Transparency
How Gameformers works
Every fee, every mechanic, every term — published openly. No application required. Gameformers charges one fee (2.5% Steward's Carry on escrow releases), uses SAFE notes rather than equity, and underwrites studios on behavioral retention data rather than revenue history.
How the money flows
When a game earns a milestone approval, funds move through a defined waterfall — no surprises, no hidden deductions, no platform discretion over what gets paid.
Investor capital is deposited into Stripe Connect escrow at sprint start. Funds are locked until a milestone is delivered and approved — protecting investors from premature disbursement and studios from arbitrary clawback.
When a squad submits a milestone and it is approved, the corresponding escrow tranche releases automatically. No manual wire transfer. No delay waiting on platform staff to process payments.
Gameformers deducts exactly 2.5% of the released amount. This is the platform's only fee — there is no origination fee, no subscription, and no upfront cost to studios. The Steward's Carry is disclosed at investment and itemised in every escrow transaction.
The remaining 97.5% distributes to squad members and the studio according to the royalty split agreed and locked at squad formation. Payouts are automated via Stripe Connect — no invoicing, no chasing, no human intervention.
The SAFE note model
Gameformers uses SAFE notes (Simple Agreements for Future Equity) — the same instrument popularised by Y Combinator — rather than traditional equity deals. This keeps the upside for studios while giving investors a clear, defined conversion path.
No equity at signing
When an investor backs a game through Gameformers, no equity changes hands at the time of signing. The studio does not surrender board seats, voting rights, or creative control. The SAFE note is a promise of future equity — not present ownership.
Conversion terms defined upfront
The SAFE note converts to equity only on a defined trigger — typically a priced funding round, acquisition, or other liquidity event. Conversion terms (valuation cap, discount rate) are negotiated and locked at the time of investment. There are no hidden ratchets or retroactive adjustments.
No creative control transfer
Investors on Gameformers are capital providers, not publishers. The SAFE note structure explicitly does not transfer creative control, approval rights, or IP ownership. Studios ship the game they built, with the team they chose, on the timeline they committed to.
Royalties alongside the SAFE
The SAFE note covers the equity upside. Royalty splits — paid from escrow milestone by milestone — are a separate, concurrent mechanism. Investors and squad members receive royalty distributions as work is delivered, independent of any future equity conversion event.
Milestone escrow mechanics
Every funded project on Gameformers operates on milestone-gated escrow. Capital is never deployed in a lump sum. It is held, locked, and released only when verifiable work is delivered.
Deliverables defined at sprint start
Before an 84-day sprint begins, the squad and studio agree on milestone deliverables and corresponding payment amounts. These are locked into the platform contract — not renegotiable mid-sprint without both parties agreeing. The milestone schedule is visible to the investor in real time.
Funds locked at sprint start
The full tranche of escrow for a sprint is deposited at sprint start. It is held in Stripe Connect — a regulated payments infrastructure — and not accessible to either the studio or the platform until a milestone is approved. This eliminates the risk of premature deployment.
Release only on approval
Milestone submissions trigger an approval workflow. When approved, the corresponding escrow tranche releases and distributes automatically. If a milestone is rejected, the funds remain locked and the squad can resubmit after addressing the rejection reason.
If a project stalls
If a project stalls — no milestone submission, no squad activity — escrowed funds are held in Stripe Connect and subject to the dispute and dissolution terms in the squad contract. Capital is not automatically returned to the investor, nor is it released to the studio. The dispute path is documented in the contract at squad formation.
No-revenue underwriting
Traditional game funding requires revenue history, a shipped title, or a publisher relationship. Gameformers underwrites studios on behavioral evidence from playtests — not financial track record.
Player Pulse behavioral scores
The underwriting signal is the Player Pulse composite score — aggregated from 25 real player sessions measuring five behavioral signals: D1/D7/D30 retention curves, completion density, PMF score (Sean Ellis' “how disappointed would you be?” methodology), sentiment velocity, and engagement depth. These signals predict commercial retention independently of revenue.
