Frequently Asked Questions

🏡 What is The Fair Play Collective?

The Fair Play Collective is a new way of getting games made. We pair a community that wants to support small studios with teams that are making cool games and provide predictable, sustainable funding for those teams. Together, we're building a better games industry with no crunch, no layoffs, and creative freedom for the teams making the games.

How is this different from Kickstarter or Patreon or a Publisher?

🌱 Who is building this?

Right now we have a small multidisciplinary team. Check out more on the About page!

Want to help build something better? Get in touch!

💸 Where does the money go?

The Fair Play Collective will collect contributions in order to fund small game studios for up to multi-year projects, ensuring they can get made without extra stress or crunch. Studios will receive money monthly rather than all at once, and need to be accountable for those funds by sharing:

• Transparent budgets
• Studio roadmaps reviewed by a developer board before approval
• Equal pay for equal work
• No layoffs during the funding period

A small portion of funds (~10–15%) go toward FPC's operational costs, including platform maintenance and fees, review panel costs, admin work (accounting, taxes), and communications.

All admin and staff pay will be transparent and capped to ensure that most of our funds are going to what we all want to support - the indie studios.

How do you define fair pay?

Great question! This is obviously complex, and has many different factors that come into play. We'll be looking at the roles involved, location, and cost of living to ensure studios are engaging in fair pay. Any freelancers must also be paid equitably. Studio budgets will be reviewed by the board before projects are approved.

What happens if a studio gets a publisher?

That's great! We want to see games get made and get out there in the world. We will review with our studios to see if they still require support from the Fair Play Collective to ensure their games do get finished. If studios leave the program, their work is theirs and they can continue the project; we don't own their work.

🎮 What do backers get?

• Founding Member credit in every funded game
• 40% off MSRP for all games while subscribed
• One free rotating game/month once the library begins
• Monthly dev diaries and studio updates
• Behind the scenes access to the creative process
• Early invitations to shape policies and structure

Perks are actively being worked on - watch this space for changes.

⌛ What do I get if I back early, before any games launch?

That's awesome! We appreciate you giving this a shot with us. In addition to standard backer perks, if you back us early, you also get:

• Founding status in the Fair Play Collective
• Locked-in pricing and perks when games launch
• Early access to studio updates and behind-the-scenes content
• Direct involvement in shaping the Fair Play Collective

Together, we can build a better games industry!

🧠 Do backers vote on what games get made?

No. While we think you'll enjoy many of the projects made, not every game is for every person. We want to ensure that developers are empowered in making the games they want to make. Who knows - you might just get a new favorite you would have never expected!

To ensure fairness and equal access to opportunity, a board of experienced devs, producers, and project managers will assess project viability and suitability before approval. Backers are supporting a new way of getting games made, not individual games.

How are backer perks delivered?

We're still working through the details! We will have a Discord for the FPC community, and we're looking at existing platforms such as itch.io for distribution.

What about backers? Can we get to know the devs?

Absolutely! The games industry is filled with so many awesome, interesting, and funny people, and we want to celebrate them. Some of the things we're considering are:

• Video diaries from dev teams
• Day-in-the-life content and hobby showcases
• Co-working streams where you can get a peek behind the scenes
• Audio interviews and livestream Q&As

We believe that understanding and empathy are key components of a better games industry.

🔒 Will developers be forced to release demos or early builds?

No. They can if they want to! But this isn't the right move for every game or studio. Studios are welcomed and encouraged to share what they want, including dev diaries, concept art, or teasers, but do not need to release playable demos or early access builds.

What do developers get beyond funding?

We're building our community to ensure devs are supported, beyond just funding:

• Mentorship from industry veterans
• Career guidance for juniors starting out in the games industry
• Workshops on navigating contracts, intellectual property rights, and spotting investor red flags
• A network that is committed to and celebrates creative integrity
• Available resources through close partnerships between FPC and like-minded companies

🧠 What's the Collective's policy on AI-generated content?

With respect for the countless writers and artists whose work has been used to train GenAI models without their permission, we do not allow AI-generated content to be used for games we fund. This includes:

• No AI-generated writing or dialog
• No AI-generated artwork, textures, or animation
• No AI-generated sound or music
• AI-assisted code is permitted, but should augment human labour, not replace it

We will review any proposals containing AI inputs on a case-by-case basis. We recognize that tools may support work-life balance, but should not replace human labor.

Creative work should always come from humans who are credited and paid for their work.

⚖️ What if a studio breaks the rules?

We have a zero tolerance policy for ethical breaches by studios we are funding. This includes knowingly supporting harassment, encouraging or allowing crunch, and misuse of studio funds. Studios that violate this policy will lose their ongoing funding and we won't hide why.

Transparency is one of our core values and is the way to build trust.