand research challenges on games and digital entertainment, more specifically related to business modeling for independent studios that work in Game SECO (GSECO). By presenting a unified agenda, we expect that the digital games industry and academia actors could join efforts to propose and validate solutions, leveraging the growth of the digital games’ scenario.

This work was conducted with the support of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brazil (CAPES) - Funding Code 001. The authors also thank UNIRIO and FAPERJ (Proc. 211.583/2019) for partial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Bruno Xavier & Rodrigo Santos

  2. SENAI Innovation Institute for Virtual Production Systems, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Bruno Xavier

  3. Federal University of Maranhão, São Luís, Brazil

    Davi Viana

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  1. Bruno Xavier
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  2. Davi Viana
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  3. Rodrigo Santos
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Correspondence to Bruno Xavier .

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  1. UNIRIO, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Rodrigo Pereira dos Santos

  2. UDESC, Joinville, Brazil

    Marcelo da Silva Hounsell

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Xavier, B., Viana, D., Santos, R. (2023). Business Model for Indie Studios in Game Software Ecosystems. In: Santos, R.P.d., Hounsell, M.d.S. (eds) Grand Research Challenges in Games and Entertainment Computing in Brazil - GranDGamesBR 2020–2030. GranDGamesBR GranDGamesBR 2020 2021. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1702. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27639-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27639-2_3

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