How to find a programmer or teammate for your indie game
A lot of indie games stall because one person is trying to do everything. I'm making my own game too, and this is how I'd go about finding a programmer, designer or teammate to build it with.
- Decide if it's paid work, rev share or a hobby project, and say it up front.
- Name the role you need, your engine, and the systems they'd build.
- Look for people with playable builds in your engine and genre.
- Start with a small test task before you commit to the whole game.
- Put credit, pay, code ownership and "what if someone leaves" in writing.
1. Decide what kind of team you're building
Before you look for anyone, be honest about the deal. There are three common setups:
- Paid work. You pay per hour, per task or per milestone. It's the clearest setup and the easiest to plan around.
- Revenue share. Everyone gets a cut if the game earns money. It can work, but most rev share games earn very little, so only offer it if you're putting in real work too.
- Hobby or jam project. No money, just making something together. Great for learning and for finding people you click with.
Whatever you pick, put it in your first message. People skip posts that hide it.
2. Name the role, the engine and the work
"Looking for a coder" gets you nowhere. Say what you actually need:
- The role: gameplay programmer, systems or tools programmer, network programmer, game designer, level designer, technical artist, writer, producer, QA
- Your engine and version: Unity, Unreal, Godot, GameMaker, RPG Maker or your own engine, plus the language (C#, C++, GDScript, Blueprints)
- The systems: movement and combat, inventory, save and load, dialogue, AI, multiplayer, procedural generation, UI, porting
- How much time: a few hours a week, half time, or full time, and for how long
Tip: Multiplayer, porting to consoles and procedural generation are specialist work. If your game leans on one of them, look for someone who has shipped it before.
3. Find people who've built games like yours
Good places to look:
- Game jams. Jam entries show what someone can finish in a weekend, and jam teams often stay together.
- Engine communities, like the Unity, Unreal, Godot and GameMaker Discord servers and forums, where many have a looking-for-team channel.
- itch.io pages of small games you like. The credits are a list of people who can ship.
- ComposerScout, where game dev profiles show their roles, engines, genres and real builds. In Find a teammate you pick up to three roles, your engine and your genres, and it shows the people who fit best and why. You can also post a role and mark it paid, rev share or either.
4. Look at what they've shipped, not just what they say
A great résumé doesn't tell you how someone works on a small team. Here's what I look for:
- Playable builds. A jam game, a prototype, a demo. If you can play it, you can judge it.
- Finished things. Lots of half-done projects is a warning sign. A couple of small finished games is worth more.
- Your engine. Switching engines mid-project is slow. Someone who already knows yours saves weeks.
- Readable code, if they share any. Clear names and small pieces matter more than clever tricks.
- How they talk. On a small team, someone who replies, asks questions and gives updates is worth a lot.
5. Start small, then send one clear brief
Before you commit, it helps to ask a few things:
- What have you shipped, and what did you build on it?
- How many hours a week can you really give this?
- How do you like to work: tasks on a board, weekly calls, async messages?
- Do you use AI tools for code? (Fair to ask, and good to agree on early.)
Then do a small test, ideally paid: one feature, one bug fix, or one level. A week of real work together tells you more than any interview. Your brief for it should cover the game, the engine and version, where the code lives (Git is the norm), what "done" looks like, and the deadline.
Tip: Set up version control and a shared task list before the first line of code. It saves a lot of "which file is the latest?" later.
6. Put the deal in writing
Even with friends, write it down: the pay or rev share split and how it's paid, how credit is listed, who owns the code and the game, whether code can be reused in other projects, and what happens if someone leaves. For rev share, also write how revenue is counted (after store fees? after costs?) and how often it's paid out. A one-page agreement now saves a falling-out later.
Red flags
- Nothing playable to show, ever.
- "Idea guy" deals where one person only has the idea and wants others to build it for a share.
- No version control, or code only on one person's laptop.
- Vague answers about time, pay or who owns what.
- Full payment up front for a big job with no milestones.
Common mistakes
- Scope too big for the team you have. Start with a game you can finish.
- Hiring for the idea instead of for the next six months of work.
- No test task, then finding out you work very differently.
- Leaving rev share terms vague until the game earns something.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find a programmer for my indie game?
Look at game jam teams and entries you liked, engine communities and Discord servers for Unity, Unreal, Godot or GameMaker, itch.io pages of small games, and job boards where you can post a role. On ComposerScout, game dev profiles show roles, engines, genres and real builds, and Find a teammate picks people by the roles you need, your engine and your genres.
Should I pay a programmer or offer revenue share?
Paid work is clearer and easier to plan around. Revenue share can work for small teams, but most rev share games earn little, so be upfront about that and only offer it when you are also putting in real work. Write down the split, how and when it is paid, and what happens if someone leaves.
What should I send a programmer in my first message?
Your game's name and genre, a short gameplay clip or prototype, your engine and version, the role you need and the systems you want built, how many hours a week you hope for, whether it is paid or rev share, and your timeline.
Who owns the code when I work with a programmer?
It depends on your agreement. Write down who owns the code and the game, how credit is listed, whether the code can be reused, what happens if someone leaves the project, and where the repository lives.
Is ComposerScout free?
Yes. ComposerScout is free while in beta for developers, programmers, designers, artists, VFX artists, composers, sound designers and voice actors. Credit, pay and rights are agreed directly between the people working together.
Find someone to build it with
Pick the roles you need, your engine and your genres, and see the game devs who fit best and why. Message anyone for free and agree on roles, credit and pay together.
Find a teammate