Business license and game distribution
I'm wanting to release my game after I'm finished working on it through the Union service from Unity. I know my game will need a website, and I'll need to buy a real domain name and E-Mail address for the domain. But after that I'm kinda confused as to what else I need to do. Do I need to get a business license (I'm in the US) and form a company (probably a sole proprietorship or an LLC) before I sell the game? If I don't get it through Union I'm going to publish it myself on Steam and (if possible) OnLive. And also, as the owner of the company, do child labor laws still apply to me (I'm not 18 yet)? I have a working game and I'm getting ready to put together demos and videos of my game soon, so I do actually have a product that I'm ready to start thinking about business options for distribution. What else do I need to do? How do taxes apply to online sales of games?
Taxes apply to any income you make.
There's a Small Business Administration office near you (www.sba.gov) -- go there, ask them your questions. They're there to help you, and it's all free help.
There's a Small Business Administration office near you (www.sba.gov) -- go there, ask them your questions. They're there to help you, and it's all free help.
Taxes apply to any income you make.
There's a Small Business Administration office near you (www.sba.gov) -- go there, ask them your questions. They're there to help you, and it's all free help.
Alright, thanks for the advice. Has anyone here published a game through Union before?
do child labor laws still apply to me (I'm not 18 yet)?
Labor laws certainly apply if you are working. Exactly what those would be depends on local law. In the UK people under a certain age are only allowed to work a limited number of hours over a set period of time. How anyone would know the number of hours you worked is of course a different matter.
One other important issue is that in many countries a minor can't sign a legally binding contract so (again, depending on the law where you are) you may need to get an adult to sign any agreements.
[quote name='3DModelerMan' timestamp='1305421026' post='4810910']
do child labor laws still apply to me (I'm not 18 yet)?
Labor laws certainly apply if you are working. Exactly what those would be depends on local law. In the UK people under a certain age are only allowed to work a limited number of hours over a set period of time. How anyone would know the number of hours you worked is of course a different matter.
One other important issue is that in many countries a minor can't sign a legally binding contract so (again, depending on the law where you are) you may need to get an adult to sign any agreements.
[/quote]
Yeah, I'm going to have my parents sign the agreements for the game. I'm really excited by the game though, I'm going to show it off here soon. When I prepare to do that though, I won't have a company. Can I still say "Created by 'insert company name here'" when I'm showing it off? I guess I could call it the team name until I get an actual company. What I meant about the labor laws was that I would be working on the game for a certain amount of time each day, and I wanted to know if it was limited how long I could work (by anyone other than my parents of course) on any given day?
1. Can I still say "Created by 'insert company name here'" when I'm showing it off? I guess I could call it the team name until I get an actual company.
2. What I meant about the labor laws was that I would be working on the game for a certain amount of time each day, and I wanted to know if it was limited how long I could work (by anyone other than my parents of course) on any given day?
1. What difference does it make, and why don't you just say YOU made it?
2. Ask the SBA, or look up the information on your state government's website. But since it's YOU who's cracking the whip on you (not some evil cigar-chomping industry magnate), I imagine it's a non-issue.
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