Primary Sponsorships
Primary sponsorships are a relatively new concept, pioneered by FGL. A primary sponsorship is similar to an exclusive sponsorship in some ways, but it has one very big difference: a primary sponsorship is not completely exclusive.
With a primary sponsorship, the sponsor pays the developer to brand the general worldwide release of the game just as in an exclusive sponsorship. However, the developer is then free to sell additional non-exclusive licenses that remove the sponsor's branding.
Let's look at the details. A primary sponsorship usually includes the following:
- The primary version of 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 into the primary version, both of which take the player to the sponsor's website.
- The developer is allowed to maintain their logo and a link to their own website in the game credits or menu page.
- The developer is allowed to include in-game advertisements.
- The developer retains authorship of the game and can enter the game in contests, etc.
- The developer retains the right to sell additional versions of the game without the sponsor's branding, so long as those versions are site-locked to a single domain.
Benefits & Risks
A primary sponsorship has big benefits for the developer because it allows them to sell many additional licenses for a single game - and each site license can earn anywhere from $50 to $1000 or more depending on the type of license that is sold. That extra money can add up fast!
Selling additional site licenses isn't possible with an exclusive sponsorship because most site licenses require the developer to remove branding and external links, and that directly conflicts with the terms of an exclusive sponsorship. But a primary sponsorship is flexible enough to support both branding and site licenses.
In addition, a primary license also allows the developer to include in-game ads. This is an incredibly important direct revenue path in itself, but more than that it also gives the developer leverage with portal sites that want to host the game without ads. Many portals will pay a nominal fee simply to get the game 'as is' but with the ads removed.
But even though a primary sponsorship is very beneficial for the developer, that doesn't mean that it's unfair to the sponsor! Most Flash games will spread to literally thousands of websites during their lifetimes. Under a primary sponsorship, the strongly branded primary version of the game is distributed far and wide, and the primary sponsor benefits. Next to that, a handful of site-locked versions restricted to a handful of websites is barely noticeable: the primary sponsor is still benefiting from 99% of the traffic that the game generates.
So a primary license keeps all revenue paths open to the developer, still provides nearly the same value to the primary sponsor, and opens up access to great games for more website owners. That's a win for everyone!
Why Now?
In the past it was difficult for a developer to get these advantageous terms. Most of the larger sponsors were not willing to change their successful (and lucrative) exclusive sponsorships to try something new like a primary sponsorship.
FGL, however, changed that equation by concentrating sponsors and developers in one spot. Now developers can get their games in front of a huge number of potential buyers. If you have a great game, somebody will offer you the terms you want. Finally, the developer holds the cards.
Of course, sponsors must also make money from these deals. FGL works closely with both sponsors and developers to make sure that everyone wins. A primary license enables a game to reach its full potential; it actually increases the size of the pie so that everybody can get a bigger piece.
