E152: 3 Ways Game Studios Pay ExDev Teams (and When Each One Fails)
Shownotes
Free Live Workshop for Game Dev Leaders: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg/leaders-workshop
Are you leveraging external development to lower costs, or are you secretly creating a project-management nightmare?
In this episode of Building Better Games, Ben sits down with Catalin Butnariu, Chief Strategy Officer at Amber. They dive deep into the evolving landscape of external development in game dev; from navigating contract models and overcoming loss-of-control fears to building effective communication layers and utilizing AI without alienating your audience.
What you'll learn in this episode:
- What drove the post-pandemic acceleration of external development in game studios
- How co-development differs structurally from outstaffing or staff augmentation
- What different types of external development contracts are typically used
- Why you might want to pay for an extra producer
- How studio leaders can overcome the fear of losing control when externalizing tasks
- What communication frameworks keep multi-tiered teams aligned across internal and external studios
- How game developers can navigate client restrictions and player backlash around AI usage
- Where AI tools offer real efficiency gains without replacing human creativity in game pipelines
If you're a leader in game dev who wants to scale production, manage risk, and run external partnerships smoothly without burning out your core team, this episode is for you.
🔗Connect with our guest through LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catalin-butnariu-6b24186/
🔗Learn more about Amber Studio: https://amberstudio.com/
Connect with us:
🔗Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/
🔗BBG's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/
🔗Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbettergames/#
🔗Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg
🔗YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildingbettergames
If you want help leading teams and studios to better games players love, you can reach me at: [email protected]
#GameDev #GameDevelopment #ExternalDevelopment #GameProduction #CoDevelopment