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The Financial Modeller
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Software and SaaS

Game studio financial model, built free.

A three-statement Excel model for a game developer and publisher, built from your own figures and checked to balance.

  • Free account
  • No card
  • Usually ready within the hour

We use generative AI in parts of our process, so mistakes can occur. Every model should be checked by a person before it is relied on. Read more

The business

Develops premium and free-to-play games for console, PC and mobile, earning unit sales, in-game purchases, downloadable content and licensing, after platform fees.

See the sampleHow the model works

In short

  • 01

    Three linked statements

    Income statement, balance sheet and cash flow, linked in every period.

  • 02

    Valued three ways

    Discounted cash flow, trading multiples and sum of the parts, side by side.

  • 03

    Monthly to annual

    Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual periods, for up to 30 years.

  • 04

    Checked every period

    A Checks sheet shows the balance sheet balances and the cash reconciles.

The sample

The sample, as Excel draws it.

Built by the same system and checks as yours: its structure and its inputs, ready for your own figures.

Annual · 10 years · Low detail
Game studio sample model.xlsx
The How It Works sheet of the sample game studio model

The sample describes no real business. Yours is calibrated to your own figures, so its results are your business’s.

How it works

How the model works for a game studio.

  1. How it earns revenue1 formula
    Revenue (top-down) · The business
    RevenueUnits soldAverage price
  2. What drives its costs3 formulas
    Direct costs (top-down) · The business
    Cost of salesRevenuefrom statementsGross margin
    Operating expenses · The business
    Total FTEsOperations and deliverySales and marketingTechnologyFinance, HR and administration
    Operating expenses · The business
    Total average FTEsOperations and deliverySales and marketingTechnologyFinance, HR and administration
  3. What it invests in3 formulas
    Corporate fixed assets
    Capital expenditureRevenuefrom statementsCapex as % of revenueAdditional planned capex
    Corporate fixed assets
    DepreciationDepreciation of the opening asset baseDepreciation of new capex
    Corporate fixed assets
    Closing net book valueOpening net book valueCapital expenditureDepreciation
  4. How it is funded1 formula
    Equity raising
    Equity raisedDistributions reinvested under the DRPOther equity raised (net of costs)Equity from an offer, milestone funding, conversions and creditor shares
  5. How profit becomes cash3 formulas
    Working capital
    Trade receivablesRevenuefrom statementsDebtor daysDays in period
    Working capital
    InventoryDirect costs (positive)from statementsInventory daysDays in period
    Working capital
    Trade payablesCash operating costs (positive)from statementsCreditor daysDays in period
What it covers

19 parts, each one tested.

Every part is a tested building block with its own checks: yours is put together from the ones your business needs.

  • Exchange rate (US dollar)Exchange rate by financial year
  • Revenue (top-down)Price × volume
  • Direct costs (top-down)Gross margin %
  • Operating expensesHeadcount build by function
  • Working capitalFull working capital
  • Income taxCorporate rate with tax losses
  • Corporate fixed assetsStraight-line over remaining life
  • Equity raisingDistribution reinvestment plan
  • Discounted cash flow valuationDCF on free cash flow to the firm
  • Multiples valuationEV / EBITDA multiple
  • Key-metric summaryLast-twelve-month and run-rate metrics
  • Case selectionStackable stress toggles
  • Sum of the partsRegister of parts on mixed bases
  • Burn and runwayRunway to the forecast cash-out date
  • R&D and capitalised developmentGross R&D × capitalisation rateResearch and development expense after capitalisation, with the capitalised software asset and its amortisation.
  • Headcount plan by functionHiring plan by functionEmployees and staff cost by function (cost of revenue, sales and marketing, R&D, G&A).
  • Sales and marketing not attributed to plansPercentage of revenueEntity-level sales and marketing for businesses without product plans (marketplaces, payments, ad platforms, game studios) and for central brand spend deliberately not allocated to plans.
  • CPI forecastCPI glide path
  • Enterprise value to equity bridgeNet debt at the valuation date
Key numbers

The numbers it tracks.

  1. 01net bookings
  2. 02units sold
  3. 03DAU
  4. 04ARPDAU
  5. 05payer conversion
  6. 06capitalised development
  7. 07EBITDA
Used for

What it is used for.

Also used for
  • Scenarios and sensitivities
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Looking for a game studio financial model template? Ours arrives built for your business, with your figures in it.

See a finished model, sheet by sheet

The sample is built on illustrative figures and describes no real business. Models are calculations prepared from the information you provide. They are not financial advice and must be independently verified. See our terms.