‘Don’t put all your money into your first project’

Start-ups shouldn’t bet all their money on their first mobile game, says JiggeryPokery CEO Matthew Wiggins.

Speaking at Develop: Brighton today, Wiggins said it’s unlikely studios will achieve success on their debut title, though they will learn a lot from the process. He suggested that leaving money for a second or even third game would mean developers can use those lessons to increase chances of success.

Wiggins said that many start-ups spend all their money on their first project and a global launch, hoping it will do well. This isn’t often the case, however.

The JiggeryPokery founder also had advice on how to divide the budget of a mobile game, by splitting it into thirds.

He recommended putting a third of the budget into developing the game to soft launch, another third on the soft launch itself, and the rest on whatever happens post-release.

Wiggins said the latter was important as the game is unlikely to start making lots of money straight away.

"Give yourself as much runway as you can," he said.