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Electronic Arts has pledged to host crowdfunded games on its Origin platform without charging developers any “distribution fees” for a 90-day grace period.
Within that crucial first three months of a game’s release, studios hosting crowdfunded content on Origin will not pay any publishing fees or have to share revenue.
The only exception is transaction fees (such as from Credit Card vendors), where a small percentage of revenue will be used to reimburse EA for the charges incurred.
The publisher will make no money during this grace period, an EA representative told Develop.
On the back of a Kickstarter craze that has swept through the games development sector, EA revealed plans to publish a number of popular games financed through the popular crowdfunding platform.
The major coup so far is Wasteland 2, an upcoming RPG built by California studio inXile Entertainment.
The project amassed $2.9 million during an extraordinary month of bidding on the Kickstarter platform.
"I have had a long relationship with EA and it is great to see them recognise and support the crowd-funded games model," said inXile CEO Brian Fargo.
"Having Origin waive their distribution fees for 90 days for fan funded games is a major economic bonus for small developers. We look forward to bringing Wasteland 2 to the Origin audience,” he added.
Further financial arrangements following the 90-day grace period are unclear. EA does not reveal its royalty rates or fees for publishing on its Origin platform.
It is beleived that more than 12 million accounts have signed up to Origin.
More details on the Origin deal can be found here.
