Sixty Second Shooter Prime developer Jamie Fristrom of Happion Labratories broke down the cost of publishing an indie game on Microsoft’s ID@Xbox service. Fristrom said the game cost $5,000 USD to publish, all up — but it would have been much more expensive if he’d released the game in Australia and New Zealand.
Like, we’re talking almost double the original cost. Fristrom said he’d had to have paid $2,000 in Australia and $2,000 in New Zealand to have the game classified.
“If you want to release in a given territory, you have to get your game rated by the official ratings boards of that territory,” Fristrom said.
“It’s sad but true, getting your game rated in some territories can be a lot more expensive than simply translating your game to that territory’s language! I spent about $700 on localization, all told, and spent nearly $2000 on getting my game rated by PEGI and USK. (I skipped Australia and New Zealand because they both wanted around $2K for their ratings boards…maybe I’ll launch in those territories later if the game seems to be selling particularly well.)”
You can read Fristrom’s full post here.
This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we could earn a small commission if you click-through and make a purchase. Stevivor is an independent outlet and our journalism is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.
