Publisher recoup: three contracts, the same Steam sales

How the outstanding recoup balance and payment order change studio receipts at identical sales.

Use one common starting point

Take $99,750 of receipts after Valve from the linked sales example. Hold sales, refunds and consumer tax constant. We will compare only how a hypothetical publisher agreement distributes that amount. These are contract models, not an assertion that all publishing agreements work this way.

Scenario 1: self-published

With no publisher and no recoup, all $99,750 remains with the studio before other deductions. After $50,000 of its own costs, the modelled result is $49,750. This is the reference point; it does not measure the value of the funding, marketing or distribution a publisher might provide.

Scenario 2: full recoup, then an 80/20 split

Assume $50,000 of publisher funding remains to be recouped. Allocate 100% of available receipts to this balance first: $50,000 repays it, leaving $49,750. The publisher takes 20% of that remainder, or $9,950. The studio receives $39,800. Its result after its separate $50,000 costs is −$10,200. In this example the publisher receives $50,000 of recoup plus $9,950 of its contractual share; the two amounts have different purposes.

Scenario 3: half of receipts go to recoup

Now assume an outstanding balance of $100,000 and a rule allocating only 50% of current receipts to recoup. Recoup receives $49,875, leaving an unpaid balance of $50,125. Split the other $49,875 with 20% to the publisher: $9,975 to the publisher and $39,900 to the studio. After the same studio costs, the result is −$10,100. The studio receives slightly more cash now than in scenario 2, while a much larger recoup balance remains.

The order can matter more than the headline percentage

A contract that first splits revenue and then recoups from the studio’s allocated share can produce a different result. So can cross-collateralisation between games, a changing publisher percentage, an advance that is partly non-recoupable, or a minimum payment. The calculator implements the stated recoup-then-split model. It does not turn every agreement into that model automatically. Optional withholding assumes the studio is Valve’s direct payee; leave that module off when the actual payment chain is different.

What to fix in the financial schedule

Write down the revenue definition, permitted deductions, who receives the platform payment, which costs enter recoup, the outstanding balance and reporting period. Then specify the recoup allocation and the split of the remainder. Identify whether any royalty uses sales before Valve or the studio’s receipts. Keep the studio’s own expenses separate from publisher-funded recoup. Save each proposed agreement as a separate scenario and compare both current receipts and the balance still to repay.