Come learn about funding options, publisher relations and how to approach pitching your game with industry vet Dino Patti (Ex-CEO and Co-Founder of PLAYDEAD (LIMBO & INSIDE)).
The Indie Survival Guide is Unity's ongoing effort to demystify the business side of indie game development. From funding to publishing, from pitching to building a community, this series connects you directly with developers, investors, and other industry folks.
This guide draws from a live stream interview with Dino Patti, co-founder and former CEO of Playdead (LIMBO, INSIDE) and current CEO of coherence, a multiplayer networking SDK built to help small and mid-size teams build scalable online games without the headache.
Dino has raised over $25 million in funding across multiple companies and has personally pitched to publishers, investors, governments, and platform holders. He’s also been on the other side of the table, reviewing hundreds of pitches. His insights, drawn from decades of game-making and fundraising, are a useful guide for any developer serious about getting their game funded.
Come learn about funding options, publisher relations and how to approach pitching your game with industry vet Dino Patti (Ex-CEO and Co-Founder of PLAYDEAD (LIMBO & INSIDE)).
Here’s how to prepare and pitch your indie game.
Before you open a deck or build a demo, Dino suggests going deeper: What’s the core of your idea? What makes it stand out? Investors and publishers are pitched hundreds of games a year. Most of them blur together. The games that stick have a clear vision, a unique emotional hook, and a reason to exist beyond "this game meets that game."
"It’s much more important that you have the packaging right... the practicality is like: what’s the team, what’s the genre, what is your twist to the genre... but it starts with the key art,” he says. “What does this look like? One thing is key art that is drawn, but also what does the game look like inside the game? How does it move?"
Dino shared the story of a developer whose deep knowledge of firearms (and access to a family-run gun range) gave his game’s gunplay a unique feel — something you can't fake. That specificity matters. It’s what turns a good pitch into a compelling one.
“Every team has to kind of explore that. If you just do a copy of another game, it doesn't cut it anymore... What’s your twist? What’s your lens?” he says. “Find out what you’re really good at, that you feel that you're better at than nobody else is, and kind of double down on this... that is your superpower there. Find out, nail that."
The goal is to root your pitch in why you, not just why this game. Show the spark only your team can bring. This step is about identity. You can't just be another pixel platformer. You're your pixel platformer for this reason. Find that. Then build everything else around it.
Investors and publishers want proof: that you have a team, that you can execute, and that the game has a hook.
"Everybody has game ideas, everybody is a game designer, I promise you. But it’s extremely hard to go through a process of creating the game,” he says. “Having one or two persons on the team that have done that is massive value."
When should you start pitching? According to Dino, the answer is simple: when you need money. But when you pitch, come prepared. That means bringing more than just ideas. A killer demo, a few pieces of emotionally charged key art, or even just a prototype that communicates the feel of your game goes a long way.
“The more value you can create — and the more perceived value you can create — the more you can raise. Stretch your own money as far as possible... but the more you can show, the better,” he says. “For me it’s something visual. If there’s a demo, it’s even better. If you’ve put together the right team already — the best. If not, at least have people ready to go.”
A strong pitch isn’t just creative — it’s credible. Dino encourages devs to think like a business, and anticipate the questions funders will ask: Who’s working on this? What’s the budget? How much are you asking for — and why?
“Come with everything you have. Be prepared on your team, be prepared with questions like: where’s the IP? Who’s working on it? Are they full time? Are they willing to go full time?” he says, “One of the first meetings I was in with Eidos... we had no budget. We came with smiles and an After Effects movie. They were already almost throwing us out. It made us seem so unprofessional — which we were, to their defense.”
And don’t underestimate the power of early traction. Dino calls this “market validation,” and it’s increasingly the difference-maker in a sea of Steam releases.
“If you can release a video that’s been seen by 5,000, 200,000, a million people — that counts huge these days. Wishlist numbers. Press mentions. A TikTok that blew up. That’s early validation,” he says. “Now, you can’t see a hit. Look at Balatro. If you’d showed it to me, I’d say, that’s a cute game. But it took off. That’s why validation has become above everything else.”
