Game Publishing Support

Light the
Way.

Hourly Rates No Revenue Share You Keep Your IP No Lock-in Contracts

The industry is stacked against indie developers. We're not. Hidden Level gives you access to veteran publishing expertise — exactly when you need it, billed by the hour. No percentages, no handcuffs, no surprises.

9%
Games that
recoup costs
0%
Revenue share
we take
12+
Services
available
Pay for What You Use Keep Your Revenue Veteran Expertise No Long-Term Contracts Built for Indie Developers Results Without the BS Pay for What You Use Keep Your Revenue Veteran Expertise No Long-Term Contracts Built for Indie Developers Results Without the BS
The Problem

Publishing is
Broken.

01

Traditional Publishers Take Too Much

Revenue shares, creative control, ownership clauses — the standard deal costs you far more than money. You built the game. You shouldn't hand over a piece of it.

02

Generic Agencies Don't Know Games

Marketing agencies that happen to work with games aren't the same as people who've shipped games. The difference shows — in strategy, in messaging, and in results.

03

All-or-Nothing Contracts Burn Studios

Paying for services you don't need, for longer than you need them, locks you into a deal that serves the agency — not your game. We work differently.

04

The Odds Are Already Against You

Only 9% of indie games recoup their development costs. The rest fail to reach the players who would've loved them. That's a discovery problem — and it's fixable.

91% Of indie games never recover costs

That number exists because great games go unseen — not because they weren't worth making. Hidden Level exists to close that gap with the expertise that used to be locked behind publisher deals.

The Solution

À La Carte.
Veteran-Level.

Pick the services you need. Work with people who've done it before. Pay by the hour. Keep everything you've built.


What We Do

Full-Stack
Support.

Every service we offer is available on its own, or combined into a custom engagement built around your release.

Marketing

We build the brand and the audience. From positioning and store page optimization to full go-to-market strategy — everything a publisher would do, without the strings attached.

Branding GTM Strategy Steam Optimization Campaign Management
Media Buying

Paid acquisition done by people who know how gamers think. We run ad spend across platforms efficiently, targeting the exact audience your game deserves.

Paid Social Display YouTube Performance Analytics
Community Management

Your players need a home. We build and run Discord servers, social channels, and community programs that keep fans engaged well past launch day.

Discord Socials Moderation Events
Press Relations

Press coverage doesn't happen by accident. We have the contacts, the timing instincts, and the craft to get your game in front of the journalists and content creators who matter.

Media Outreach Press Kits Review Keys Influencer Strategy
Release Management

Launches fail when the timing, coordination, and platform relationships aren't locked in. We manage the full release pipeline so nothing slips through the cracks on the most important day.

Launch Planning Platform Submission Day-One Support
Production Support

Sometimes you need a veteran producer in your corner — someone who can spot risks, tighten timelines, and make sure the build heading to cert is actually ready.

Milestone Reviews Risk Assessment Team Coordination
Quality Assurance

Bugs at launch kill momentum. Our QA team tests your game with the rigour of platform certification, making sure the version players download is the version you're proud of.

Functional QA Cert Prep Regression Testing
Localization

Global markets require more than translation. We handle localization from text and VO to cultural adaptation — giving your game the best possible version of itself in every territory.

Text Voice-Over Cultural Adaptation LQA
Business Development

Ports, partnerships, platform deals, licensing — there's a wider commercial landscape around your game than most studios explore. We map it and make the right introductions.

Platform Deals Porting Partners Licensing Co-Publishing
Business Intelligence

Data you can act on. We track market trends, player behaviour, and competitive landscapes to give you the strategic clarity needed to make smart decisions at every stage.

Market Analysis Competitor Research Player Insights
Live Ops

Your game doesn't stop at launch — neither do we. Events, seasonal updates, retention campaigns: live ops is where long-term player relationships are built and revenue is sustained.

Live Events Seasonal Content Retention Strategy
Sales & Distribution

Getting on storefronts is the start, not the finish. We manage retail and digital distribution relationships to make sure your game is visible, priced competitively, and positioned to sell.

Digital Retail Physical Distribution Pricing Strategy

Trusted by developers and studios of all sizes
Mega Cat Studios
Indie Studio A
Mid-Tier Dev Co
AA Publisher
Solo Developer
Startup Studio
Mobile Games Co
Console Specialist
Our Work

Games We've
Powered.

See All Projects →
01
Project Alpha
Marketing Press Relations Community
02
Project Beta
Media Buying Release Management
03
Project Gamma
Business Development Marketing Press Relations
04
Project Delta
QA Localization Live Ops

Our Model

Not a Publisher.
Better.

Hidden Level is a publishing support collective. We're not a publisher taking a slice of your revenue. We're not an agency padding hours on a retainer. We're a group of veterans who've shipped games at every scale — and now we work directly for developers.

Every engagement is custom. You pick the services. We quote the hours. You pay for results, not overhead. There are no revenue share clauses, no IP grabs, and no minimum term commitments. If we're not delivering, you're free to walk.

That accountability keeps us sharp. It's also why our clients come back — and why they refer other developers to us.

Zero Revenue Share

What you earn is yours. Every dollar of it.

Full Transparency

You see exactly where every hour goes and why.

You Keep Your IP

No contracts that sign away what you've created.

Genuine Veterans

Seasoned professionals who've shipped across every platform and scale.

Hourly Billing Only

No retainer padding. No minimum spends. Pay for hours worked.

What Developers Say

The Results
Speak.

"Working with Hidden Level changed how we think about launching a game. They didn't oversell, didn't overpromise, and delivered at every single milestone. The press coverage alone was worth the engagement."

AL
Alex L.
Founder, Indie Studio

"Every other publisher we spoke to wanted a revenue cut and creative input. Hidden Level just... helped. No agenda, no interference, just expert execution on the things we didn't have bandwidth for."

MR
Marcus R.
Creative Director, AA Studio

"The hourly model sounds simple until you realise how much money it saves you compared to any retainer or rev-share deal. We got senior expertise on demand without paying for a full team we didn't need."

SK
Sarah K.
Studio Head, 6-person Team

"Our community grew 4x in the six weeks before launch. The press rollout was flawless. And at the end of it I still owned 100% of my game. That's the Hidden Level difference — it sounds obvious, but it's rare."

JP
James P.
Solo Developer

Who We Are

A Collective of
Veterans.

We don't hire generalists. Every person on the Hidden Level roster has shipped games — often at studios or publishers you know. That experience is what you're buying access to.

JD
James Deighan
CEO / Strategy
MK
Marketing Lead
Marketing
PR
Press Lead
Press Relations
CM
Community Lead
Community Mgmt
BD
BizDev Lead
Business Dev
QA
QA Specialist
Quality Assurance
LO
Live Ops Lead
Live Operations
LZ
Localization Lead
Localization
MB
Media Buyer
Media Buying
PS
Production Lead
Production Support

Your Game
Deserves Better.

Tell us what you're building. We'll tell you exactly what we can do and what it'll cost. No pitch deck needed — just a conversation.

Start the Conversation