gpcs
Game Project Classification Standard (GPCS)
A bond-style rating framework for classifying game projects by production capacity and resource backing.
The Problem
The video game industry relies on informal labels — Indie, AA, AAA — to classify studios and projects. These terms are:
- Inconsistent — no universal agreement on definitions
- Conflated — mixing budget, team size, funding source, and creative independence into single labels
- Unfair — a solo developer and a 40-person funded studio both called “indie”
- Static — no mechanism to track studio growth over time
This creates unfair competition in awards, unclear eligibility for grants, and meaningless segmentation for the industry.
The Solution: GPCS
The Game Project Classification Standard (GPCS) provides a transparent, multi-dimensional framework that rates individual projects rather than studios. Each project receives a GPC rating (e.g., A/I1 — Verified — v0.5) that captures both production capacity and independence.
Key Features
- Project-centric — the same studio can have multiple projects with different ratings
- Bond-style capacity scale — familiar AAA/AA/A/BBB/BB/B/C tiers quantify production capacity
- Independence marker — optional
I0–I3code captures ownership and creative control - Source transparency — studios, publishers, grants, and platform support rated independently then combined
- Verification tiers — Unverified / Verified / Audited options with Evidence Strength signals
- Lifecycle-aware — ratings captured at Concept, Production, Release, and Live stages with historical tracking
Core Dimensions
| Dimension | Description |
|---|---|
| Capacity Rating (AAA–C) | Weighted combination of studio, publisher/funder, and other sources |
| Independence Marker (I0–I3) | Creative control + IP ownership structure |
| Verification Tier | Confidence level (Unverified, Verified ●●○, Audited) |
| Outcome Metrics (optional) | Revenue, player base, critical reception, growth signals |
Example GPC Ratings
| Project Context | Sample Rating |
|---|---|
| Solo developer, self-funded, no publisher | C/I0 — Unverified — Concept |
| 30-person studio with AA publisher backing | A/I1 — Verified ●●○ — Production |
| 15-person team with $1M co-funding + QA/marketing | BBB/I1 — Verified ●●● — Release |
| First-party flagship title | AAA/I3 — Audited — Release |
Documentation
- GPCS White Paper — Full specification and rationale
- Changelog — Version history
Use Cases
- Awards & Showcases — Fair competition categories by tier
- Publishers & Investors — Meaningful studio segmentation
- Grant Programmes — Clear eligibility criteria
- Industry Analysis — Consistent reporting terminology
- Studios — Honest self-positioning and growth tracking
Status & Testing
GPCS v0.5 is a comprehensive proposal under testing, not a finished standard. The author is piloting GPCS through an awards programme first to validate assumptions, refine criteria, and assess adoption viability.
Current stage: Proposal and experimental implementation Seeking: Pilot partnerships, critical feedback, and testing collaborators
Interested stakeholders (awards bodies, grant programmes, platforms, publishers) are invited to:
- Review the framework and provide feedback
- Propose pilot implementations in your context
- Test the rating questionnaire with real projects
- Share findings to help refine the methodology
This is version 0.5 — it will evolve based on real-world evidence and community input. Success is not guaranteed; the goal is to discover whether this framework solves real problems for real stakeholders.
For feedback and pilot partnership enquiries, see Contributing.
License
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercially
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit to GPCS and its creator
Author
Devon Stanton
GPCS was created to bring clarity and fairness to how the games industry categorises project capacity contexts.
Contributing
Feedback, suggestions, and contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for details.