Build vs License: What's Cheaper for Your Platform?

Every platform that adds games hits the same question: build them, or license them? The honest answer is usually "both", in the right ratio. Here is how to think about it.

The real cost of building in-house

Building a polished casual HTML5 game needs a designer, an artist, a developer and QA. Even a small game takes weeks, and most of the cost is people's time:

• Concept and design: deciding mechanics, levels and progression
• Art and animation: often the largest single cost
• Development: gameplay, UI, saving, ads and analytics
• QA: testing across phones, browsers and webviews
• Maintenance: browser updates, SDK changes and bug fixes

Then there is risk. Not every game you build will be a hit, and you only find out after you have paid for it.

The cost of licensing

A non-exclusive license costs a fixed, known price. In our catalog that ranges from under $50 to about $480 per game, with source code, white-label branding and support included.

You can play the full demo before paying, so the risk of a dud is close to zero.

Side-by-side

	Build in-house	Custom (outsourced)	Non-exclusive license
Time to launch	Months	Weeks	Days
Cost per game	Highest	High	Lowest
Risk	High	Medium	Very low (try first)
Uniqueness	Unique	Unique	Shared, but brandable
Source code	Yours	Yours	Included

A smart mix

For most platforms, the best mix looks like this:

1. License for volume. Fill categories quickly with proven games.
2. Brand for identity. White-label licensed hits so they carry your logo and links, and localize your top games for new markets.
3. Build in-house only what is truly core. Save development budgets for the one or two games that define your brand.

This way you launch fast, learn what your audience plays, and invest in development only where the data says it will pay off.

Next steps

• Browse the catalog and play the demos
• See how white-label branding and localization make licensed games yours
• Get a quote for a bundle