Overview

If you are a small team or individual game developer looking to work with a publisher for funding, marketing, testing, or any other services, there are some useful things to consider and plan for. This documentation is a collection of resources and FAQs on the ways that working with a publisher might impact how your game is set up and managed within Steamworks.

General Resources

How should you choose whether or not to work with a publisher? How do you know if a given publisher is right for you? What are the tradeoffs and benefits of working with a publisher, and what does a healthy developer-publisher relationship look like? What are things to watch out for in a publishing contract? Get advice and suggestions about these questions and more from our panel, with expert perspectives from development, publishing, and legal angles.

At Steam DevDays in 2016, Valve's Connor Malone hosted a panel to discuss healthy relationships with between developers and publishers. It's worth a watch if you are considering working with a publisher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qf0WCy0X-w ^{Panelists are: Nigel Lowrie from Devolver, James Schall from Sega, Chris Kramer from Digitalmindsoft, and video game attorney Tom Buscaglia. Moderated by Connor Malone from Valve}

Game Access Within Steamworks

When multiple entities (such as a developer team and a publishing company) need access to the same application within Steamworks, some special configuration will be necessary to make sure the right permissions are defined. For a complete break-down on the ways access can be set up, please see Managing Applications.