Agenda
The Hidden Cost of Co-Development
Carla Rylance (Head of Business Solutions, XDS Spark)
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Track:
Business Strategy, Production & Team Leadership
Audience Level:
Intermediate
Format:
Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: Intermediate
Co-development has become an essential part of modern game development, but many of its greatest challenges remain hidden until they begin affecting schedules, budgets and product quality. Drawing on years of industry research from XDS, alongside two decades of experience leading external development across multiple AAA studios, Carla Rylance explores the hidden operational costs that quietly undermine successful partnerships. From onboarding and communication debt to knowledge loss, short-term decision making and transactional relationships, this session examines the risks that often go unnoticed until they become expensive production problems. Rather than focusing on vendor selection or contract negotiation, the presentation provides practical, evidence-backed insights into how studios can build healthier, more resilient co-development partnerships that reduce operational risk and improve long-term delivery.
Takeaway
Attendees learn how to identify the hidden operational costs that increase risk in co-development, and gain practical strategies to improve onboarding, communication, knowledge retention and partner relationships, helping their studios build more resilient external development practices and avoid costly production inefficiencies.
Intended Audience
This session is intended for producers, external development managers, directors and studio leaders responsible for building or managing co-development partnerships. Attendees should already understand the fundamentals of working with external teams and be looking to improve the effectiveness and resilience of their existing practices.