Hello there, fellow game developers. I’m currently making my first game on UE4, a simple 2D platformer which I plan to release on the AppStore in the future. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone call tell me (couldn’t find relevant topic on forums) if I am required to own a company or work for one, in order to sell a game that I made. I have no experience at this and am not sure what is required of me, other than paying royalties to Epic and Apple/Google. Do I need to be registered as a “self-employed”, do I need to register a company etc. Thanks in advance.
For sure you should at least get a business license as nothing else will happen until you have one. You don’t need a company name, that’s a trademark thing, but you will need the number on the license to do all things banking as well as a means of conveyance for tax purposes to pay for taxes as well as being able to write off your development costs. (get a receipt for EVERY thing under the company). Being self employed or employed does not really matter as you could have you pay made out to your own company but anything fancy talk to an accountant.
Start small, grow big. experiment with products and companies until you find the one that works for you, that is how i found unreal engine 4.
i highly suggest meeting with a lawyer and accountant if you can
and i suggest looking into forming a company if you can as it can help protect you as an individual if anything goes wrong
Epic doesn’t impose any requirements like this, so from our point of view you’re free to release commercial games personally if you don’t want to set up a company.
I thank you all for the useful information!
You should spend the money and incorporate as an LLC. This is my advice as an individual who has had two start up companies. There is significant legal & financial protections which will benefit you in the long term.