It is the year 2016. The recent rise in prominence of indie developers and small- to mid-tier studios has brought with it a new generation of marketing partners, indie labels, and other entities that do some or all of (or more than) what a traditional game publisher does.

Devolver Digital is one such entity, and at GDC 2016 earlier this year Devolver Digital's Nigel Lowrie took the stage to remind devs that they absolutely, positively, do not need a publisher.

However, he went on to note that there are legitimate reasons for an indie dev to work with a publisher or publisher-like company, and provided some sample questions indie devs should ask themselves while deciding whether or not that's the right move for their business.

He also offered some advice on what to look out for when assessing such "notorious jackals" in a thoroughly entertaining talk that was well worth watching for any indie dev contemplating the future of their business.

If you missed seeing it in person, no worries: you can now watch the entire talk for free over on the official GDC YouTube channel.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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