When funding a new game, studio founders typically choose between equity investment (giving up ownership), revenue share (giving up a percentage of future sales), or debt financing. Debt financing allows you to borrow against your existing cash flows — like Roblox DevEx or UEFN payouts — without giving up any equity or IP rights. You retain 100% ownership of your studio and your game's upside, paying only a fixed cost for the capital.
Here is the thing nobody talks about when they talk about publisher deals. The moment you sign away 30% of your game's revenue, you are not just funding your current project. You are funding the publisher's next five failures.
You would think the answer is just to bootstrap until you hit it big. It is not. Bootstrapping works right up until you need to scale User Acquisition (UA) spend, or hire a lead developer, or port to console. At that point, you need capital. And this is the part that trips most founders up: they assume the only way to get capital is to sell a piece of the company.
The True Cost of a Publisher Revenue Share
Most studio founders find this out around month six of their game's lifecycle (sometimes month three if they are unlucky). A standard publisher deal might offer you development funding and marketing support in exchange for a 30% to 50% revenue share after recoupment.
That sounds reasonable when you have zero dollars and zero players. But—and this matters—if your game is a massive hit, that 30% becomes the most expensive money you will ever borrow. You are permanently capping your upside. By the time the real money arrives, the moment you needed the publisher's capital is long gone. And you are still paying them.
Why Founders Default to Giving Up Equity
The reason most founders give up equity is not that they want a boss. It is that they do not know what else to do.
Equity investors buy a percentage of your studio forever. They want a 10x return, which means they need you to build a unicorn, sell the studio, or go public. If you just want to build a highly profitable studio that makes great games and pays you a massive dividend every year, equity investors are the wrong partners.
You are giving away permanent control for temporary cash.
How Debt Financing Actually Works for Gaming Studios
Which brings us to the actual solution. If you have an existing game generating consistent cash flow—whether that is through Roblox DevEx, UEFN (Unreal Editor for Fortnite), mobile ads, or PC sales—you have leverage.
Debt financing treats your existing cash flow as an asset. Instead of selling 20% of your studio to fund your next title, you borrow against the money your current title is already making. You pay a fixed cost for the capital. When the loan is paid off, the transaction is over. You still own 100% of your studio. You still own 100% of your IP.
CreatorFi provides $200K to $20M+ in debt financing structured directly against your existing game's cash flows—meaning you keep 100% of your equity and IP.
When to Use Debt vs. When to Use Equity
The short answer is that it depends on your revenue. The longer answer is more useful.
If you are a pre-revenue studio building your very first game, you cannot use debt. You have no cash flow to borrow against. You need equity or a publisher deal because you need someone to share the risk of total failure.
But if you already have a successful title and you just need capital to scale UA spend or fund your second game? Using equity for that is financial malpractice. You have already de-risked the studio. You should be using debt to protect your upside.
Protect the asset that works before you build the one that might.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between debt financing and equity financing for games?
Equity financing requires giving up a percentage of ownership in your studio forever, while debt financing is a loan you repay over time, allowing you to keep 100% ownership.
Do I need a publisher to fund my indie game?
Not necessarily. If you have an existing game generating cash flow, you can use debt financing to fund your next project without a publisher's revenue share.
Can Roblox studios get debt financing?
Yes, specialized lenders can structure debt facilities against consistent Roblox DevEx cash flows.
What happens if my game fails with debt financing?
Debt must be repaid regardless of the new game's success, which is why it is typically secured against the reliable cash flows of your existing, successful titles.
Is revenue share better than debt?
Revenue share is safer if you have no existing revenue, but it is vastly more expensive if your game is a massive hit, as you give up a percentage of the upside forever.