INVEST verdict unlocks capital
Games that reach the INVEST verdict threshold automatically unlock access to squad formation and investor matching. No pitch deck. No publisher introduction. No revenue requirement. The behavioral score is the application. Studios with zero shipped titles and zero revenue can qualify if their game demonstrates behavioral retention above the threshold.
Test cost and session quality
A standard Player Pulse test costs $99 for 25 sessions ($3.96 per session) — approximately 10× cheaper than comparable playtesting services. Sessions are conducted by real players with Steam accounts at least 6 months old and 50+ genre hours. Signal integrity is enforced through session fingerprinting and IP clustering to detect and exclude bot farming.
Verdict tiers
Player Pulse returns one of five verdicts: TERMINATE, PIVOT, WATCH, INVEST, or GOD_TIER. Only INVEST and GOD_TIER games unlock capital access. WATCH and PIVOT games receive specific signal feedback indicating which behavioral metric is dragging the score and what type of design intervention is likely to move it.
The squad model
Gameformers organises development work through squads — small, contract-bound teams executing defined sprints with milestone pay and automated royalty distribution.
84-day sprints
Each squad engagement runs in an 84-day sprint. The sprint timeline, milestone gates, and deliverable definitions are agreed at squad formation and locked in the platform contract. Sprint boundaries are designed to align with natural game development phases — not arbitrary calendar periods.
Up to 5 squad members
A squad has a maximum of 5 members (excluding the founding studio). Members are drawn from the Talent Index — a verified pool of game developers discoverable by role, engine, genre, and availability. Developers apply for squads; studios select and invite.
Royalty splits fixed at formation
Each squad member's royalty split percentage is negotiated and encoded in the squad contract at formation. It covers all escrow distributions for the sprint. Splits are not renegotiable mid-sprint — this prevents disputes and protects all parties. After a sprint, new terms can be negotiated for the next engagement.
Automated payouts via Stripe Connect
When a milestone is approved and escrow releases, payouts to squad members are automated through Stripe Connect. No manual invoicing. No chasing. No platform staff required to process each payment. Squad members connect a Stripe account at onboarding and receive funds directly when milestones are approved.
PRI: portable developer reputation
Every squad engagement contributes to a developer's PRI (Professional Reliability Index) — a 0–100 score calculated from delivery history, milestone on-time rate, and escrow success. PRI is exportable as a cryptographically signed certificate, usable with external employers. Reputation built on Gameformers is portable, not platform-locked.
Common questions
What is the Steward's Carry?
Gameformers deducts 2.5% of each escrow release as the Steward's Carry — the platform's only fee. It funds operations and monthly Stewardship transparency reports. No upfront cost. No subscription. No fee until capital moves.
Does Gameformers take equity at signing?
No. SAFE notes do not transfer equity at the time of investment. Conversion terms are defined upfront and trigger only on a future priced round or liquidity event. Studios retain creative control and board seats throughout the squad engagement.
What happens to escrowed funds if a project stalls?
Escrowed funds are held in Stripe Connect and only release on milestone approval. If a project stalls before a milestone is delivered, funds remain locked and are subject to the dispute and dissolution terms agreed at squad formation.
How are royalty splits determined?
Royalty splits are negotiated and locked at squad formation. They cover all escrow disbursements for the squad's duration. The Steward's Carry (2.5%) is deducted first; the remainder distributes according to the agreed split among squad members and the founding studio.
Do I need revenue to qualify for funding?
No. Gameformers underwrites studios using Player Pulse behavioral scores — D1/D7/D30 retention data from structured playtests — not revenue history. A game with strong retention signals from 25 real player sessions qualifies for INVEST verdict and capital access regardless of prior revenue.
How long is a squad engagement?
Each squad engagement runs in 84-day sprints. A squad has up to 5 members. Royalty splits are fixed at formation for the sprint duration. After a sprint, parties can renegotiate or exit according to the contract terms.
Ready to submit your game for Player Pulse testing? No pitch deck required.