Selling a game with a partner. Do I need a company?

Question

Hello. My name is Andrew and I would like to know if I will need to file a company name in order to sell my team's games (Me and my partner). Is it required to have a company in order to pay taxes on what you receive? Or can you just sell games under your own name in order to receive payments? I intend to sell my games from Steam and I would like to know everything before we finish our first game.

Thank you!

Answer 1

Best Answer

Answer by theleefiles · Sep 17, 2015 at 11:24 PM

You don't NEED one. But you'll probably WANT one. (And yes this is definitely a Unity-related question, because some people intend to develop games to sell.)

With an LLC (or any corp), you can write off like 50% of business-related purchases from taxes. That includes Unity itself, assets from the asset store, maybe contract services (i.e. for coding)... and lunch w/ your friend (so long as you have 'the intent to make money').

1 Show 3 · Share

Code to Reality Studios · Sep 18, 2015 at 12:26 PM 0

Share

So, I could sell my game and receive income but not have to be a part of a business or needing to create one? Could I do this with Steam or do you need one for them? And could you explain the 50% of business-related purchases?

Thanks you!

theleefiles Code to Reality Studios · Sep 18, 2015 at 11:38 PM 0

Share

Correct. You're automatically a 'sole proprietor' if you sell now. (People already sell on eBay. Why shouldn't you sell on Steam?)

Also, Steam works with indie devs all the time. Games like Super Hexagon, Thomas Was Alone, and other things wouldn't sell on there otherwise.

From the horse's mouth: "Your game doesn't have to come from a big name studio, as long as it's fun we'd love to see it." (https://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/FAQ.php)

As for the 50%, I learned this from a business course I took long ago. Which means I'd be hard pressed to give you the details. The only thing I can say is that you can do it. (Look up Eben Pagan's course called "Ignition" for more details).

Oh, I just remembered. The reason an LLC is better is not just the 50% write off. The reason it's better is this: You can take money out of your 'paycheck' and reinvest it in your business--tax-free. So you'll have like 15% more cash to invest into your next game.

Hope this helps!

Code to Reality Studios theleefiles · Sep 21, 2015 at 12:27 PM 0

Share

Thank you so much for your help and explanations @theleefiles. If you don't mind one more question, I would appreciate it. Is there a way a 16 year old can get funds from over the internet?

Selling a game with a partner. Do I need a company?

1 Reply

Your answer

Update about the future of Unity Answers

Follow this Question

Related Questions