SigninG a Publishing Contract

2F. Escalating royalties and bonuses

There is no rule that says that royalties must be a fixed rate. In combination with any of the basic methodologies described above, you could ask for a structure that increases your royalty rate when a game is successful. 


1. Escalated rate by number of copies

One way to structure an escalating royalty is simply that the royalty rate goes up after a certain number of copies have sold. The theory is, after a publisher has sold a certain number of games, they will have recouped all of their up-front expenses for art, development, and so on.

For the sale of the first 10,000 copies, PUBLISHER shall pay royalties of X%. For the 10,001st copy and beyond, PUBLISHER shall pay royalties of X%.

2. Escalated rate within a print run

Another way to structure variable royalties can be by the print run. Manufacturers typically give publishers a price break as print runs get larger, so you could ask to share in that discount by getting higher royalties if your game does well enough to merit larger print runs. 

The publisher shall pay a royalty of:

  •  7% on each copy for copies 1-5000 of a print run, 
  • 8% on copies 5001-10,000 of a print run, 
  • 9% on copies 10,001-20,000 of a print run, and 
  • 10% on every copy above 20,000 of a print run.
3. Bonuses

We are aware of at least one publisher who offers bonus payments if a game reaches certain milestones. 

The publisher will pay to the designer:

  • An additional payment of $10,000 if the 200,000th copy of the Work is sold.
  • Additional payments for each of the following awards:
  • $10,000 for Spiel Des Jahres
  • $1,500 for Spiel Des Jahres nomination
  • $5,000 for Kennerspiel Des Jahres
  • $1,500 for Kennerspiel Des Jahres nomination
  • $5,000 for Kinderspiel des Jahres
  • $1,500 for Kinderspiel des Jahres nomination
  • $1,500 for Dice Tower Game of the Year
  • $1,500 for Origins Game of the Year Award
  • $1,500 for Diana Jones Award
Share by: