Rev share agreement for indie games: a checklist and a free template
The short answer: before any work starts, write down who does what and by when, the pay or the share and exactly how it's counted, when payouts happen, credit, who owns the work, and what happens if someone leaves or the game stops. Both of you sign it and keep a copy. For rev share this matters most, because there's no money up front and the agreement is the only thing that says what was promised. There's a plain-English sample rev share agreement and a sample for paid work below.
Most fights on small game teams aren't about bad people. They're about two people remembering the deal differently a year later. A one-page agreement fixes that.
This is not legal advice. I'm not a lawyer, and IndieGuild isn't a party to your deal. Use the samples as a starting point and adapt them to your project. Laws differ by country, so if there's real money or a lot of work at stake, a lawyer where you live can check it for you.
Why put it in writing
It protects both sides, not just one.
- If you're the dev: you know what you're getting and when, and that you can actually use it in the game, its updates, ports and trailers. No surprise at launch about who owns the music or the art.
- If you're the creator: you know what you'll be paid or what share you'll get, when it lands, and how you'll see the numbers. You know you can show the work in your portfolio.
- If it's rev share: nobody gets paid until the game sells, sometimes years later. By then people have moved on and memories are fuzzy. The written agreement is the only record of what you both said yes to.
It doesn't have to be long or formal. Plain words that you both understand beat legal language nobody reads.
What to agree on, for any project
- The work: what exactly gets made (12 tracks, 40 sprites, the UI), the format, and how many rounds of changes.
- Dates: milestones and a final date, and what happens if one slips.
- Pay or share: the amount or the percent, and how it's counted.
- When and how payment happens: up front, per milestone, on delivery, or as payouts after launch.
- Credit: the role and name each person gets in the credits and on the store page.
- Ownership: who owns the work, or what the studio is allowed to use it for.
- Portfolio: when the creator can show the work publicly.
- AI use: whether AI-generated material is OK in the work.
- If it stops: what happens if someone leaves early or the project is cancelled.
- Disagreements: how you'll sort one out.
Rev share: the details that cause trouble later
These are the parts people skip, and the parts they argue about once the game is out.
A percent of what?
"10% of the game" means nothing until you say 10% of what. Pick one and define it:
- Gross revenue: everything the game earns before anything comes off. Simple to check, but it's more than the studio actually receives.
- Net revenue: what the studio actually receives after the store's cut (30% on Steam for most games, per Valve’s revenue share terms), refunds, chargebacks, and sales tax or VAT the store collects. This is a common choice. List exactly what comes off and nothing else. Heads up: Steam's own reports call the number before its cut "net", so say in plain words whether the store's cut comes off.
- Net profit: be careful with this one. If the studio can take its own costs off first (marketing, salaries, other contractors), there may never be any profit to share.
Which money counts?
Game sales on every store and platform, of course. Then decide on DLC and expansions, ports to consoles or mobile, soundtrack sales, merch, bundles, and money from a publisher. Grants and crowdfunding are usually left out, but say so. If it isn't on the list, it doesn't count.
Payouts and reports
- How often: monthly or every quarter, within a set number of days after the store pays the studio.
- A short report with each payout: units sold, revenue, and what was taken off.
- A minimum payout, like $50, so small amounts roll over instead of eating fees.
- How it's paid (PayPal, bank transfer) and who covers the transfer fees.
- The right to see the store reports behind the numbers, say once a year.
- Each person handles their own taxes.
How long it lasts
For as long as the game is sold, for a set number of years, or until the creator has earned a set amount (a cap). Some deals add a buyout: the studio can pay a fixed sum to end the share. Also say what happens if the game or the studio is sold, or the game is signed to a publisher. Usually the share carries on.
If someone leaves early, or the game is cancelled
Someone who leaves halfway usually keeps a share in proportion to the work they delivered. Tie it to milestones so it's easy to count. And if the game isn't released by a set date, decide whether the creator gets the rights to their work back to use somewhere else. That one clause stops a lot of good work from getting stuck in a dead project.
