How hard was it to get in touch with publishers? I've always imagined that without prior contacts, cold calling a game publisher is as promising as sending your screenplay to Hollywood.
Not author, but fellow indie gamedev company founder. Getting in touch is not hard at all and there are several avenues:
1 - Majority of publishers do have public submission forms and they do look though what you send. There is a few existing lists that you can use [1].
2 - Industry is generally very friendly so often you can also reach out to publisher game scouts on Linkedin and even ask for what kind of projects they looking for.
3 - And obviously there are industry events where again it's totally okay to pitch to people, get their contacts, etc. If you're good at followups you'll easily be able to reach right people.
4 - Also fellow gamedevs will happily made an introduction if you have worthy project.
There of course some requirement what you need at very least is:
* Prototype for 5-15 minutes of gameplay. Prototype must be playable and fun, not just tech demo. There is no way to make any deal without one.
* Short and very juicy gif or video representing core loop that sells.
* Pitch deck. The farther your build is from final game the better pitch you must have. There are some examples of game pitches you can find on internet, but if you curious reach me I'll share ours.
Whatever you will actually sign with publisher will depend heavily on how close is your game to release. If it's something nearly complete you'll have more chances than with prototype.
Actually getting funded though can be very tough and for small game it's hard to find budget over $300,000. Yes you read this right - whole games are being made by teams with only publisher budget of one FAANG SWE annual salary.
