Move over, Silicon Valley. The new hotspot for independent mobile game developers is deep in the heart of Texas: Austin, to be exact. According to the International Game Developers Association’s Austin chapter, more than 7,000 people in the gaming industry now call Austin home, and about two-thirds of them are indie developers. Their presence is one of the big reasons why Texas is second only to California in the number of active game development projects. In fact, some great indie studios like Super Happy Fun Fun, Spacetime Studios, Phunware and Team Chaos call the lonestar state home.
So what’s making devs swoon over “Bat City”? It’s not the SXSW Gaming Expo, which insiders say doesn’t cater much to smaller studios. We turned to IGDA-Austin’s Frank Coppersmith and Adam Saltsman (a.k.a. Adam Atomic) of game studio Finji for the real scoop. Here’s what they came up with:
The cost-of-living is (relatively) reasonable
A decade ago, Saltsman and his wife Rebekah (co-founder of Finji) decided to move from Michigan to advance their gaming careers. They figured they had four choices: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle or Austin. At the time, Austin was “hilariously cheap,” relative to the other cities, he says. Similarly, Coppersmith, who moved to Austin from Silicon Valley around the same time as the Saltsmans, found that the rent he paid for a 600-square-foot apartment in San Jose would land him a 6,000-square foot house in Austin.
While Austin has grown significantly more expensive over the years — housing prices, for example, are at an all-time high — cost-of-living is still reasonable compared to the big tech hubs. User-generated statistics website Numbeo lists local purchasing power as 12 percent higher in Austin compared to Los Angeles and 43 higher compared to San Francisco. Saltsman says that difference is especially meaningful in an industry where revenue can vary significantly from year to year. “It gives you more freedom to take risks,” he says. “And sometimes that’s the only advantage you have as a small developer.”
That advantage is also important to devs who have recently quit or been laid off from bigger studios. Saltsman says Austin received a wave of Boston-based migrants last year when Irrational Games closed its doors.
It’s a college town
When it comes to game education and training, Austin’s got it covered: The city boasts several educational institutions with formal game development programs. There’s a game and mobile media applications undergraduate certificate program at the University of Texas at Austin; an MBA in digital media management at St. Edward’s University; and several game development-related degrees and certificates at Austin Community College.
Those programs aren’t just good for students — they’re important for devs, too. “Indie developers need entry-level resources,” says Coppersmith. “They need access to people who are eager to work and need experience, and colleges provide that.” Plus, Saltsman points out, teaching gigs can bring in much-needed income when other revenue sources are scarce.
The business climate is incredibly friendly
Thanks to light regulation and low tax rates (no state personal or corporate income tax, a franchise tax on larger companies), Texas is consistently ranked one of the most business-friendly states in the country.
The Austin indie dev community is active, supportive and passionate
Image via Flickr user Official GDC
Saltsman’s tone is generally businesslike, but when he talks about the local indie developers, he gets effusive. “Things are happening in the community that I could have only dreamed of seven or eight years ago,” he says. He would know: he’s one of the organizers of Juegos Rancheros, a monthly gathering of indie devs and fans WHERE?. The events often attract large crowds and have become a lynchpin of the Austin developer community. “It’s amazing to be able to get 80 to 150 people to a bar night to appreciate weird games and talk about business concerns,” says Saltsman. “There are all these people you can ask things like, ‘What did you do for your trailer?’ ‘Have you tried getting interns from UT?'”
Juegos Rancheros isn’t the only game in town. Coppersmith says the Meetup culture is strong in Austin, with developer-focused events taking place on a weekly basis. And his organization, IGDA Austin, hosts frequent events focused on business strategies like crowdfunding. To him, these types of activities aren’t just informative networking opportunities — they’re part of a broader vision of success for indie devs.
“Being an independent developer is really, really hard,” Coppersmith says. “In Austin, you’re part of an ecosystem of games, surrounded by people with passion. It’s enough to keep you going.”