According to a new report released by Tiga, the UK’s game developer trade organization, a number of key game developers are pointing to outsourcing development as no longer optional, but a required necessity to their craft.  83 percent of UK game developers outsource at least one business process.  And these aren’t just basement developers, and casual hobbyists, but rather those taking part in the survey included the likes of Blitz Games, Monumental Games, Ubisoft Reflections and Zoe Mode.  These names all accredited an outsource process as an essential component to their production in order to meet tight deadlines, specialized skill requirements, and scalability issues.  And naturally, it almost goes without saying, but in today’s challenging economic climate, outsourcing, and its included flexibility are looking more and more attractive to more and more game houses.

While outsourcing can alleviate a number of in-house headaches, most developers agreed that outsourcing requires a high level of planning, communication, and ongoing management.  Zoe Mode art director Ben Hebb says, “Clear communication and planning is everything. Having enough internal resource to manage and feedback on work is vital.”  David Tolley, head of outsourcing projects at Monumental Games adds, “Successful outsource contribution is driven by experience, passion and strong support from internal staff. A few short years ago, outsourcing was almost taboo now it is a necessity.”

Quickstart Global also contributed to the outsourcing study, and adds, For now, the key question is not should you do it, or even is this the right time to do it, but how you can outsource while maintaining cost and quality control.

Ubisoft Reflections Associate Producer William Brown states, “As we begin to see the impact of the recent financial crisis along with the ever-increasing scale and expectations of current and next generation games, we are embracing outsourcing as one of the ways we can stay competitive in the global market.”

With 83 percent of all UK games developers looking outside their own four walls, it’s readily apparent that the once unthinkable is quickly becoming the method of choice: outsourcing.  While no specifics were given out as to what processes are involved, you can bet that one of these is microtransaction market outsourcing. fatfoogoo has built highly scalable, modular, ready to plug and play primary and secondary market technologies as well as subscription and user management technology.  But if you’re here reading this, you probably know that already, and have already chosen the world leader in microtransaction and micropayment systems for game developer providers.  Welcome.  Let’s talk.