Securing Funding for Independent Creative Firms: Insights from Video Game Monetisation

Abstract This chapter proposes a study of the monetisation and revenue capture strategies of independent video game studios. The objective is to understand how small firms in the games industry capture revenue by monetising their work while maintaining creative autonomy. This single case study uses two Spanish studios, Open House Games and Chibig Studio, as embedded units of analysis. Key findings show the importance of efficiently combining platform internal sales of games and other forms of revenue capture via partnerships with publishers and intermediaries while developing new relations and maintaining the loyalty of existing audiences through platform external outreach and the co-production of new titles via crowdfunding. The chapter contributes theoretical discourse on cultural entrepreneurship literature by offering practical insights for independent entrepreneurial creative firms when faced by the challenges of overcoming the paradox of generating profits to sustain business operations while preserving creative autonomy and independence through adaptive monetisation strategies that blend commercial exploitation with ‘relational labour’.