EXTERNAL DEVELOPMENT? OUTSOURCING? CO-DEVELOPMENT? FREELANCING? WHAT ARE THEY? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
In the world of game development, understanding the difference between external development and freelancing is crucial. This article will discuss the key distinctions between these service providers in terms of their nature, business model, and the way they serve clients. By exploring external development vs freelancing, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions for your game projects.
Let’s start our article with a very clear definition: External Development is not Freelancing. There are several differences between these service providers in their nature, business model and way of serving the client.
With this in mind, let’s begin our explanation by paraphrasing EA’s current Head of Corporate & Business Strategy, Jason H:
At EA, we believe that effective game development partnerships are vastly different to the relationships you see in traditional outsourcing. As mentioned, we do not even use the term “outsourcing” when discussing these relationships but instead call it “external development.” Also, while our external partners are technically “vendors,” we do not like to use that term either. We prefer the term “external partner” as we are working together very closely and treat them as an extension of our internal team. Rather than getting hung up on outdated working models and terminology, we prefer to focus on what it takes for both sides to work together to create great games.
Making successful games is a huge challenge, and sometimes our best (and only) solution is to think beyond the capabilities of our internal resources. When we talk about working with an external partner as an extension of our team, we mean that both sides of the partnership are working together on the same project, or even the same part of a project. For example, we might be working together on the same code or the same art/animation assets. Instead of dictating how our partner should work and then leaving them to complete the job, we work hand in hand to ensure we both meet our development milestones, hit our deliverables, and achieve our goals.
At EA, we look to cultivate long-term relationships with our external partners because these partnerships are important to our success. We invest a significant amount of time and resources to develop our partnerships. We conduct training and mentoring. We integrate and jointly develop our tools. And we visit our partners regularly to strengthen our work bonds and social relationships. All of these efforts help to foster a culture of trust, communication, collaboration, and integrity.
In other words… Outsourcing means delegating development
Outsourcing is a long-term partnership with an outside contractor to undertake certain organizational responsibilities, allowing the employing firm to focus on its primary business. It is usual to outsource only a portion of the process, such as game audio, developing art and animation, or only the QA testing procedure.
Outsourcing game development entails working with a third party to create game modes, features, or a whole game section. The customer and the staff team collaborate to create the game. The latter is guided by the studio’ss creative vision, designs, and overall direction.
Outsourcing is critical in today’s video game business. It has become a necessary technique in order to stay in business, acquire new concepts, and compete with current and next-generation game innovations. Outsourcing video games has become popular as competition has increased. As a result, outsourcing has become a very popular means of cutting costs and developing next-generation games. Because of the numerous benefits, even large corporations such as Ubisoft have acknowledged outsourcing elements of their game projects.
Let’s take a look to another perspective on External Development vs Freelancing
What’s the difference between Freelancing and Outsourcing in game development projects?
Let’s answer this question with a clear definition on both positions:
Freelancer:
A freelancer is someone who does a single job, or service, for a person or company that needs something done quickly. Freelancers don’t usually have frequent monthly clients. You pay them on a per-job basis so it’s not like you have to interview them and promise them working benefits with your company. The problem is that by hiring a freelancer you put your production schedule at risk. For example, by working per-job, you give the freelancer the freedom not to accept your proposal if he has to travel, or even serve another client. The workload of a freelancer is small, because his schedule is limited to just one person. Another common problem is the difficulty of having to search for new professionals if a special skill is needed, or even if the freelancer is not interested in working with you anymore.
External Development / Outsourcing:
External Development is a business approach that involves contracting with an outside company to do certain duties rather than employing new workers or allocating such responsibilities to current employees. It is a common method for organizations to reduce operating expenses and streamline processes while still performing critical duties. Outsourced duties can be a one-time or ongoing aspect of corporate operations.
CONCLUSION:
There are several differences between External Development vs Freelancing. Anyone who has experienced problems with freelancers knows that it can be a risky strategy. That’s why Flutu Music was created, to facilitate the access of developers to talented professionals interested in working on their project in the long term. Want to know more? Any questions? Visit our “Tell us more“ page and tell us a bit about your project. It will be a pleasure to answer and clarify your doubts.
