The Lead Developer of Unrest has a new post on the RPG Codex that explains the reasons behind the developer picking a publisher to help promote their game.
More information.(Lead Developer of Unrest here) I'm going to level with you here - the reason we went with a publisher was:
1. My previous game, Will Fight for Food has been on Greenlight for 626 days. It's currently #81, so assuming it stays that way it will be Greenlit in 2 months from now. That's basically 2 full years to pass greenlight, and I was very nervous about Unrest facing a similar situation. Even if I performed 10 times better, it would be two months to get Greenlit and appear on Steam's store. As a team of 5, we don't have the funds to stay afloat that long (the last two months of development have been out of our own pockets already). I know Valve are opening the floodgates and everything, but I just can't take the risk knowing how Valve time works.
2. The publisher we chose will also simplify the process of getting on other stores, which otherwise would take a lot of emailing/negotiating and some have strange requirements like having a US address and phone (I live in India), or insisting you sell the game at a price they want. Some also require invoices be sent in a specific format, which can be a right pain and cause delay in payments for no good reason.
3. They'll also help out with PR, which in this crowded market can be very valuable. As a (mostly) unknown developer, I need all the PR help I can get.
4. I still own all IP, and their terms are reasonable for what they're offering. Maybe I'm once bitten, twice shy but my entire game-making-livelihood is at stake here so I hope you forgive me if I was a little too cautious
