Javier F. Otaegui—Sabarasa Entertainment
<javier@sabarasa.com>
The classical definition of outsourcing applies when a company transfers one or more recurring processes to another organization under a contractual agreement. Outsourcing is different from subcontracting and other similar business practices in that it focuses on recurring processes instead of one-time projects [Kelly01].
In the game development community, outsourcing and subcontracting mean the same thing: a game company hiring another company to handle a task such as programming, 2D art, modeling, texturing, audio design, music, scripting, levels, research, testing, or even complete development.
Offshore outsourcing occurs when a company located in another country (usually outside of North America and Western Europe) is hired. The main justification for this growing phenomenon is monetary: offshore game development professionals can be hired for a fractional part of what U.S. or European game developers earn [Yourdon96]. This can imply savings of up to 50% for the entire project budget, a significant and important figure to take into account for your new game development projects.