VIDEO GAME
PUBLISHING AGREEMENT
MARKET REPORT
2025
lEVELS
2.
Authors
1.
introduction
3.
Definitions
4.
Agreement types
5.
REVENUE SHARe
6.
advance
7.
8.
Intellectual Property
9.
MERCHANDISE
Sequels
10.
Duration
11.
The Average Publishing
agreement
The aim of the 2025 Publishing Agreement Market report, which builds off our 2020 GDC presentation of the same name, is to democratize publishing agreement data. By analyzing data from over 100 publishing agreements we hope to level the playing field between both developers and publishers when negotiating publishing agreements.
For developers, we aim to remove the challenge of reviewing a publishing agreement and trying to decide whether the terms are market standard or outliers.
For publishers, we hope the data serves as a reference point from which to judge whether your terms are competitive with those of your peers.
And, speaking to both developers and publishers, if you don’t like the market standard revealed by the data, we hope the 2025 Publishing Agreement Market Report provides an impetus for change within industry contracting terms.
Introduction
Authors
Kellen Voyer
Haley Maclean
founder, voyer law
associate, Voyer law
Kellen is a US and Canadian lawyer advising video game
studios and publishers on legal matters from a cross-
border perspective. He represents over 200 studios and
publishers across North America, the UK and Europe and
has been quoted in PCGamer, GamesIndustry.biz, CBC,
Bloomberg and more.
Haley is a Canadian lawyer who advises clients on tech,
corporate and intellectual property law. She previously
worked as a journalist in the video game industry and
continues her work with video game companies, now
as a lawyer. In her free time, she appears on numerous
gaming podcasts and video content.
haley@voyerlaw.com | @haleyfax
kellen@voyerlaw.com | @voyerlaw
Definitions
TERM
How long the
agreement
lasts, can be
fixed,
renewing at
the end, or
even perpetual
(forever)
Tranche
A Payment
made in
stages, here
referring to
royalty
payment
tranches
Marketing
Budget
amounts
publisher is
contractually
committed to
spend on game
marketing
Publisher
Markup
Markup applied
(%) to amounts
spent by
publisher on
behalf of
developer
Sequel -
Negotiate
Publisher can
negotiate to
publish a sequel
but if no
agreement is
reached developer
is free to look
elsewhere
Sequel -
Right
publisher has
a RIGHT TO
PUBLISH GAME
SEQUEL(S)
Revenue
Share
% of game net
revenue to be
paid to each of
developer and
publisher
Recoup
Amounts spent
by publisher in
connection
with the game,
to be repaid.
often includes
advance
Advance
Money
provided by
Publisher,
usually to
fund game
development
Audit Right
Right to inspect
publisher’s
records to
verify payments.
usually
performed by
3rd party
100 Publishing Agreements
Split into Three “Types”
AGREEMENTS
WITH AN
ADVANCE
Agreement where one
or more up-front
payment(s) are paid
by Publisher to
Developer to fund
development.
AGREEMENTS
WITHOUT AN
ADVANCE
Agreements where
NO payment(s) are
paid by Publisher to
Developer to fund
development.
CONSOLE
ONLY
AGREEMENTS
Console only
agreements (no PC),
typically entered
into after release on
PC.
Agreement
dates range
from
2017-2025
Median Dev Revenue Share: 50%
Highest Dev Revenue Share seen: 90%
Lowest Dev Revenue Share seen: 2.5%
Median Dev Revenue Share: 70%
Highest Dev Revenue Share seen: 86%
Lowest Dev Revenue Share seen: 50%
Median Dev Revenue Share: 60%
Highest Dev Revenue Share seen: 85%
Lowest Dev Revenue Share seen: 50%
58.2%
Dev Rev Share
Publisher
41.8%
67.9%
Dev Rev Share
63.1%
Dev Rev Share
Publisher
32.1%
Publisher
36.9%
AVERAGE REVENUE SHARE
AGREEMENTS WITH AN ADVANCE
AGREEMENTS WITHOUT AN ADVANCE
CONSOLE ONLY AGREEMENTS
Did the
Publisher
charge
markup on
its services?
MARKUP AND AUDIT RIGHTS
Was there
an Audit
Right?
