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incentive programme for a gamedev studio a good game is made by people

Do you want to reward the people working on the game, or encourage them to stay at the studio longer? We will help you define how the compensation programme should work, write the rules down and explain them to the team.

Find the right operating model for your studio

in games a reward has its rules in a studio it should too

With incentive programmes it often feels clear at the start. You agree that there will be a bonus after launch. While the game is still in production, that seems fine. You may not even remember what you promised to whom.

After launch, the team buries you in questions. An incentive programme helps you avoid that. Once everyone already has their own version of the promise in mind, it is much harder to sit down and set shared rules.

Maciej Jastrzębski

Senior Associate

most common problems and our solutions

the team will ask for specifics

The team rarely asks which legal model you chose. It focuses on what, how, when and how much. Fortunately you do not have to foresee every variant and possibility. That part is our job.

“What is my bonus actually calculated from?” In conversation someone says “a percentage of the game’s result”. But sales, profit after production costs and the amount after settlement with the publisher produce three different figures. Until the studio chooses one base, everyone can mean a different amount.

We set one base

We look at the project finances and the settlement rules with the publisher. Together we decide which revenues and costs to include and at which point the reward can be calculated. Then we write that rule so the team and the person responsible for payment arrive at the same result. We define which revenues and costs count, where the calculation data comes from and who performs the calculation. We test the finished rule on examples before it goes into the documents.
“When do I actually get the bonus?” The team delivered the milestone, but the publisher has not accepted the build yet. Acceptance arrived, but launch was postponed. If the programme does not separate those moments, each side may expect payment on a different date.

We define the "what" and "when"

Delivering a milestone, publisher acceptance, launch and the payment itself can happen at different times. We separate them and decide which one triggers the bonus. We also check whether extra conditions are needed - for example continued work with the studio or an individual goal. We describe who confirms they have been met and when the team learns the outcome.
“What happens if the game launch slips?” During production the launch date, project scope or role split may change. A programme written only for the first schedule quickly stops matching what is happening in the studio.

We prepare rules for a change of plan

We check what happens to goals, deadlines and the reward in several likely scenarios. We also decide who can change the programme assumptions and how to inform the team. That way every project change does not mean rewriting the rules from scratch.
“What about my reward if I leave the team?” One person may leave after two years on the game, another a few months after joining. The same answer will not always fit both situations. If the programme does not provide one, exit terms have to be set only when someone is already leaving.

We describe what happens after someone leaves

Together we decide what happens to the reward depending on when someone leaves and which conditions were met. We write the possible variants into the programme and explain them to the team before launch. Later the studio follows the adopted rules instead of negotiating them again.

SCOPE OF COOPERATION

let's agree what you can promise the team

Behind a bonus, equity or a percentage of results there must be organisational decisions about who you reward, for what and how much the studio can allocate. We will help you make them, then prepare the documents and explain the rules to the team.

We will start with what matters to you

Do you want the people working on the game to stay until launch? Share in sales results? Or are you talking about equity with someone who has been co-building the studio for years?

We will establish:

  • who the programme should cover
  • and what you want to reward.

We will also return to earlier conversations with the team. We will check;

  • what you have already promised,
  • what you have written down,
  • and what you were still considering.

 

  • Programme assumptions

We will help you choose how to reward

A milestone bonus answers a different need than company equity. We will compare solutions that fit your plans: a bonus, profit share, equity, phantom shares or a combination of several forms.

We will show you:

  • what a programme participant will receive,
  • how the reward will be calculated,
  • when the studio will need to settle it,
  • what that choice means for the company and the founders.

We will point to the model we recommend and explain why.

 

  • Model comparison and recommendation

We will account for changes that may appear along the way

The programme is meant to apply for months, sometimes years. In that time someone may leave, take another role or move to a second project. The launch date may also change.

We will define how such situations affect the reward. We will separate the moment a participant earns the right to it from the payment date. We will also set what they keep after the cooperation ends.

  • Rules for when things change

We will put the arrangements into documents

We will prepare the regulations, agreements, addenda or other documents needed for the chosen model. In them we will record participation terms, how the reward is calculated and settlement rules.

It will be possible to check what a given person is entitled to, on what basis and what happens in the situations we discussed earlier together.

  • Documents to implement the programme

We will check what the programme means for the company

Before you present the proposal to the team, we will check the obligations the studio takes on. For an equity model we will also look at how founders’ shares and rights will change.

We will factor in your plans for an investor or a studio sale. We will flag which clauses may complicate talks and what we propose to change before the programme is adopted.

  • Impact map for the company and founders

We will prepare you for the conversation with the team

“Does this cover me?” will be one of the first questions. Right after it come the next ones:

  • how much,
  • when
  • and under what conditions.

We will help explain the programme so the team knows what you are offering. We will prepare a description of the rules and answers to questions about participation, rewards and programme limits. We will make sure the communication matches what we wrote in the documents.

  • Programme description and answers for the team

WHO WE HELP

for studios that want to motivate the team

You may only be planning a programme, or you may already have had conversations where amounts and promises were made. We will help you decide what to do next – including when the current rules no longer fit the studio.

Founder | CEO | Studio management board

The team is waiting for a proposal, and you want to know what the studio can afford. How much to allocate to rewards? Whether to give equity? How to tie a bonus to the game’s result? We will help you make those decisions before announcing the programme.

  • reward budget
  • participation terms
  • founders' decisions

Head of Operations

Someone remembers a conversation about a bonus; someone else got a promise when joining the project. The question lands with you: what to do about it. We will help gather the arrangements and describe rules you can point to every time someone asks "what about me?"

  • team arrangements
  • settlement dates
  • rules on leaving

General Counsel | Head of Legal | CFO

You need to check what obligations toward the team the company takes on and whether the documents describe them without gaps. Perhaps the management board is waiting for your assessment of the programme, or due diligence is approaching. We will indicate what needs fixing and which decisions still need to be aligned with the founders.

  • company obligations
  • clauses to fix
  • preparation for due diligence

STAGES OF COOPERATION

you do not need to arrive with a ready programme idea

Audyt

We learn about your plans and the arrangements already made with the team. We identify what we need to propose a programme model.

Model

We discuss possible options and our recommendation. You choose a model knowing its implications for the studio and participants.

Dokumenty

We send drafts for your comments, explain the clauses and agree the details before preparing a version for adoption and signing.

Implementation

We help implement the programme and explain it clearly to the team.

Do you like the way we work?

Contact

Write to us

turn informal promises into a programme that strengthens the studio

Tell us who you want to cover with the programme and what has already been said in conversations with the team. If you have a set date for announcing the rules, include that too. We will come back with questions or a proposed next step.

Your message is read by

Natalia Jabcoń

They will get back to you with follow-up questions or a proposed next step.

Quick response

We usually respond within two hours on business days.

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