Making strange, personal, and unconventional games is always possible – but sustaining that work financially is harder than most developers expect. This talk explores the real tradeoffs behind funding, developing, and publishing artistic games for a commercial audience. We’ll break down where money actually comes from, how recoup and profit work, why most games fail financially, and how to design projects that protect both your creative vision and your survival. The goal isn’t to chase trends, but rather to understand the market well enough to choose when to follow it, when to resist it, and how to keep making meaningful work long-term.

Alyssa Kollgaard is the COO of Akupara Games (Cryptmaster, Sorry We’re Closed, The Darkside Detective, Rain World) and founder of Publisher Pathfinder. She has worked in game development for 2 decades specializing in production, publishing, marketing, biz dev and company culture. She has worked the full spectrum of development: AAA to indie VR, console, PC and mobile Prototyping, preproduction and pitching Development, release to live ops and post-launch support Publisher, third and first party development studios Licensed and original IP For companies like Insomniac Games, THQ, Cold Iron Studios and more.