Exclusive Sponsorships
Exclusive sponsorships are sometimes called traditional sponsorships because they were the norm throughout 2006 and 2007. Exclusive sponsorships are, just as they say, exclusive: a sponsor is paying a developer to brand all versions of the game that appear anywhere on the Internet.
As always, the exact details of a sponsorship may vary, but an exclusive sponsorship usually includes the following:
- The game is strongly branded for the sponsor with the sponsor's logo, splash screens, etc.
- The developer inserts a high score link and a 'More Games' button, both of which take the player to the sponsor's website.
- The developer is usually allowed to maintain their logo and a link to their own website in the game credits or menu page.
- The developer agrees that ALL instances of the game that appear on the Internet will contain these things.
- Generally, in-game advertisements are not allowed.
- The sponsor buys the right to freely distribute the game to any website. The developer, however, retains authorship and can enter the game in contests, etc.
Rarely, a sponsor may wish to buy all rights to a game, including:
- The rights to the source code and assets to edit and change any way they want.
- The right to create sequels or their own derivative games.
- The right to claim authorship for the game.
Benefits & Risks
An exclusive sponsorship can be very beneficial for both sponsors and developers. Sponsors gain complete control over the distribution of a strongly branded game, which can drive a lot of traffic back to the sponsor's website.
And developers get a nice chunk of cash and access to the sponsor's distribution channels, which can help spread the game further than the developer could on their own. In addition, some sponsors will also help with playtesting and polishing the game in order to make it more fun and professional. After all, the game will be representing the sponsor to the entire Internet!
However, exclusive sponsorships also have a big drawback for developers: because these licenses are exclusive, developers can no longer sell site-locked licenses to many different sites. Even worse, most exclusive sponsorships do not allow developers to include in-game advertising. Both of these limitations significantly limit the developer's ability to earn revenue from their game.
And that's why we at FGL have developed a new kind of sponsorship that combines the best facets of an exclusive license with the flexibility that sponsors and developers need. We call it a primary sponsorship.
