“I know what you sickos are here for, and that’s insight into games funding—how we do it, and maybe how you might do it to” says Outersloth and Innersloth community director Victoria Tran during her GDC Festival of Gaming talk (co-hosted by Outersloth CEO Forest Willard).
She is, of course, bang on the money.
It has been just under two years since Among Us developer and publisher Innersloth publicly entered the financing fray with Outersloth (please don’t confuse the offshoot with a bona fide publisher–it doesn’t do that). The aim? Pay the success of Among Us forward. Use the considerable revenue generated by the social schemer to finance other indies.
The setup was simple: invest a fixed budget of $25 million into video game projects across five years (split across quarters). The only metric for success was to become sustainable and bring games to market.
Just break even. No need to chase infinite growth.
Since it was quietly founded in 2022, Outersloth has invested $19,161,040 into 24 projects, representing a signing percentage of around 1.4 percent (which is apparently slightly above average).
The company hasn’t disclosed its partnership terms publicly—until now. During the talk, Willard explained the division offers a 50 percent recoup. “This is because we don’t offer services, so it doesn’t really make sense for us to tack on some margin. So when we say we’re taking a risk on you, both parties know what’s at stake,” he explains. “We can’t make the game without you. You can’t make the game without us. And so we are getting together and we should both want the same outcome.”
Outersloth takes 15 percent post-recoup. Again, Willard reiterates that Outersloth doesn’t offer services and won’t be marketing the titles they sign. Most importantly, he suggests, Outersloth will only agree a seven-year term post-release. “Nobody really deserves unending rights to your money,” he adds, before stressing that term is fixed regardless of whether a partner succeeds or fails.
In a series of slides (posted on Bluesky by yours truly), he also detailed some of the more nuanced terms offered by Outersloth. He explained the company signs all platforms—even if it only agrees to fund a select number. “You agree to ship X platforms to satisfy the deal, but if you also release on Y platforms we are entitled to rev share,” reads one slide.
The reason? Plenty of developers will only ship on consoles if there is platform funding, but if Outersloth is making the game possible, it would be reasonable to expect a cut from subsequent platform deals. The company also requires monthly reports from partners.
“You should definitely be keeping tabs on any game that you’ve signed, just to know whether things are going well or whether you can help out more,” he adds.
In what Willard describes as the “best thing we have ever done,” Outersloth unites all of its studios in a Slack channel so they can share knowledge and discuss deals. “Everybody in there can learn from each other and talk to each other. They share their trailers and get feedback. It’s really, really nice. It’s extremely supportive and we love it,” he continues.
Surprise! Outersloth also offers some services, although they are not baked into the contract. “If we can make it work, we will offer it,” he adds, noting the company will strive to provide advice, connections, and IndieBI services.
“The publisher can dilute risk across a portfolio but you only get that one game”
There you have the terms. But what about those lessons for other would-be funding sickos? We got you. Tran explains Outersloth had to learn how to define success, and says one key indicator is whether you’re able to consistently sign video games.
That remains the case for the company four years into its journey. Now, if it keeps breaking even, Outersloth fully intends to continue financing titles beyond 2027. She also notes that the titles signed by Outersloth have actually made it to market. Irrespective of how they perform from there on out (remember that seven-year term), that’s a huge win.
There are struggles, too. The part-time team at Outersloth is overseeing 24 games and that means the company might flounder on occasion or take a while to review submissions. It also means they are perhaps more hands off than some people expect.
“We don’t provide as much marketing support as we can,” admits Tran. “Many of our submissions rely on this [and] mention wanting it—and that’s also because sometimes they might also think we’re a publisher—but we don’t do that. That means maybe you don’t get as much support as you want.”
Tran takes a moment to stress the value of production and budget slides in a pitch deck. “These are the ones that will make or break, sometimes, a pitch deck for us—or a game signing if the production timeline doesn’t make sense.”
Just as important is passing the “vibe check” to make sure everybody is on the same page. That can take the form of a call or face-to-face meeting, but she explains it’s vital to make sure both parties understand each other’s capabilities and limits.
That might even mean a prospective partner deciding Outersloth isn’t right for them. It works both ways. “You can decide not to sign something for any reason. Up until the point of signing it is totally okay,” she continues.
Fundamentally, Tran says the industry benefits when there are multiple support options for game developers. “This isn’t a talk to vilify publishers. Plenty have helped games launch to massive success and taken the burden off of developers. […] But this is a call for reconsidering that the status quo is for our contracts and how we can make a sustainable industry.”
Willard also takes a moment to soapbox and implores developers seeking funding to understand the true cost of production. “You can go out and get quotes for QA and localization. Understand what those things cost and set price targets, marketing targets, and sales targets for your game,” he continues.
“Understand whether you’ll be getting enough to survive after your first game. Because it really is not just about your first game, but the second game. Understand while you are in this negotiation that the publisher can dilute risk across a portfolio but you only get that one game. It’s a meaningful thing. They should understand it too.”
He also politely requests publishers try making their corner of the industry a little bit friendlier. “There are just some really bad terms out there and you really don’t have to go as far as we do. We don’t offer services. you should be a publisher, and publishers are great. But it’s going to be risky regardless, so you just have to be wise about your picks. It means so much more to the developer when the margins of success are so small. Everybody’s living on that first sales spike. If they don’t come away with what they need to make another game, they’e not growing. You’re not allowing the industry to grow.”
The full Outersloth contract is now accessible on the company website.