I guess the fact that many distributors are digital these days adds to the confusion. It's good to always clarify these roles:
1. Publisher (those who fund the development). In case of CDPR they are self published (i.e. they are their own publishers).
2. Printer / manufacturer (those who produce physical media). CDPR have several partners for this, such as Bandai Namko, WB Games and so on.
3. Distributor (either digital or retail). CDPR have several partners for both physical and digital distribution (same Bandai Namko, WB Games, Steam and etc.), and they as well self distribute their games through GOG.
Once you have these 3 explained, the picture is usually clear. Confusion arises from the fact that in many scenarios one entity can be either all 3, or just 2 & 3, or just 3. And they are confusingly called "publishers". Even Wikipedia which usually aspires for clarity falls victim of this confusion. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher_3:_Wild_Hunt
The game card on the right lists various companies as "publishers" and readers have no clue what it means by just looking at it.
Which actually gives me an idea to propose to Wikipedia to redesign the game card template to include more detailed info.
1. Publisher (those who fund the development). In case of CDPR they are self published (i.e. they are their own publishers).
2. Printer / manufacturer (those who produce physical media). CDPR have several partners for this, such as Bandai Namko, WB Games and so on.
3. Distributor (either digital or retail). CDPR have several partners for both physical and digital distribution (same Bandai Namko, WB Games, Steam and etc.), and they as well self distribute their games through GOG.
Once you have these 3 explained, the picture is usually clear. Confusion arises from the fact that in many scenarios one entity can be either all 3, or just 2 & 3, or just 3. And they are confusingly called "publishers". Even Wikipedia which usually aspires for clarity falls victim of this confusion. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher_3:_Wild_Hunt
The game card on the right lists various companies as "publishers" and readers have no clue what it means by just looking at it.
Which actually gives me an idea to propose to Wikipedia to redesign the game card template to include more detailed info.
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