What do you do if your game release fails and you want to come back stronger?

The first step is to understand what went wrong and analyze the feedback to devise a strategy to correct what is possible. After potential corrections, focus on promotions and advertising, show your community that you've fixed the errors and care about them, promote free keys, bring in new people, and if possible, content creators.

Well analysis of what went wrong should be the first step, Like if there are frame drops , is the pacing of story not ideal or your there is an issue between balancing different mechanics or their rewards . Once you figure out the issue then its all about how you tackle it

Start and gathering and analyzing feedback from players, critics and your own team. Look for common threads in the criticism. Does not overlook positive feedback either it can guide you on what elements to retain or expand upon in your next project.

It's useful to do a post mortem or large retrospective with your team members to drill into the potential issues, blockers, and what worked well. Such sessions should hold no judgement, be open and honest, and allow everyone to give their perspective. Take the salient points and use them to drive process improvements for the next game (or future updates to your game). This is especially important for new teams!

Take the time to gather feedback from players, reviewers, and industry professionals to understand what went wrong and identify areas for improvement. Pay attention to both positive and negative feedback, as they can provide valuable insights into what resonated with players and what fell short of expectations. Look for common themes or patterns in the feedback to pinpoint specific aspects of the game that need attention. Additionally, consider seeking feedback from your development team and other trusted sources to gain different perspectives on the game's strengths and weaknesses.

Once you identify the weakness adjust your development strategy according to that. This might mean rethinking your design process. Consider weather your marketing strategy effectively reached your target audience or if their were missteps that you can avoid in the future.

Ideally , all the development you do should be done keeping in mind that if needs to be changed that the work to be put in should not be too much For eg: If there is some issue in your design related to the amount of XP the player gains or amount of damage the player deals or receives from enemies etc. If you developed these classes to support data driven development i.e.. Use of Data Tables etc. then at a later point in time the designer can tweak the values to their liking without much dependency on the programming team. Thus identifying a process keeping future in mind during your development is something that one should think about

Take your greatest strengths, find a gap in the market and place yourself in the middle of this Venn diagram. There will be things you and your team did that are outstanding relative to all others, and this should be identified and exploited. Keep your ambitions high, but achievable and identify multiple avenues that you and your team can go down using your specific skill set. This way, you are prepared to pivot direction when market forces or external factors change the environment.

Start by conducting a thorough post-mortem analysis to identify the root causes of the failure, whether it's related to marketing, gameplay mechanics, or target audience mismatch. Based on these findings, reassess your game development process, marketing approach, and target audience to determine areas where adjustments can be made. Consider factors such as market trends, player preferences, and competitor analysis to inform your strategy moving forward. Be willing to adapt and pivot as needed, whether it involves refining game mechanics, revamping marketing efforts, or exploring new distribution channels.

Not a single project you'll finish will be 100% what you wanted it to be, so there will be things in your mind for sure. Take that plus the feedback of others and adjust your strategy. Your new path could mean a reduction in scope. Focus in another genre. Trying another market or engine. It's too specific to say. But rest assured, as long as you made something and are paying attention to feedback and market, you'll be able to figure out next steps.

It's important to dedicate time to improve your game development skills in areas where you may have fallen short. Begin by identifying specific areas such as game design, programming, art, or marketing where you need to strengthen your expertise. You can enroll in courses, read books, and practice hands-on projects to deepen your knowledge and proficiency. Collaborating with other developers or joining online communities to learn from their experiences and gain valuable insights can also be very helpful. By continuously enhancing your skills, you'll be better equipped to overcome challenges and create more successful game releases in the future.

Sure, it's important to identify your weak points, but this is highly dependant on your situation. If you're a solo dev and your game failed on visuals, it's sometimes unreasonable to assume you can upskill in 3d modelling to the level that you need. In some situations this may be appropriate, but in others, it may be better to focus on your strengths, and provide a product that doesn't rely on visuals, and becomes successful because of how good you are at your speciality. It might also be the case that you should find others who are skilled in areas that you are lacking, and form business relationships with them.

Seek out learning opportunities such as online courses, tutorials, workshops, or mentorship programs to sharpen your skills and expand your knowledge base. Additionally, consider collaborating with other developers or joining game development communities to gain valuable insights and feedback. By investing in skill enhancement, you can not only address any weaknesses that may have contributed to the failed release but also become better equipped to create compelling and successful games in the future.

If everything else fails, focusing on skills is rarely a misstep. Specially if you're stuck or feeling a bit down, make yourself better. Not only will it help morale, but it'll often bring new insights and ideas that you otherwise couldn't have.

It's important not to try to please everyone, and add every single feature that is suggested, as this quickly leads to both burn out, and product that loses its identity and original concept. Instead, find themes that emerge from the feedback, and try to integrate those suggestions into a feature you're happy with.

This is something that is often overlooked because it feels "outside" of game development. And yeah, it is not development per se. But that being said, focusing on a community can completely change your future as a developer. Whether it's receiving constant feedback, emotional support, boosting visibility in algorithms, or gaining unique insights, having a community is an invaluable asset. Make the time for it if you can.

Well if you iterate quickly chances are you find a bug early in the dev stage so you get that fixed , However at a later point what if you have developed many functionalities bases on a previous code base that had the bug So it becomes difficult to tackle and also is more expensive to fix in terms of man hours and other metrics So iterating early in the dev stage is always a good process

Smaller projects have the benefit of testing the waters to see if there is appetite for your idea or concept. Consider releasing such games into an early access model, where players can provide feedback that you can work with to iteratively expand your game. However, remember the point above about not trying to add every feature or idea that is suggested.

The "fail faster" moto can feel repetitive sometimes, but its very true for gamedev. Another way of looking at it is that at all times you're at X iterations from a great version of your game. The faster you can iterate, the faster you'll get there. So put things in place in order to maximize iteration times. Whenever you have a choice as a developer, think in how fast is it to test something and or how can you improve a pipeline in order to optimize for speed. But don't overdo it either! Some things don't need to be quick to test because they'll be one of those "one and done" features. Identify what you test every day or every week and optimize iteration times on those.

Failures are learning curves to success. Treat them as moments to gain knowledge rather than simply a loss. There is much to gain in loss. Take every opportunity to learn something new.

Don't let your past failures take over you. Use your failures, learn what went wrong, where it went wrong, and why it happened. Try not to make the same mistakes again.

Don't give up. If making games is your dream, keep releasing them, "failure" after "failure." But fail upwards, become a better developer as time goes on. All of the skills acquired from the process, from ideation to release, will make you a master of the life cycle and provide you with a solid foundation in the business of making games. If you're doing it for the love, you can't fail - the amount of downloads you have plays absolutely no role its success.

If your game release falls flat, regroup by analyzing feedback, identifying weaknesses, and engaging with your community. Update the game with patches and expansions, reinforce marketing efforts, and host events. Stay agile, focus on the long-term vision, and learn from the experience to come back stronger. BOOOMMMMM

Take care of your mental and physical health. Creativity and problem-solving abilities are enhanced by self-care. Get a business/entrepreneurship education to complement technical skills. Projects require management chops. Polish your communication and social skills. Much collaboration happens face-to-face or virtually. Consider certifications that validate expertise in areas like programming, art, and testing.