Hello, I am working on a game (starting to program and converting art to 3D). But before I even touch the completion of my game, a big question came to mind. I do not have a company and do I need to have a company to publish my first game independently?

This is more for the Europe /Belgian people. Is there anywhere I can find the laws about this, or can I just publish the game without having a "one man company" registered to the officials and just pay the needed taxes from the money that I earned for it?

(this is all hypothetically since the chances are big that it is gonna be free to play.)
And although this game might become free, I still want to know this kind of information for further projects.

I don't know if this thread is posted right, but if its not please notice me so I can replace it.


Greetings Mark



sneak peak in the first level design:
[attachment=11845:room sketch1.jpg]

No, you don't need a company yet. Don't worry about stuff like this. If you finish your game, there'll be loads of time to sort this out then. Write code, sort out other problems later.

I asked a guy who used to go to my university and started up his own business (which is now pretty successful) a similar question, and he said that there is no point in worrying about the business side of releasing your first game until it is completed, because if you spend time learning about the intricacies of the business side of releasing your game while developing it, you're going to waste a lot of time. He said his team spent 10 months researching and taking care of business issues before their product was done, and said the time would've been much better spent perfecting it, releasing it, making money, and THEN using the money to hire lawyers and advisors whose daily job it is to take care of those things.

I've no experience in actually releasing a game (though I will soon, which is why I asked him), and this is second-hand information, just to point that out.

I don't think you need a laywer, or much research really. Just ask an accountant about the tax laws in your country, and he can tell you if you need to register (for tax) before starting to sell.

Then stop worrying about it until you actually make money.

Here in sweden, you can also get cost free advice about doing business from various organisations, some tax funded, that are meant to stimulate businesses in the local area. There might be some like that in Belgium too.