Credit
Write the exact role and name, like "Music by Ash Park", and where it appears: the in-game credits, the store page, the trailer.
Who owns the work
There are two common setups, and both are fine if you pick one:
- The creator keeps the copyright and gives the studio a licence to use the work in the game, its updates, DLC, ports and marketing. Composers often work this way, and keep the right to sell the soundtrack.
- The creator transfers ownership to the studio, often only once they've been paid a set amount or the game ships. Art and code often work this way.
Either way, say whether the creator can show the work in their portfolio, and from when (right away, or once the game is announced).
Disagreements
Agree to talk it through first, then try a neutral mediator before anything bigger. Name which country's or state's law the agreement follows, which matters when you live in different places.
Sample rev share agreement
Fill in the [brackets], delete the options you don't use, and change anything that doesn't fit. Remember, this is a starting point, not legal advice.
Rev share agreement
This agreement is between [studio or dev name] ("the Studio") and [creator name] ("the Creator") for the game [game title] ("the Game"). Date: [date].
- The work. The Creator will make [what, e.g. 12 music tracks / 40 character sprites / the UI art], as described in [the brief below / the attached brief]. Milestones: [dates]. Up to [2] rounds of changes per piece.
- The share. The Creator gets [X]% of the Game's [net revenue / gross revenue].
- What the share is of. [Net revenue means the money the Studio actually receives from the Game, after the store or platform's cut, refunds and chargebacks, and sales tax or VAT collected by the store. Nothing else comes off.] [Gross revenue means what customers paid for the Game, minus only refunds, chargebacks and sales tax or VAT.] Keep the one you use.
- What counts. [Sales of the Game on every store and platform, DLC and expansions, ports, soundtrack sales, merch, bundles, publisher payments]. Not included: [grants, crowdfunding]. Anything not listed doesn't count.
- Payouts. The Studio pays the Creator's share [every quarter], within [30] days after the Studio gets paid by the store for that period, by [PayPal / bank transfer], with a short report showing units sold, revenue and what was taken off. Payouts under [$50] roll over to the next period. The Creator can ask to see the store reports behind the numbers [once a year]. Each of us handles our own taxes.
- How long. The share lasts [as long as the Game is sold / for X years / until the Creator has received $X]. It carries on if the Game or the Studio is sold, or the Game is signed to a publisher.
- Leaving early. If the Creator stops before the work is done, their share becomes [X]% times the part of the work they delivered, measured by the milestones above. If the Studio ends the work without a good reason, the Creator keeps [the full share / the share for the work delivered].
- If the Game doesn't come out. If the Game isn't released by [date], [all rights to the Creator's work go back to the Creator, who can use it anywhere / the Studio can still use it, and the share applies if it's released later].
- Your own work. The Creator confirms the work is their own, or that they have the rights to anything in it made by someone else, like samples, fonts or stock.
- Ownership. [Option A: The Creator keeps the copyright and gives the Studio a [non-exclusive / exclusive] licence to use the work in the Game, its updates, DLC, ports and marketing, for as long as the Game is sold.] [Option B: The Creator transfers the copyright in the work to the Studio once [the Game is released / the Creator has received $X].]
- Credit. The Creator is credited as “[role] by [name]” in the Game's credits and on its store page.
- Portfolio. The Creator can show the work publicly [right away / once the Game is announced].
- AI use. The Creator [won't use / can use] AI-generated material in the work [without asking first].
- Disagreements. We'll talk it through first, then try a mediator before anything else. This agreement follows the law of [country or state].
- Changes. Any change to this agreement is written down and both of us agree to it.
Signed: [Studio name], [date]
Signed: [Creator name], [date]
Sample agreement for a paid project
Paid work is simpler, but the same few things still need saying.