AGREEMENTS WITH AN ADVANCE
AGREEMENTS WITHOUT AN ADVANCE
CONSOLE ONLY AGREEMENTS
No Mark-Up
96.8%
83.3%
Audit Right
100%
No Mark-Up
100%
No Mark-Up
47.1%
Audit Right
69.3%
Audit Right
TRANCHED REVENUE SHARE
AVERAGES
TRANCHE 1
AVERAGE
TRANCHE 2
AVERAGE
57.1%
Dev Rev Share
36%
60.2%
Dev Rev Share
Publisher
64%
Publisher
39.8%
Median Dev Revenue Share: 30%
Highest Dev Revenue Share seen: 85%
Lowest Dev Revenue Share seen: 0%
Median Dev Revenue Share: 65%
Highest Dev Revenue Share seen: 95%
Lowest Dev Revenue Share seen: 20%
Percentage of
Publishing
Agreements that
included tranched
revenue shares
Advances Affecting
Revenue Shares
Tranched
Revenue Share
Audit Rights
Revenue Share
Thoughts
AUDIT RIGHTS ARE
BOILERPLATE IN PUBLISHING
AGREEMENTS.
AUDIT RIGHTS OCCURRING
LESS FREQUENTLY IN NO-
ADVANCE AGREEMENTS IS
EXPLAINED BY THE FACT
THAT THESE AGREEMENTS
HAVE FEW DEDUCTIBLE
ITEMS. need to AUDIT
(incorrectly) perceived
to be LOWER.
presence of an
advance often
results in a
materially lower
revenue share to the
developer AS
COMPARED TO NO-
ADVANCE DEALS
(~58% vs 67%)
We were pleased to see
the second tranche
average and medians
exceeding those for non-
tranche agreements
Put another way, if an
agreement contains
tranched revenue share,
expect more favorable
revenue share rates once
the first tranche is met
as compared to no-
tranche agreements
ADVANCES
Average Advance
$674,861
Median Advance
$300,000
Highest Advance: $6,000,000+
Lowest Advance: $20,000
*All amounts in USD
No
4.5%
Was an advance
provided Upfront?
No
20.3%
ADVANCE TIED
TO MILESTONES?
No
6.1%
aDVANCE
recouped?
ADVANCE
DETAILS
No
51.6%
advance recouped
BEFORE REVenue
share paid?
Yes
95.5%
Yes
79.7%
Yes
93.9%
Yes
48.4%
ADVANCE AGREEMENTS
YES
NO
63.49%
36.51%
NEGOTIATE
Right
43.59%
56.41%
YES
NO
47.06%
52.94%
NEGOTIATE
Right
85.71%
14.29%
YES
NO
25%
75%
NA
SEQUELS
Does Agreement have
a sequel rights clause?
If yes, sequel negotiated
or unilateral right?
No ADVANCE AGREEMENTS
Console AGREEMENTS
AGREEMENTS WITH AN ADVANCE
AGREEMENTS WITHOUT AN ADVANCE
CONSOLE ONLY AGREEMENTS
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Dev Owns IP
Publisher
owns IP
4.6%
Dev Owns IP
Dev Owns IP
96.4%
100%
100%
91.4%
IP transferred to Publisher if
Developer breaches?
8.6%
NO
YES
AGREEMENTS WITH AN ADVANCE
AGREEMENTS WITHOUT AN ADVANCE
CONSOLE ONLY AGREEMENTS
Merchandise
Developer
Publisher
51.7%
48.3%
56.5% of Advance Agreements
included a merchandise revenue share
Average Merchandise
Revenue Share Split
50% of Agreements without an Advance
included a merchandise revenue share
25% of Console Agreements included
a merchandise revenue share.
Developer
Publisher
52.8%
47.2%
Average Merchandise
Revenue Share Split
Developer
Publisher
60%
40%
Average Merchandise
Revenue Share Split
AGREEMENTS
WITH AN
ADVANCE
AGREEMENTS
WITHOUT AN
ADVANCE
CONSOLE
ONLY
AGREEMENTS
Duration
6.84 years
Only 15% of agreements contained a
perpetual term
Average term
Average term
4.18 years
Average term
3.7 years
85% of the Agreements included a
fixed term, which auto renewed in
49.2% of the Agreements
THE AVERAGE VIDEO GAME
PUBLISHING AGREEMENT in 2025
Upfront
advance of
$674,861 USD
Developer
Revenue
Share
Developer
maintains all
ownership of
intellectual
property
Developer
granted audit
right
6 year term,
auto-
renewing
Publisher can
negotiate
sequel
Revenue
share
tranches are
likely
57.7%
Developer
Merchandise
Revenue
Share
48.3%