Consume Product - Arete Network

Likewise. I think it's very much a sustainable business IF you have the right team, finances, and production schedule. I have made serious inquiry into it, even interviewing potential partners, employees and investors.

There's lots of ways to approach it, but if you plan to run a legit studio as a business and NOT as a one-off project or hobby, then you HAVE to have at least three projects well-defined and scheduled before you begin. By the time your artists finish their work half-way though the first project, they should start working on the next project. This overlap ensures that everyone is busy working on something at all times. It also means that you have something new to pitch to investors and cash-flow by launch of Game #2.

The next thing I learned is that some investors WILL lose money, and you're probably going to take it from them knowing that and NOT feel bad about it because "all investments carry inherent risks." Maybe these are Kickstarter backers, maybe it's institutional investors. Either way, you need that money to make payroll.

However, if you just have an idea for a particular game and want to start small, there's plenty of freelancers out there you can collaborate with. Some of them even work at major studios and moonlight on Fiver, DeviantArt or even Reddit, where there's forums where you can pitch your paid assignments. Again, there's many paths depending on your budget and long-term goals.