Work agreement
This agreement is between [studio or dev name] ("the Studio") and [creator name] ("the Creator") for the game [game title] ("the Game"). Date: [date].
- The work. The Creator will make [what], delivered as [file format] by [date], with up to [2] rounds of changes. Extra changes or new pieces are [rate].
- Pay. [$total / $rate per piece]. [X]% up front, the rest [on delivery / at each milestone], paid within [14] days of each invoice by [PayPal / bank transfer].
- Your own work. The Creator confirms the work is their own, or that they have the rights to anything in it made by someone else, like samples, fonts or stock.
- Ownership. [Option A: The Creator keeps the copyright and gives the Studio a licence to use the work in the Game, its updates, DLC, ports and marketing.] [Option B: The copyright passes to the Studio once the Creator has been paid in full.]
- Credit. “[role] by [name]” in the Game's credits and on its store page.
- Portfolio. The Creator can show the work publicly [right away / once the Game is announced].
- If the project stops. The Studio pays for the work delivered so far [plus a [X]% cancellation fee]. Work that hasn't been paid for stays with the Creator.
- AI use. The Creator [won't use / can use] AI-generated material in the work [without asking first].
- Disagreements. We'll talk it through first, then try a mediator. This agreement follows the law of [country or state].
- Changes. Any change to this agreement is written down and both of us agree to it.
Signed: [Studio name], [date]
Signed: [Creator name], [date]
Signing it
- Both of you sign and date it. Most people use a free e-sign tool or sign a PDF.
- Each of you keeps a copy.
- Attach the signed copy to your IndieGuild conversation too, so it sits right next to the chat where you agreed it.
- If something changes later, like more tracks or a new date, write the change down and both say yes.
- Don't sign something you don't understand. Ask, or ask someone who knows.
Not legal advice: these samples are a plain-English starting point. Adapt them to your project, and a lawyer can check the final version, especially when real money or a publisher is involved.
Frequently asked questions
What should a rev share agreement for an indie game include?
Who does what and by when, the percent and what it's a percent of (gross or net, and which revenue counts), when payouts happen and what report comes with them, how long the share lasts, credit, who owns the work or how it's licensed, what happens if someone leaves early or the game is cancelled, and how you'll sort out a disagreement.
Should rev share be based on gross or net revenue?
Either can work if you define it. Gross is the simplest to check. Net is common, but write down exactly what comes off, like the store's cut, refunds, chargebacks and sales tax or VAT. Be careful with "net profit": if the studio can take its own costs off first, there may never be anything left to share.
Do I need a lawyer for a rev share agreement?
That's up to you. A plain written agreement you both sign is much better than nothing. When real money, a publisher deal or a lot of work is involved, a lawyer where you live can check it and tell you what the law there expects.
Who owns the art, music or code in a rev share game?
Whatever you agree. The two common setups: the creator keeps the copyright and gives the studio a licence to use the work in the game and its marketing, or the creator transfers ownership to the studio, often once they've been paid or the game ships. Write down which one, and whether the creator can show the work in their portfolio.
What happens to rev share if the game is cancelled or someone leaves?
Decide it before you start. Common choices: someone who leaves early keeps a share in proportion to the work they delivered, and if the game isn't released by a set date, the creator gets the rights to their work back and can use it somewhere else.
Does IndieGuild write contracts or handle payments?
No. IndieGuild helps game devs and creators find each other and talk. It isn't a party to your deal, doesn't handle payments and takes no cut. The samples in this guide are a starting point you adapt yourselves, not legal advice.
Say paid, rev share or hobby up front
On IndieGuild you can mark a role paid, rev share or hobby up front, so nobody is surprised later. Post who you need, or make a free profile and find a game to work on. No cut taken.
Post who you needMore guides
- How to find people to work on your game
- How to pitch a game dev (for creators)
- How game music, sound and voice acting is priced
- How much does art cost for an indie game?
- How to find a programmer or teammate for your indie game
- All guides