WHAT MAKES A GREAT CO-DEV PARTNER?
Dan Browne, production manager at Airship shares some lessons from the front lines W
hen I tell people I work in co-development, the first reaction I often get is, “Oh, so you’re outsourcing.” But co-dev isn’t
outsourcing, not when it’s done right. It’s a creative and technical partnership. One where success isn’t just about capability, but compatibility. Not just about delivering assets, but delivering trust. At Airmergent, we’ve been in the trenches of co-
dev for years, collaborating with some of the biggest names in games. We’ve seen what works, and more importantly, what doesn’t. If there’s one lesson I’ve learned from the front lines, it’s this:
CO-DEV ONLY WORKS WHEN BOTH SIDES SHARE OWNERSHIP Too often, studios approach co-development like a transaction: here’s the brief, here’s the deadline, here’s the vendor. But that mindset almost guarantees misalignment, rework, and friction. The best relationships start differently — with a mindset shift. It’s not about ‘client’ and ‘vendor.’ It’s about building something together. A shared creative mission. Shared ownership means asking why, not just what.
It means proactively flagging risks and offering smarter alternatives. It means understanding how your work fits into the broader game loop — what it connects to,
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what it impacts downstream, and why it matters to the player experience. We’ve had the most success when we’ve been treated
as an extension of the client team, not a bolt-on service. It changes how everyone shows up to the project — less box-ticking, more problem-solving. In an industry where problems are inevitable, that shift is everything.
ALIGNMENT BEATS EXECUTION SPEED EVERY TIME There’s often pressure in game development to get a co-dev team ‘plugged in’ fast. Milestones are looming. Resources are tight. It’s easy to think the faster we get started, the faster we’ll deliver. But in my experience, rushing the alignment phase is
where most problems begin. Before any tasks are assigned, before a single line
of code or pixel of art is delivered, teams need to sync deeply on three core areas: • Creative direction – what’s the art style? What tone are we hitting? How immersive does this world need to feel?
• Technical expectations – are we working in UE4 or UE5? What are the LOD requirements? What’s the performance target for different platforms?
• Workflow structure – what’s the cadence for builds
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