How Does Game Development Outsourcing with TDS Work?
A clear 5-step process from first conversation to delivered assets. No complexity, no surprises — just transparent collaboration.
How Does the Discovery Call Work?
Book a free strategy call with TDS. This is a 30-60 minute consultation where we discuss your project scope, timeline, art style, technical requirements, and team needs. We assess whether TDS is the right partner for your studio and recommend the best engagement model.
Unlike most outsourcing studios, TDS also provides a preliminary strategic assessment during the discovery call — covering your game's market positioning, target audience, and potential production approach.
Book Your Discovery CallWhat We Cover
- Project scope and vision
- Timeline and milestones
- Art style and technical requirements
- Team composition needs
- Engagement model recommendation
- Preliminary market and strategic assessment
Your Proposal Includes
- Detailed team composition and roles
- Deliverable specifications
- Milestone schedule with quality gates
- Transparent pricing in USD
- IP protection and NDA terms
- Strategic game assessment
What Does the Scope and Proposal Include?
After the discovery call, TDS delivers a detailed scope document within 5 business days. This covers team composition, specific deliverables, a milestone schedule with quality gate criteria, transparent pricing in USD, and IP protection terms.
TDS proposals also include our strategic assessment of your game — covering market positioning, target audience analysis, and production methodology recommendations. This strategic layer is what separates TDS from execution-only outsourcing studios.
How Does Team Assembly and Onboarding Work?
Once the proposal is approved, TDS assembles your dedicated team from our directly employed staff. Typical onboarding takes 1-2 weeks from signed agreement to production start.
During onboarding, your TDS team integrates into your existing tools — Slack, Jira, Shotgun, Perforce, or whatever your studio uses. We establish communication cadence, review cycles, and quality gate criteria. TDS adapts to your workflow — not the other way around.
Tools We Integrate With
Quality Gate Process
- Gate 1: Concept approval — art direction, style, and creative brief sign-off
- Gate 2: Blockout/greybox review — structure, layout, and functionality validation
- Gate 3: Production review — quality check on in-progress deliverables
- Gate 4: Polish pass — final refinement and integration testing
- Gate 5: Delivery sign-off — final approval and IP transfer
How Does Production and Milestone Delivery Work?
Your TDS team executes against the agreed milestone schedule with quality gates at each stage. Regular review sessions, transparent progress reporting, and iterative feedback cycles keep your project on track.
TDS provides strategic direction and creative feedback throughout production — not just at milestones. Your dedicated producer ensures communication flows smoothly and issues are resolved proactively.
What Happens at Delivery and Beyond?
Completed assets and deliverables are transferred with full IP assignment under Australian contract law. All source files, documentation, and production assets are included in the delivery package.
TDS offers ongoing support through retainer arrangements for live ops content, post-launch updates, DLC production, and future development phases. Many clients transition from project-based to ongoing partnership as their games evolve.
Delivery Package Includes
- All production assets and source files
- Full IP assignment documentation
- Technical specifications and asset guides
- Production documentation and process notes
- Ongoing support options and retainer proposal
Key Takeaway
TDS Game Outsource follows a structured 5-step engagement process: Strategy Call → Proposal → Onboarding (1-2 weeks) → Production with milestone delivery → Review and iteration. Every engagement includes a dedicated producer, structured quality gates, and transparent reporting.
Process FAQ
Typical onboarding takes 1-2 weeks from signed agreement to production start. This includes team briefing, tool integration, art style guide review, and establishing communication cadence.
TDS integrates into your existing toolset. We work with Slack, Discord, Jira, Shotgun, Monday.com, Perforce, Git, Google Drive, and other standard game production tools. We adapt to your workflow.
Each project has a defined milestone schedule with quality gates at each stage. TDS provides transparent progress reporting, regular review sessions, and iterative feedback cycles. Milestone payments are tied to approved deliverables.
Yes. TDS can scale team size up or down based on production needs. Additional team members can typically be onboarded within 1-2 weeks. This flexibility is a core advantage of the Supplementary Studio Services tier.