GDC Side Quest - Exploring co-development opportunities with Sam Carlisle
The article examines co-development and external development as critical solutions to managing the rising budgets and complexity of modern game production. As game productions continue to grow in scale and ambition, development teams are increasingly turning to external studios for collaborative support. This co-development model involves hiring outside studios to work in tandem with the core development team, taking on responsibilities that can range from discrete tasks to ownership of entire game systems or segments.
At the GDC Festival of Gaming, industry figures discuss how co-development practices are evolving across the industry. A key focus is the significant challenge of selecting appropriate external partners. Game development’s inherent nature as a creative and iterative process complicates external partnerships, requiring careful consideration of workflow alignment, communication, and shared development philosophies.
The article explores how studios are navigating these challenges to make co-development a viable strategy for controlling costs while maintaining quality and creative vision in increasingly large-scale game projects.