Dino is clear on this: emotional resonance beats mechanical novelty. Too many developers lead with systems and bullet points. But it's the feeling of the game that makes a pitch memorable. Your pitch should focus on why this game matters, not how every system works. Dino advises focusing on the emotional hook — the why now and why you — over the technical specs.
"Coming just with a mechanic, which I see a lot—I don’t think that’s as powerful,” he says. “Because game mechanics are so easy to copy. They’re not packaged a lot of times. I don’t know why you’re doing the thing you’re doing."
Your pitch isn’t a product sheet—it’s a story. Whether it’s a short film, vertical slice, or strong key art, your materials should convey the game’s emotional tone at a glance. If someone “gets it” without you explaining it, you’re on the right track.
"Prepare them for an experience. Sit them down. Be quiet. I think you should do a demo where you can be quiet and say nothing. Demo should speak for itself," he says. “There’s nothing worse than being explained a demo."
You have less time than you think. Especially at events like GDC, where meetings often last just 20–30 minutes. Dino recommends trimming your pitch to the essentials—and then shutting up.
"At GDC, as I said, maximum half an hour and even shorter—maybe 20 minutes. Because you also want to add time for questions and so on... that’s a five-minute ‘how are you doing,’ maybe 10 minutes that’s you showing your pitch deck, and then it’s you playing your demo," he says. “There’s a classic onion, right? You have the outside, that’s the quickest down-and-dirty pitch. And then, you know, if you have longer time, you peel it off and dig a bit deeper."
Your job is not to answer every question before it's asked. It’s to make your audience care enough to ask questions at all.
Time is limited. Be respectful, be sharp, and stay on message. Once you’re in the room — or the Zoom — the clock starts ticking. Dino stresses that your job isn't to explain every mechanic. It's to connect with whoever is listening and leave them wanting more.
A great pitch to the wrong audience is a wasted opportunity. Dino emphasizes how different types of funders (VCs, publishers, grants, etc.) care about very different things. You must tailor your pitch.
"If you pitch to a VC, you should really not focus on the game,” he says. “It almost doesn’t matter... they care about: What is the audience potential? What other games in this sector have earned a lot of money? Why do you think you can scale this?"
Conversely, publishers are much more acquainted with the space, and you don’t need to set up as much backdrop.
"If there's a good publisher, they know the space,” he says. “You hopefully pitched your RTS to Paradox. You don’t need to convince them that RTS games are popular."
That also means asking the right questions of your potential partners. Don’t just let them vet you, vet them right back.
“It’s super reasonable to ask your publisher: how do you work with us? Do you have a dedicated producer?” he says. “When you say QA, does that mean we’re paying for it or is it part of the deal? Ask those questions before you send them your game.”
Regardless of who you’re pitching to, you need to be prepared in both materials, team representation, and mindset.
"Whoever can convey that vision on the team best—I think should do it. It doesn’t need to be the CEO or, like, you know, it could be the coder if they are the one that are best at doing this," he says. “I think a really good amount is two [people at the pitch]... there’s nothing worse than speaking on behalf of others. I tried that a lot of times—it feels so stupid and it feels inauthentic for the receiver.”
"There’s a bulk ton of work afterwards where a VC or publisher want to ensure that you didn’t do a bad contract with your artist, or with the music... the more of that you can prepare, the better."
Fundraising isn’t just about getting money. It’s about building relationships, earning trust, and proving that you know what you’re doing. That starts with preparation. Dino Patti has seen both sides of the pitch table, and his advice cuts through the noise: Know what makes your game different. Show it, don’t explain it. Respect people’s time. Do your homework. And be honest about what you need and why.
If you want to keep learning from developers like Dino, stay tuned to the Indie Survival Guide series here on Unity. And if you're curious about Dino's latest project, explore coherence—a powerful multiplayer SDK made by game devs, for game devs.