Studios often have a lot of questions about working with a publisher. At what point in development should you approach one? Can you do it before a prototype exists? And if there’s already a build, how do you know if it’s ready for testing? Let’s unpack these questions, starting from the last one, since it’s the simplest.

If the game is well made, fun to play, the team looks solid, and the content is deep enough to hold a player’s attention for several days, we’ll usually greenlight it for testing right away. We make creatives based on real gameplay and run a test budget of up to $1,000 to see how appealing the visuals, setting, and gameplay are at first glance.

So, when a build already exists, we mainly look at quality of execution, team potential, and the amount of content.

Let’s walk through a few typical examples of different content-readiness stages.

Day 1

If the project has enough content for one to two days of play, we focus on CPI and CTR, playtime and number of sessions. If ad monetization is already implemented, we also look at how many ads a player watches per day.

At this point, ROI isn’t the main focus. The key metric is marketability, how easily the game can attract attention and clicks.

Day 3

When we’re presented with a project that has enough content for several days, we can start evaluating player behavior over time. A common pattern: Day 1 is polished and engaging, but by Day 3 the experience starts repeating itself. There’s technically content, but the core gameplay doesn’t hold retention.

There are typically two solutions: either rework something in the core gameplay loop, or add a second supporting layer.

Here, we also look at Day 1 to Day 3 dynamics: retention rate, number of sessions, ad views per user, and how they evolve.

Day 7+

With projects that have more extensive content, the testing starts similarly — we analyze basic metrics and their dynamics. At this stage, we expect 20%+ retention on Day 3, though we understand that Day 7 numbers may not reflect the game’s full potential yet, especially in early builds. For example, Day 7 retention at 10% might grow to 15% with refinement.

Depending on content depth, monetization, and test results, we may run extended tests to assess monetization performance on target traffic and estimate payback periods.

During the extended test, we look at the percentage of paying users, payback, and LTV. We break down all monetization components into individual drivers and analyze them against our internal benchmarks.

Some games pay off even with a short player lifecycle. Others need longer time horizons (30–60–90 days) to become profitable. At this stage, we evaluate how much work and time it would take to scale the game sustainably with high UA volumes.

Alternative cases

Sometimes developers have a great idea and know it, but the execution falls short. The game is fun to play, but the team may be too small or the studio has run out of funds to push it further. If the idea is strong and the team looks promising, we’re open to discussing funding the game’s further development.

In other cases, the game looks great and production is on point, but there are issues in game design. Here, the publisher can provide game design support and point out areas to improve.

And sometimes, even if the project’s metrics aren’t amazing, we might still be impressed enough with the team and execution to sign the studio for a new project right away.

So, at what stage should you come?

If you have an experienced team, you can safely come at the very beginning. A well-developed pre-production, genre expertise, a solid team, and a track record of past projects — that’s already enough to start a conversation.

You can bring an idea and ask: “What do you think, is there potential here?” At the very least, we’ll share thoughts on the novelty or offer alternatives.

Or you could come and say: “We’ve got a great team — what would you recommend we build right now?” Depending on your team’s background and how it aligns with our expertise, we can suggest promising directions.

You can also ask about a specific genre. We know the idle tycoon and idle RPG spaces well and can share concrete ideas.

It’s absolutely okay (and even smart) to talk at the preliminary stage, just keep in mind that with the high volume of incoming projects, publishers can’t always give detailed feedback to everyone. That doesn’t reflect on your project or the potential for future collaboration.

And if you’ve already got a playable build, even just a couple of hours of content, bring it in for Day 1 testing. Worst case scenario, you’ll find out whether the game is worth pursuing, or what needs to be changed. We still see cases where a project has been in development for a long time, only for the metrics to fall short. That time could have been saved with earlier validation.

And if the project is already profitable?

That’s great, but showing it to a publisher can still be very useful. “Earning well” means different things to different teams. If your game is bringing in hundreds of thousands, we can often help you scale to millions.

First, thanks to our marketing expertise, including a dedicated creative team. Second, by improving monetization, raising average purchase value, and optimizing the entire user funnel, it’s possible to significantly grow revenue even in the short term. We can also help reduce UA costs, scale up campaigns, and unlock new traffic sources. All of this becomes much easier when you have tried-and-tested systems that have already worked across dozens of other projects.

Another key area of publisher expertise is long-term development strategy. If you’ve ever wondered what your game could earn in a year, or five, that’s exactly the kind of conversation we’d love to have. And if you’ve never thought that far ahead, even more reason to start. We’ve operated a wide range of live projects and can help you chart out a strategic roadmap tailored to your current team size, stage, and goals.

Summing it up

You can approach a publisher at any stage, from raw concept to finished build, and even post-launch. The key is being honest about where your project stands, and understanding what you’re hoping to get out of the partnership.

The earlier we start the conversation, the better the odds of finding the right growth path together. A good publisher isn’t just a source of funding or installs. They’re a partner, one who helps both your project and your studio reach their full potential.